Can the 300 WM equal the velocity of the 300 Weatherby in a 26" barrel if they are loaded to the same pressure?

NO. The Weatherby has more case capacity and is about 100fps faster all things being equal........DJ

I'd say it's pretty much a push with the Weatherby having just a very thin edge.

If you're thinking of buying used and you had some history on the gun "My buddies .300" I would let that influence me more than the name.

Either one will harvest any animal in the good old USA with no problem.

I have both and in my experience, the difference at the chronograph is about 180-200 fps. Out in the field, that's another story, but the real advantage of the 300 Weatherby comes in if you use 200gr bullets. I perfer the Weatherby myself, but I recognize the practicality of the Win Mag. jorge

no it can't...but ifin you put a custom tube lets say 28 inch, things would even up in a hurry the above posters are rite it comes down to case capacity,BUT don''t under estamate a custom tube, hint !!!!! go cut-rifled...regards jjmp

Nope. I have and use both, but I prefer the .300 Wby. The .300 Win. gets close with 180 gr. bullets but like Jorge stated the Wby. pulls away with 200 gr. and heavier bullets. And 26" is about as long as practical barrel length in the field.

I've seen some pretty spectacular velocities with 200 gr. partitions out of my Wby.. So much so that I don't use those loads even though there were no pressure signs. Nor do I publish those loads for obvious reasons. My 200 gr. partition load is consistent at 3040 - 3050 fps.

Weatherby factory 180 gr. partitions clock right around 3250 fps in my rifles and my handloads are right on the heels of that. No .300 win will do that safely.

The beauty of the .300 Win is that it'll push a 180gr bullet @ about 3000 FPS + or - and it'll do it out of a standard length action and a 24" tube. Making it a very nice light weight mountain rifle platform.

I prefer the .300WM due to it's very good performance and your ability to have it in a small light in rifle.

jorge is correct! Bigger case for heavier bullets! Buddies who shoot the 300 webbie never go below 180's. The result is awesome performance! In particular the 200 accubonds are perfect for northern B.C.

quote:

Originally posted by elkhunter:
Can the 300 WM equal the velocity of the 300 Weatherby in a 26" barrel if they are loaded to the same pressure?

No and no hunter will be able to tell the difference and nothing ever shot at will either.

The only difference will be on paper.

For people who can genuinely shoot it, the Weatherby is an awesome caliber - in particular with the heavier bullets. Sadly, the added power comes at a price. At least this ole boy found the Weatherby too much to shoot from the bench, and thus not practical for use as a general hunting rifle. (How could I sensibly test loads and sight in, if I was involuntarily and uncontrollably shivering after a couple of shots? ). But for people who can shoot it, it is a heck of a caliber.

These days, I confine myself to the .300 Win Mag. It still rattles my teeth when I shoot it, but at least I can control myself even during lengthy bench sessions. To compensate for the lower velocity of the .300 Win Mag, I have switched to a 168 grs TSX at 3200 fps, which will give about the same ballistic and terminal performance as a 180 grs bullet out of a .300 Weatherby.

(OK, now you can all tell me I'm a "wussy" for not being able to shoot big calibers. You are probably right, but since I'm the one who tries to hit the target, your ability to accept recoil is of little consequence to my shooting... All I can can say, is that I admire those of you who do well with the big calibers).

MHO: The 300 Winnie is an awesome caliber no matter which way you look at it. I just prefer the Weatherby. Nah I wouldn't call you "wussy." for shooting a Win Mag, I'd call you "pussy" for using the new "politically correct "wussy"! jorge

I thought "pussy" amounted to sexually explicit language...

- mike

like blondes and redheads.. both are nice, one kicks harder

Which one kick harder...the blonde or the readhead ???

L

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
I thought "pussy" amounted to sexually explicit language...

- mike

quote:

originally posted by Jeffeosso
like blondes and redheads.. both are nice, one kicks harder

And I thouight we was talking about 30 caliber magnums here.

Jeffe,
which one kicks harder.......I sure don't want that one......

How much difference is there in case capacity between the two? The loads in my hornady manual give the Weatherby around 3-5 grains more powder (although case capacity could be much larger).

I will use 180 grain bullets in this rifle. How much of the difference in velocity is due to the higher pressure of the Weatherby?

Elkhunter, in reviewing various reloading guides it appears that the pressure differences between the two are very minimal (i.e. a couple of hundred lbs when both are exceeding 60,000)...

Ken....

About 12 or 13 years ago, I ordered a Winchester Stainless Classic in .300 Weatherby Magnum. When the rifle arrived, we found out that a .300 Winchester had been shipped instead. I thought about it for a day, and then decided to keep the .300 Winchester. In all honesty, I've never regretted the choice, mostly because of the availability of reasonably-priced factory ammo and supplies. It's not quite as ubiquitous as the .270, .30/06 or 7mm Mag, but it's in that second tier of availability.

My opinion now is that it's better to step up to a .338 if you want more power than the .300 Winchester. At this point, I don't really see the advantage of the .300 Weatherby or the .300 Ultra Mag; if I want more power than my .300 Winchester, I'm going to move up in bore size, not in velocity.

Anyway, my opinion is worth what you paid for it.



analog_peninsula

I have done a fair amount of loading for the 300win mag the 300wby and the 300ultramag.The wby gains about 150fps over the win mag,and the ultramag adds another 100fps.

quote:

Originally posted by Lorenzo:
Which one kick harder...the blonde or the readhead ???

L

Redheads kick harder. No two ways about it. Blondes generally cost more in the long run!

As stated above no game will ever no the difference between the two, but being gun nuts like most of us are, we start picking at the details of each. I have seen nothing mentioned above about the cost of brass. You can buy Winchester brass for the WM, and for the WBY I use Norma because I will not use Remington brass. Here you have a big price difference in the cost of the 2 cases. Another point would be the easiness in reloading. The WM with that short neck and its case construction will make you crunch some powder, plus more than likely you will have a standard length box on the rifle and will have to seat your bullets deep when loading longer bullets like TSX's. The WBY is just the opposite. These are some of the little things that come to mind when I compare these two great cartridges, because I load my own. Which one is better is a fine line that only each indiviual can determine for themself.

Stublejumper is right on the money. I have a 300 win, 300wby and 30-378. I like the 300 wby the best. The 30-378 is way more cartridge than a 26" barrel should be on. The 300 wby definately gives an edge in performance over the 300win. Which gun will I take to Alaska when my buddy has me back again.....eni...meni...mino...mo. Don't know which one will go but am really liking the 200 accubond in all of them.

quote:

Originally posted by safari:

... for the WBY I use Norma because I will not use Remington brass.

Suit yourself, but I think this is an unwarranted prejudice.

I've used Weatherby/Norma brass and Remington brass in my 300 Weatherby. The Weatherby/Norma brass may be slightly nicer finished than the Remington brass, but I cannot see any difference in accuracy or performance between the two.

quote:

Originally posted by kraky:

... am really liking the 200 accubond in all of them.

I agree. The 200 gr. Nosler Accubond gave me the best accuracy of any bullet I've ever tried in my .300 Wby.

As for powders, IMR7828 gives me the highest velocity (3200+ for 180 gr. bullets, and 3000+ for 200 gr. ones -- and that's from a 24" barrel), and RL 22 the best accuracy (at a cost of about 50 to 70 f.p.s. top velocity, compared with what I can get from IMR 7828) of all the powders I've tried in my rifle.

elkhunter ----- I have hunted with the .300 Win mag since 1973, from New Mexico to Alaska to Colorado and extensively at home. I have loaded many loads for all the .300's of any size including the Lazzroni. The Weatherby, Ultra mag and Lazzroni will all beat the Winny some, but not enough for me to go on up. A 180 grain bullet at 3100 fps is good enough for me out of a .300 mag. When I wanted more I went to the .340 Wby and got it and then some with much bigger bullets. ----- It all depends on what you want, if you are going to the .300 and stop, pick one of the larger .300 cases. Remember though the result of much more recoil when you start adding 10 to 20 grains of powder to that case for a hundred or so fps of speed. Good shooting.

I prefer the 300 Win. It kicks less and 180gr bullet at 3000 fps is perfect for elk. If I want a heavier bullet I'll go bigger.

That being said I prefer the 340 Wby over the 338 Win. The Wby kicks the same (I think), but you get much more bang for the buck.

I assume it is the larger bore of the 340 Wby that makes it kick less than the 300 Wby (no typo I do think the 340 Wby kicks less, frankly just a c.hair more than the 300 Win, but I can't tell the difference). All 3 of the 300 WBy I've owned have just kicked my ass, too violent when compared to the 300 Win.

That being said, I absolutely love my 340 Wby, it may just keep my 300 Win in the safe.

Earlier this year I had my .300 Wby Sako 75 rebarreled to .300 Win Mag. The new barrel is a 26" stainless Lilja. I chose to go with the Win. Mag for one main reason, I don't like the long Weatherby freebore. As a reloader, I like to be able to seat bullets close to the lands and with the Wby it was not possible.

quote:

That being said I prefer the 340 Wby over the 338 Win. The Wby kicks the same (I think), but you get much more bang for the buck.

The 340wby produces considerably more felt recoil in equal rifles.

quote:

I don't like the long Weatherby freebore. As a reloader, I like to be able to seat bullets close to the lands and with the Wby it was not possible.

There are many 300 Wby caliber rifles out there today which do not have standard Wby freebore. These are mainly custom rifles though, D'Arcy Echols uses a shorter throat, it even says so on the barrel of his rifles, "non-standard throat."

With my 300 Rum I shoot the 180s at 3266 FPS and the 200 Nosler Partitions at 3020.

I could go more FPS with both of these bullets but don't need to.

Has anybody seen pressure data on Weatherby-caliber rifles without the long freebore? I'm concerned about increased pressures with that arrangement. No problem if you're handloading for the rifle, but could be with factory loads.

Also, it appears that the Weatherby factory ammo isn't loaded as hot as it once was. Bet it's to keep the folks who "don't like the long Weatherby freebore" from hurting themselves or their rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by DeltaHunter:
I don't like the long Weatherby freebore. As a reloader, I like to be able to seat bullets close to the lands and with the Wby it was not possible.

Well, did it shoot? If it shoots with a lot of freebore, who cares! My 340 Wby is also short throated. The limiting factor (COA length) on my rifle is the magazine length- action was a transitional mod 70 (cloverleaf-1949) 300 H&H.

Right now my loads are at max, not even close to pressure signs. Hell, I'm to the pont of using max loads as starters with different powders.......IMR 7828 has been good so far. I've got some RL 22 and 25 to play with.

When I worked up loads for a 257wby that had been rebarreled without the freebore,pressure signs appeared at well under the maximum loads listed in the book.The rifle produced about 75fps less velocity than with the factory barrel,but the groups were half the size as with the factory barrel.

WEll just to balance out some the posts, I currently own five factory rifles, three MKVs, one synthetic and an Accumark. ALL of them are sub half MOA shooters with either Weatherby ammo or my handloads.

If you choose to build a Weatherby caliber without the freebore, you must be careful when working up loads. D"arcy Echols so states when he builds his Legends. Also as a point of interest, Weatherbys don't have nearly the freebore they had when they first came out. That was a limitation imposed by the availability of powders back then. With today's powders like IMR-7828 for example, I can easily obtain sub MOA accuracy and get to the adverised 3250 without any problems and can load 3300 without any visible pressure signs and sub moa accuracy. jorge

Given that a handloaded 300 Winny(with a 24" tube no less) can be easily and safely loaded to 3150 and a likewise loaded 300 wtby(26" tube) can reach 3250 is the differance notable?
I think not especially when you consider that typicly the weatherby is less accurate, needs 2" more barrel to reach advertised velocity, harder to find ammo for in rural areas and the factory ammo is much more expensive.

Nope, the animal won't notice the difference. Accuracy is a "wash" at least in my book, I've nver been able to attain much past 3050 with my 24" 300 Winnie, the Weatherby I think does have an edge with 200 gr bullets and you are correct in availability/cost. I still prefer the Weatherby. Purely a matter of taste. jorge

Like sorting fly shat from pepper, Jorge. Both are damn good.
One pro for the Weatherby that I forgot to mention is the fact that the wthby factory ammo is loaded stoutly, while the 300 winny factory rounds are underloaded.
3150 fps with a 180gr partition or or BT is a very reasonable goal. RL-22 will get you there.

i shot all my plains game on 3 different safaris with a merkel kipplauf in 300 win mag using winchester ammo bought at walmarts.

i can unequivocally state that they could not have been killed any better with a weatherby or a 50 bmg !!

you can only kill an animal dead. and the 0ne /one millonth of a second that the win mag is slower will never be noticed by you or the beast.

it is american ingenuity to try to improve upon something.

the collary is " if it ain't broke, don't fix it ! "

I agree that no animal will know the difference between these two great cartridges, but if we all stayed satisfied with one cartridge then those of us who are gun nuts would not have anything new to play with. I think if you have one of these cartridges why not get the other also, just another reason to get a new gun.