I am going to get a 338 cal for elk and moose hunting. I also plan to use it someday for caribou and brown bear. Is the difference between the 338 win mag and 340 weatherby negligible? I am trying to justify paying the extra cash for a weatherby accumark.

Well..never owned a rifle of either caliber,
but I am sure both calibers can kill most of the North American game I would take the winnie.
You can`t kill bigger game with 150Ft/sec more velocity anyway.
The advantage with the Weatherby is that you can be 50yards further away from your game, compared to the .338 win.
TOO bad that winchester dropped their 300 grain load back in the 80`s for their .338wm.
If you really need the .340 Weatherby, then a
.375 H&H would has do even better...bigger caliber...heavier bullets to choose from.
Just my two cents

They are both great rounds. I have used the 338 win. I have a friend who uses the 340.

I would base the choice on which rifle you want not the cartridges.

Well, that is sort of a tough one, but you asked for opinions.

I shoot a 338 Win Mag while my dad has a 340 Wby Mag. A good buddy has both. I just have not seen much difference in performance on game.
All these rifles just put animals on the ground right now.

The 340 will certainly shoot a little faster and while therefore be easier to hit with at long range. However, they do kick more, no question about it!

I personally just do not like the Weatherby's in that the stock does not feel right to me. The Weatherby stock is one of those things folks seem to either love or hate. And to take advantage of the bigger case, the Weatherby's need that 26 inch barrel. (That makes them a little long for my tastes.)

I think if you want the Accumark, just get it. They are good rifles, just heavy for some uses.
Be forewarned though, the last two my friends bought in 257 Wby Mag shot pretty sorry. Both had to be bedded and recrowned, and one of them still only shoots fair. Weatherby basically did not want to hear about it. (We only live about 100 miles from their headquarters, we drove over there only to be dissapointed in their response.)

Of course you could choose a 338ultramag in a rifle much less expensive than an accumark.

I have had both the 338 win mag and the 338 RUM, ballistic duplicate of 340 weatherby. I would say that the 338 RUM/340 shows a notable increase in "smack" compared to the 338 win mag. Shooting the same 225 gr bullets out of each I noticed that impact on game was visably more with the extra 400+ fps you gain in the RUM. That being said the moose will die with iether one.

quote:

Is the difference between the 338 win mag and 340 weatherby negligible? I am trying to justify paying the extra cash for a weatherby accumark.

You really ought to get the gun you want.

As to dead and deader?.......there is no difference.

I have a 338 win mag but do not own nor have I shot a 340 Weatherby.

I will say that the 338 win mag is my threshhold for recoil. The one I have has an excellent recoil reducing stock and I can shoot it well. I load for a friend's Sako 338 that I could not shoot well cause it seems to kick more. He eventually got a muzzle brake and it is shootable now (by him and me).

I don't like muzzle brakes and do not have one on my 338 win mag. If I did get a 340 Weatherby and it kicked any more than the 338 win mag, then I would have to get a muzzle brake. So I won't be getting a 340 Weatherby.

Now before we get into the macho thing, I would like to say that a foot pound of recoil is a foot pound of recoil and scopes only have so much eye relief. To me the 338 win mag is the limit.

WM. No Question for me. Less Recoil, Cheaper and more available ammo, longer barrel life, IMO better resale, more rifles to choose. Also I really don't see any significant advantage to the 340.

M1,

I've had 3 different 338 cal rifles: 340 WBY, 338 WM and a 338 wildcat based on a 280 Rem case. The 340 WBY is great cartridge but it has more recoil and comes at higher cost all round. The Mk V action is quite heavy and stock design is not everyone's cup of tea.

The 338 wildcat was something I dreamed up and sold the rifle off eventually when the romance wore off.

Of the 3 I still have the M700 338 WM. This is sitting in HS precision stock. Excellent stock with good recoil handling characteristics. My M700 has a 375 H&H mag length and no mag restrictions, so you could load the 338 WM to a longer OAL or even rechamber to 340 WBY if you really wanted to.

In terms of pure performance, not sure an extra 100-200 fps is worth it as it comes at the expense of higher recoil velocity and longer barrel.

The 338 WM is more flexible to load for. With appropriate loads (eg using H-4895) it can be loaded "down" to 30/06 levels or with slower powders, loaded to full power.

Joe

since you asked...

if you have a flair for something out of the ordinary, and don't mind spending the extra money on the rifle, or on the rounds to shoot it, then I'd say go with the Weatherby. As far as a difference in performance, i think it would be negligible. I've never owned a .340, but I have shot them and I honestly didnt feel much difference. Some people claim it to be more intense. If you really want something that will increase performance and wake you up on the bench, look into a .30-378 or .338-378. Overkill for sure, but they hit hard on both ends.

The winnie is a good all around choice, and like he said, dead is dead.

Never had a 340 but I'm on my second 338 (third if you count a re-barrel).

It shoots 210 Nosler partitions into 0.3" when I do my part. With a 200 yard zero it rises 2" at 100 and falls 8" at 300.

It's taken 2 caribou, 3 elk, one each mule deer, blesbuck, gemsbuck, springbuck, kudu, and impala and I have yet to recover a bullet to see how they perform; all have been through-and-through.

What more is it you want a 340 to do?

I have lived with the 338 Win for almost two decades and haven't seen an animal that it couldn't dispatch cleanly. I'm now on my second 338, a Sako, so yes I think highly of this calibre.
With that said, I think my next 338 will be the RUM in Remington's Sendero. Weatherby makes a good cartridge, but I'm not crazy about his rifles or stock design, and the proprietary numbers like the Dakota are cost prohibitive.

I've got a .338WM and love it. I've not shot the .338 RUM or the .340 WBY, but I personally don't see the point. They'll all take game the same way. But, with that being said, if you want the .340, then get it. Don't cheat yourself, you'll never let yourself live it down.

mike

quote:

I am trying to justify paying the extra cash for a weatherby accumark.

I wouldn't. Caribou are pretty fragile and don't require a heavy hitter in .338 caliber. A 25-06 Rem works fine. Moose and elk succumb to 30-06 class of cartridges regularly. What's left? Big brown bruins. Many on this forum believe you're under-gunned with anything less than a true big bore.

With the recent advent of premium bullets and the tried-n-true Nosler Partition, I think the difference between the Win and Wby IS negligible.

The 338 Win Mag is a great cartridge as is the 340 WB. A couple of points to consider is the longer cartridge throw in the 340 and no controlled feed nor claw type extractor. These two considerations may not be a consideration to some folks. Just food for thought. I personally own five 338's. Two Sako's and three Win Model 70's. I don't think there is enough difference in the two cartridges that one is worth consideration over the other. Now if you step up to the 338 Ultra and Lapua or 338/378, this is whole new ball game. My $.02 worth FWIW.

I've owed both, and in identical guns. Despite there only being an honest 100 fps difference in them with the same weight bullet, the Weatherby did seem to kick disproportionately harder -- and remember, this was in IDENTICAL guns. The Weatherby was also a bit less accurate than the Winchester with the best loads I could work up.

So, I sold the .340 and now own only the .338. My load for it is a 225 grain Nosler Partition at 2940 fps, so I'm giving up little other than recoil (and the expense of the Weatherby brass/ammo).

Besides, in my opinion, the Weatherby radiused shoulder and freebore do little to help accuracy. Overall, you're not going to lack for power with either, and, if as with my guns, the Winchester is more accurate, then you can still hit better at long range since an extra inch or two of holdover at 350 yards is better than an extra two or three inches of dispersion.

I have and use both. My 338 is a nice, custom shop Model 70 with a 24" barrel. I shoot 250gr Partitions and I can do an honest 2750-60 fps and right at 2900 with 210 Partitions.

The 340 Accumark is a very accurate rifle and they are both sub-moa shooters. I can get around 2950 with 240gr North Forks or 250gr Triple shocks without any trouble at all and I can reach 3000 with the right loads. I get 3010 with 225gr A Frames out of the 340.

They are both great rounds. The Weatherby gives you better trajectory--at increased recoil and expense, while I find the 338 pleasant to shoot. So, I think it's a matter of taste when it comes down to it. Right now I like the extra 200 fps I get out of the Accumark, but that 338 Model 70 sure is a sweet rifle. jorge

I've owned several rifles in both chamberings, in addition to my wildcat 338/404. Of the two in question I prefer the 338 because it works with a 24" barrel and isn't nearly as obnoxious to shoot. Brass and factory ammo are a lot cheaper too. If I want more speed then the 338RUM or my old wildcat would be the better choice, IMO.

I have a .338 WM... Have never fired a 340.
The Ammo and brass is more available in the Win. You get an extra 100-150 ft/sec… If that’s a big deal I would go for the RUM which is even faster… remember you pay the price in recoil. Unless you are hunting at long a distance 250 + you are better off with the mild recoil Win.

Back in the days when I could tolerate recoil, my custom .338 Win Mag was my baby. It would shoot any handload well, and the brass is so drastically easier to obtain and less expensive than Weatherby that I never even thought of a .340 WBY. But the choice is up to the shooter. If you think a few more fps is going to matter, or you just crave that Weatherby logo, go for it, but I still trust in the .338 Winchester.
LLS