I have Weatherby Mk.V in .257 WM. It shoots groups of .5 MOA at 100 and 200.

Still, and I know this will excite some, I find it boring. It's not boring because I don't appreciate the accuracy; I DO appreciate it. Especially since I only paid $400 for the rifle and scope at a local gunshow. (It is the model with a black composite stock and the blued barreled action.)

Guess it is boring because I have a lot of other .25s and don't really need the .257 Wby cartridge to do what I use .25s for.

Anyhow, I am thinking of using the WBY action as a basis for a "switch barrel" gun. Keep the .257 Wby bbl., and maybe add another magnum of some kind. That way I cn use he same bolt.

I don't care whether the additional barrel is factory or wildcat chambered, but want something less than .375" bore and more than .257" bore. The more practical and versatile, the better. Oh, and I already have four different .300 Mags, two different 7 m/m mag chamberings, and a .338 Win Mag, so don't need to duplicate those. So, here's my question:

Question:
Given the above info, what bore and chambering would YOU prefer?

Choices:
8 m/m mag of some sort?
.358 Norma Mag?
wildcat 9.3 Mag?
Something Else? If so, what?

 

It's going to be hard to beat a .358 Norma given your other guns!

358 all the way

Since you have the .257, several 300s and some 7mms and big bores, why not go with a fine cartridge you don't already have, the 270 Wby, one of the finest flattest shooting numbers out there.

When rebarreling my dad-in-law's .257 Wby the 'smith had to cut the old one off.
FWIW

How about 358 Norma, or 35 STW?

Not knowing your needs (but this seems to have more to do with "wants" than "needs") it's hard to give advice. I'd only point out that you have the option of chambering for any of the RUM series (.300, .338, .375) and also the Ruger Magnums, any of which are beltless but use the same bolt face as your .275 WBY. You could also chamber for any wildcat based on those cases.

Check your Magazine length... maybe you can't go much longer OAL than the 257 Wby?

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Blauwkamp:
Check your Magazine length... maybe you can't go much longer OAL than the 257 Wby?

This is good advice. That's not to say that the mag can't be customized as well. I believe the bolt length of stroke would have to be changed to go the Ultramag route but am not sure. It does sound like an 8mm mag would be a riot to have in this rifle. Close to your 338 Winmag however. A 270 Wby would be a good choice as well in my opinion.

Ken....

I've always been kind of intrigued by the .358 Norma. Never had one nor shot one tho. Not being knowledgeable on such matters, I duuno what, if any problems could/would occur by going to a .358 but of your choices, that would be mine. The hassle/cost of brass not withstanding.
Bear in Fairbanks

Of those you mentioned I would go with the .358 Norma, better yet the .358 STA, which is 150 to 200 fps faster on each bullet weight. I shoot two and they have given me, my son and grandson several Elk and Deer. Good shooting.

quote:

I duuno what, if any problems could/would occur by going to a .358 but of your choices, that would be mine. The hassle/cost of brass not withstanding.

What hassle/cost? Just take .338 Win brass and run it through a .358 Norma sizer. It will be just short enough that you don't have to worry about trimming it for several shots.

I agree with Heat and S-Burns. I would do the 270 Wthby.

458 lott
or 458 AR!!!

I would have to see if the 9.3x64 would work

Given what you have, sell it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bear in Fairbanks:
I've always been kind of intrigued by the .358 Norma. Never had one nor shot one tho. Not being knowledgeable on such matters, I duuno what, if any problems could/would occur by going to a .358 but of your choices, that would be mine. The hassle/cost of brass not withstanding.
Bear in Fairbanks

Bear - I see a lot of support here for the .358 Norma. Will have to check and see if magazine and/or action rails would need any opening up for that round to get it to feed well from my Mk V action.

I had an '03 Springfield in '06 that used to belong to John Buhmiller. I had it rebored and chambered to .358 Norma in 1970 or so by Al Petersen of Riverhurst, Saskatchewan. It was a great cartridge and rifle, so I have been leaning a bit that way myself for this Mk V. I make my .358 NM cases from new W-W .375 H&H brass, and have a couple of wooden cases full of that brass on hand, so hulls would be no problemo.

If you have never owned or used a .358 NM, I'd recommend you try one the first time you have the chance, In my admittedly very opinionated view, Winchester should have chambered the pre-'64 M70 Carbine for a clone of that round instead of birthing the .338 Winnie. Would have been a great combo. Perfect for where you live.

(No flies on the .338 Win though...it's a great round too. Just that I like heavier bullets for some uses, and there used to be some very excellent 275 grain .358 slugs on the market.)

The mention by Stonecreek of the RUM cartridges makes me wonder if a .376 Steyr would work in that Mk. V bolt face? I already have a Steyr Pro Hunter factory chambered for that round, but another .376 Steyr wouldn't be hard to live with. Don't want a .375 Ruger though, so won't be going that route.

Or, how about something like a .300 WSM opened to 9.3? I've got about 4,000 Norma 286 gr. 9.3 Bullets on hand, so that might be fun to play with for a while....I like wildcats anyway....

Thanks to everyone for their comments so far. Lot of good thoughts in there.

AC

Stonecreek -

Just off the top of your head, would a .325 WSM case head fit the same size bolt face as the .257 Wby Mag?

I don't have any 8's more powerful than the standard 8x57 at the moment, and that .325 WSM also sounds as if it would be fun to play with...the magazine should be plenty long enough for that loaded cartridge and I DO have a few hundred spare rounds of new .300 WSM brass laying around here which I could size the necks up in....

If you are thinking a 9.3 wildcat you might take a look at Michael458s 9.3B&M

SSR

470 Mbogo