The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Big Bores 378 WM like or dislikeGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| One of Us |
I have one of these fire breathing dragons, love shooting it and keep looking for any one who is using this beast to hunt. One never finds much in reference except things like "it is an answer to a question never asked" which may well be true. Hunting with this thing it would stand to reason that long range big game is its best application. I plan on taking it to kodiak island this fall if I can get drawn for kodiak bear. It needs to be used but only if one can control all that recoil and place the shot as is always the case. Anyone else like this cartridge and use it for hunting? I believe my 338 Win M is plenty for the job or a 375 but the 378 needs purpose too. By the way, no muzzle break, awkward with 28" of barrel and deafening. | ||
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I plan on using mine on raccoons, groundhogs and maybe deer this summer. Mine doesn't have a brake either. | |||
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Must have vicious varmints, or want to up scale the varmit grenade to a larger criter,anyway sounds fun. I will use mine on gophers as I do every other rifle I own for practice. Thanks for the reply. | |||
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| One of Us |
To me, the 378 is an under-appreciated round. The primary difference between regular rifles (30-06, 300 WM, 338, etc) and African calibers is in the ranges at which they are useful. The 378 (and the 375 RUM) bridge that gap, allowing the use of heavy bullets at long range. I have a custom 378 that shoots 3-shot groups of 1 1/2" at 300 yards. At 11 lbs, it is not at all uncomfortable to shoot. I think the 378 is also the best platform for utilizing the 350gr 375 bullets available now, as powder capacity is sufficient so velocity is not compromised. I know, I know...just get closer to the game with your trusty (insert favorite caliber), but when you can't, the 378 is in a realm of its own. | |||
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+1  NRA Lifer; DSC Lifer; SCI member; DRSS; AR member since November 9 2003 Don't Save the best for last, the smile for later or the "Thanks" for tomorow | |||
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Just curious; does it have a brake at 11 lbs or is that enough weight w/o a brake? "Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson. | |||
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| One of Us |
It does have a brake available, but 11 lbs is enough weight to tame it without a brake while hunting. I sent it to Charlie Sisk and had him bed it into a McMillan Express Safari stock, add NECG Masterpiece sights, work the trigger, and Ceracoat the metalwork flat black. I have it on Guns International for sale...just search under "Sisk". I bought a Bansner 375 RUM recently, so I don't need both. | |||
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I have a McMillan stock ordered and will have it bedded when it arrives. What have you shot with this rifle aT long range,no doubt has a dramatic effect on any game. Contacted Barnes to see if they would be producing ja TTSX in a 270 gr as I belive it's ballistics work best at that weight. I already have the 25O gr. | |||
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| one of us |
Thanks. I'll look at it. Sounds like a nice rifle. "Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson. | |||
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It doesn't seem to matter much with this rifle....Failsafes, Speer, TSXs, or factory 270gr Weatherby ammunition...they all shoot .55 to .65. That's often the case with a good barrel. I bought some 260gr Accubonds for it as I've had great luck with them, both from an accuracy and effect-on-game standpoint, but haven't loaded them up yet. | |||
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The 378 should work very well for a Kodiak brown bear at any distance. The guide I hunted with near King Salmon asked me to bring something I could reach out and touch him if I needed too. I took my 338-378Wby with 250gr Swift A-Frames and topped with a 4X16 Burris scope. I shot my brown bear at 7yds in a thicket and I wished I had my 378 when he stood up. | |||
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I prefer the A-10's GAU-8 30mm myself. Able to stand off from dangerous game up to 2,000 yards. Short half-second burst of 80 rounds usually does it. Sometimes I have to use depleated uranium for the real tough ones, but normally a good TP round will do. For smaller critter the HEI is real effective with 180,000 ft/lbs of explosive force. "Hamburger with hair" is the normal product of a direct hit.  Barstooler | |||
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I think I'll steer clear of Colorado Springs :-0 | |||
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Favorite handload for 378 Weatherby, it's sub-MOA: 111.0 grains of IMR-7828 Federal GM215M primer Weatherby brass made by Norma Any 300-grain bullet you and the rifle both like: Long monometal for tough stuff, or short cup&core for varmints. Will be about 2900 fps, fast enough. Beware a custom rifle with a short throat/tight chamber if using Weatherby factory ammo. The factory Mark V will handle factory ammo well, but that ammo will be hotter than my load above. Some folks go up to 115 grains of IMR-7828, or 116 grains of RL-25 and get over 3000 fps with a 300-grain Barnes-X. A friend's 26" barreled Mark V comes to mind. 2910 fps with my favorite handload in a 25"-barreled CZ 550 Magnum re-chamber, was reduced to about 2780 fps in a 22"-barreled BRNO ZKK 602 rechambered and bobbed.  Both were factory .375 H&H to start with. The CZ I still have, the BRNO got rebarreled.  I also have a 22" Mark V bobbed factory barrel that can be installed on My Mark V synthetic 30/378 WBY. I bought that take-off barrel from a guy who wanted to protect his hearing, and he was sorry he shortened the barrel, due to velocity loss. No, I have not hunted with the 378WBY, just used other, less powerful, .375 rifles. But the 378 is a great rifle, whose reputation for recoil is greatly exaggerated. Just avoid the varmint bullets when after dangerous game. | |||
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RIP, I would think the newer slow powders would be great in a 378 with a 26" barrel, like Retumbo, H1000, Rel 22 and 25. | |||
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Rip: Perfect description in my opinion. With modern bullets that hold up, the 378 is a killer round and yes recoil is wildly exaggerated. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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 Got myself a nice Lazermark recently. No brake though  | |||
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| one of us |
Jorge, Thank you Sir. 
Biebs, Note, above, I did include a hot RL-25 load of 116 grains, which is comparable to 115 grains of IMR-7828 with 300-grainers: Hot IMR-7828 111 grains with 300-grain bullets is moderate and accurate in most rifles, factory or custom. My experiments were 12 years ago, with the 378 Wby. I am a recent Convert to the Church of Hodgdon Extreme Powders, but I am nondenominational when it comes to IMR-7828 in the 378 WBY, or RL-15 in anything applicable. Amen. Relative burn rates of your powders and mine, from my table, fastest to slowest: 128 --- RL-22 131 --- IMR-7828 132 --- RL-25 135 --- H1000 Extreme 137 --- Retumbo Extreme also, Hodgdon 142 --- H50BMG Extreme I would try H1000 with 300-grainers next time I load for 378WBY.  IanD: Ouch! My eyes! Skinny factory barrel as usual, eh? 26"? What does it measure at the muzzle diameter? Standard twist for 378 Weatherby Magnum, standardized by CIP, is 1:12" as all good .375's should be. The extra speed spins the bullets faster and makes them even more stable from the 378 Wby, perfect for all big game within 500 yards, with the proper 300-grainer.  | |||
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No experience with the .378 but I have owned a .340 and .300 Weatherby's along with my .375 H&H. Doing sight in work off the bench, both the .340 and .300 get unpleasant at about 10 rounds while I can put 20+ thru the .375 and not be bothered. In fact even though I liked the .340, I sold it because the .300 or the .375 could accomplish the same job and with the .375 a little more comfortably. JMO. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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My favorite powders for 30-378 to 460 WBY Magnum are VV N560 and N570. NRA Lifer; DSC Lifer; SCI member; DRSS; AR member since November 9 2003 Don't Save the best for last, the smile for later or the "Thanks" for tomorow | |||
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I have often wondered if used with a 30" barrel how this round would fare on the "long-range" circuit? We Band of Bubbas N.R.A Life Member TDR Cummins Power All The Way Certified member of the Whompers Club | |||
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I enjoy hunting with each of the 378's that I own, usually shooting the Barnes 270 TSX over H4831sc in the neiborhood of 3000-3100 fps. No complaints yet from anything on the receiving end. | |||
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| one of us |
I had 2 friends that had 378 WBY Mag rifles. Both were factory Weatherby MKV's. One had the early factory WBY Pendleton recoil brake. It was still pretty thumpy off the bench. The other we had a KDF muzzle break installed at KDF. You could shoot this rifle on a Harris Bipod like a 308 sniper rifle. It was loud but the recoil was greatly reduced. Both rifles were accurate. I think the 378 Wby is one of those cartridges that if you can shoot it well, it would be an excellent long range cartridge. If there is any chance tht you might have some up close shots, say under 200 yards I would want to use a very tough bullet, that cannot totally fragment. Like an X bullet, a North Fork bullet, a TBBC, a Swift, or even a Nosler Partition. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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The one I had was a very early German made one. It would group at 1 inch all day long if I did my part! It liked RL25 and IMR4350, and lots of it. Killed a few coyotes and countless whistle pigs. Whistle pig peeks out his hole and won't come out you just aim 3 to 4 incjhes under hole and it will dig a v shaped channel all the way to them. | |||
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| One of Us |
I am sending my 378 to get express sights and recknagel twist off mounts with a 3 x 10 vari x3 for my up coming hunt to kodiak island. Have ordered a fiberglass macmillan stock for it too. Recently contacted Barnes to see if they would make TTSX bullets in 270 gr. as the 378 throws out a lot of juice with this weight of bullet. I do have 250gr if that doesn't happen. This is not a good bush combination due to the length of rifle but a happy medium in case we have to go in the bush. Guess I should have just bought an express safari rifle but it is more fun to experiment. It will a unique mark 5 anyway. | |||
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Zig, you could have just bought mine! NECG Masterpiece sights, QD Talleys, McMillan Express stock, Ceracote finish, dies and 40 brass for $2,750. Plus, it shoots .6" groups with several loads. Oh well! | |||
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Zigfreed, I can vouch that Biebs rifle is a nice rifle. I would have already bought it if the bolt was on the correct side! =) Ed DRSS Member | |||
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It is on the correct side, you genetic deviate!!!! :-) | |||
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Now Jon, remember, left is correct for some of us! Used to be bigdoggy700 with 929 posts . Originally registered as bigdoggy 700 in July 2006. | |||
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LOL | |||
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Now if I was to buy yours, think of all the fun I would have missed but your are right it would have been a lot less expensive and would have made more sense, didn't know about your gun at the time either. | |||
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Not a big fan of the .378, so-called, or any other .375 that surpasses the ample velocity of the Holland & Holland. Once one achieves 2,500 fps with any bore size, more velocity is not as advantageous as more bullet diameter. That is my experience on African DG, in any case. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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That is my experience too, but if you gotta have the biggest and baddest you could do worse than a 378. | |||
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That used to be the case with lead core bullets. However, with the guaranteed penetration of monolithic bullets extra speed is no longer a detriment up close. The rules have changed, so that a person can consider longer range and potential 300 yard shots on a zebra or eland or even a Tommy with the same rifle used up close. I've found that I happen to like 2800 fps a little more than 2500 fps, and then at that point I start looking for more diameter and weight, in that order. Diameter is more important than weight with monolithics since a person can justify a 10% reduction in sectional density, and even more with the new Raptor design. That means that SD's of .270 are fine for dangerous game (=buffalo) and the Raptors with their secondary solid may be able to drop down to .225. There are a few who think along these lines on the forum and they find the Rigby-case size cartidges about optimum: the two biggest Weatherbys, and the Rigby line of 416, 450, 470Mbogo, 500Mbogo. It does require a little adjustment in where the bar gets set for recoil toleration. I'm like someone else who confessed recently on one of these threads, "I'm a wuss at heart," going for the 416. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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| One of Us |
I don't dislike the 378 WM, but I will never own one either. The ballistic gack is impressive and from anecdotes, so is it's field performace. But I have come to simple realization in life. That is to not shoot any cartridge that holds more than 100gr of powder. They are more than I can handle both recoil and accuracy wise. | |||
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I should have been clearer that my focus is not on long range PG shooting, but on up close DG shooting. And my point is that more than 2,500 fps in a .375 is not as advantageous for that sort of thing as more bullet diameter and weight. A Barnes banded FN solid of any suitable DG caliber will penetrate as much as is needed on elephant at 2,500 fps, and so will the TSX bullet on Cape buffalo. Better to go with more power and punch than more penetration, once enough penetration is a given. And at 2,500 fps or so, I have found that one can still do some pretty good shooting up to 250 or 300 yards, which is as far as I care to shoot at game. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Michael, I hear you and have done a bit of hunting with 2500 fps, which included the 375H&H and 338WM with 300 grain bullets. (Yes, that old Barnes roundnose in .338" 300grains at 2450-2475 could be impressive, as it should with a .375 Sectional Density!) Now if one uses the .375" 300gn at 2550fps as the standard base (see I've already added a few fps over the nominal book 2530) what should one add? Well, if the rifles were already in hand, then I would use monolithic bullets, which allows for a dropping of weight, in fact monolithics suggest dropping weight because similar-length bullets are lighter. Penetration remains a given (in fact it improves because there is no danger of core separation or inside-out overexpansion). As soon as weight is lowered, the case capacity at similar pressures (a few more grains of smokeless powder) drives the bullets faster. Recoil may even diminish, though attention shouldn't be placed there. For buffalo, the .375" 270 TSX at 2700 fps would become the standard base. With a little handloading in a 375Ruger or modern H&H one may reach 2800fps and 4700 ftlbs with that bullet. (The little 338 naturally uses 225 TTSX [.514 BC] for 2800fps, but it's not legal for buffalo most places.) Where does one build from that fairly flat 375 combo? More DIAMETER, which means a new rifle/cartridge. Bye bye 378. More diameter will mean more weight for similar sectional density. The question from this angle becomes, how much does a hunter enjoy that 2800fps, high-BC trajectory? The 416 Rigby can comfortably maintain that SD and flat velocity. Hence my moniker and 'all-around' choice, still hard to beat. Energy crosses over 6000 ftlbs. But for dangerous game as the primary or only target, then one should consider more DIAMETER. Enter the 458Lott and 458AccR. And keep options open for the 450 Rigby (460Weatherby) if some flatter trajectories are desired for a single rifle safari. And if one drops down to 2600-2500fps trajectory expectations with monolithics, then we can have 470Mbogo, 500AccR, and 500Mbogo/A2/Wells as kickbutt DG cartridges. Lord willing, I get to do my testloads and accuracy tuning on a 500AccR in July. So from a different perspective I don't really like or want a 378 either. The Rigby case capacity should be used for more diameter in Africa, and for elk, well, less diameter. The 338 Rigby-based cartridges may be the way to go for shooting an elk from across a meadow, but stalking is fun and I would be happy with the 2800fps WinMag. Maybe the polar bear is where the 378 shines on its own. I wouldn't know. If it's windy you want a high BC bullet and the closer the better. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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