I’m thinking about buying one for my daughter and I was wondering about the recoil. She will be 14 and is now shooting a 243 in a Browning Bar. She shoots the Browning better than her daddy, and can handle the recoil without any problems, but the Bar’s action cuts the recoil down a lot. She cannot handle the recoil of my 270, so I’m a little worried. She loves shooting my Vanguard in a 223, and I see the Vanguard in the 240, so I’m thinking about buying her one. The Vanguards are a little on the heavier side, so I’m hoping it will help.

Anyone have any recoil comparisons for the 240?

Thanks

I have not shot a 240 Weatherby in a while, but.....how about loading down to 243 levels and working up slowly for your daughter. The weight of the Vanguard should help a lot.

The 240 is a cool caliber.

Can't go wrong with the 240 works extremely well on a majority of plains game from dik dik to Nyala. In 2005 I used a 240 to take warthog, impala, reedbuck, Mtn. Reedbuck, & Nyala. All one shot kills. Worked real well on Fallow Deer in NZ recently. Wouldn't hesitate to take a Red Stag with one. Unless your daughter is extremely petite, recoil is not a problem with the 240.

I shot a .243 superrockchucker.(a 6mm-06 with a 25 deg shoulder) for a while and the recoil was quite mild....much like a .243 or .25-06...

That said, in the few years I owned it I never saw it better any other 6mm.....the .243 Win kept up with it nicely....and I considered the .257 Roberts a better deer round....

One can get a .240 WBY if he wants.....they do shoot flat.....but to say it's CLEARLY better than a .243 is not justified in my eyes.

One reason I want to get the 240 is I have to share the gun on backpacking deer trips. A loaded pack with a rifle is a little too much for her right now. The Browning is just too big/heavy and I hate the trigger on it. Plus it’s a reason to buy a long range antelope gun without the wife catching on. If my daughter can’t shoot it, I’ll be in trouble.

I have a 240Wby in the Accumark model and it shoots great with 100gr Sierra's. I would think the recoil would be very similar to the 243. I shoot a lot of big bores so the recoil on the 240 is hardly noticeable to me.

CA, look here:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

According to this recoil energy is 8lb 240 is more than a 8lb 270. But of course there's a lot more to perceived recoil than that. You could also try a muzzle brake, or a can if it's legal where you are.

CA I apologise as I'm going to ask a question and I don't want to highjack this thread.

Tim, what bullet did you use for the African animals? What was the range. Just interested, considering a hot 6mm myself.

Thanks.

There is no particular advantage to the .240 over a .243. You might pick up 100-150 FPS, loaded to equal pressures, but that will be at the expense of some extra muzzle blast and great deal more expensive brass. The fit/contours of the stock will have a great deal more to do with felt recoil than the small difference in the two cartridges.

If her current rifle is too heavy and has a poor trigger, then concentrate on finding a more appropriate rifle, not on a different caliber.

When I was a teen several of my friends shot the 240 bee. They never complained about the recoil. I think it would be a great choice for anything up to deersized game for your daughter. Make sure it has a good recoil pad on it, and take her hunting.

For what it's worth, I have a couple of 240's, a couple of 6x284's, and four or five 243's. I am currently putting together a 6mm Remington. There is not a whole lot of difference between any of them. The 240 WM is not freebored to the extent the others are, so it is pretty much a case capacity issue. The 240 does have more than the 243, slightly more than the 6mm and about the same as the 284. In real life, most reloaders will only see 100-150 difference between all of these.

The ChuckHawk data is not very representative, in my opinion, since it lists data for the other 6mm's at reasonable average levels, but the 240 at the max "internet" loading that is not obtained by most prudent reloaders. At any given comfort level, there is just not that much spread among these. Slow the 240 down to 3100, and the numbers are similar to the others. Your daughter will see a lot more difference going fro a heavy BAR to a lighter bolt, both in 243, than she would between a 243 and a 240, both in similar rifles.

Having used both, a 243 and a 240 wthby on a pile of feral goats in australia, I did see more thump to the 240. That said, some goats would drop on the spot and some would run with either round. both were loaded with the same 90 grn bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by theback40:
Having used both, a 243 and a 240 wthby on a pile of feral goats in australia, I did see more thump to the 240. That said, some goats would drop on the spot and some would run with either round. both were loaded with the same 90 grn bullets.

Unless you had a way to measure the velocity of each it's difficult to derive much from this observation.

quote:

Unless you had a way to measure the velocity of each it's difficult to derive much from this observation.

As in a chrony?? Yes, the 240 had a little over 250 fps advantage in vel. That was a 22" barrel for the 243 and a 26" for the 240 to be fair.

Thanks for the help. I’m thinking she will get a new 240 for her birthday. Going back and forth between the 240, 257 and a 7-08 I’m thinking the 240 will be best for me......I mean her........

Go with the 257 Weatherby.

I have a daughter that is 14 now, but has been shooting a 240 for 3 years. She was about 5' tall and 85 pounds when she first started shooting it and she can put 3 holes in a quarter at 100 yards most days. That rifle is a Mark V ultra light. Her go to rifle now is a 700 titanium in 260 Rem. She says the 260 slaps a little harder, but she likes the 22" barrel and overall smaller rifle. We sometimes have to walk alot hunting out west, and the weight of the gun is usually more daunting than the recoil. My daughter is athletic and we backpack in the summer, but a 9 pound rig will kick her ass within a mile. Her 260 tips the scale loaded with 4 and scoped at 7lbs. and it is easy to carry. All that said, you will notice a diffrence on game with the heavier bullets in the 240 and I bet your daughter will love it! Oh, and with Barnes 85gr TSXs and IMR4831 it is a laserbeam!

I have a custom 240 WBY. It's a Rem 700 30-06 factory gun with a new barrel and other accurizing adds.
Mine has a 26" barreel which allows it to exceed a 243 by 200 fps.
This gun has been used very successfully on coyotes, antelope and one mule deer.
Other than the cost of brass, I think it is a terrific cartridge, and noticeable better than the 243.

Can I input my 2c from here in Britain?

I don't see ANY benefit of the 240 Weatherby over either the 243 Winchester or the preferred choice I'd make of 6mm Remington.

Indeed there are just two many negative points about the 240 Weatherby that I'd discount it as a reasoned choice.

These are:

Expensive factory ammunition.
Hard to find ammunition or components.
Poor re-sale value if you ever wanted to sell it.
Uses components not made in USA and probably the rifle isn't "Made in USA" either.



Expensive reloading dies - compare with used 243 or 6mm bought off eBay etc.
Uses a lot more powder for little gain and, if for a young girl, that gain equals not only more powder but more recoil.
Difficult I'd believe to load light loads (say 2,600 to 2,900 fps) for with "issues" of excess case capacity.

However if it is specifically a WEATHERBY RIFLE IN 6mm BORE then it may be that the 240 Weatherby is all that you have as a choice.

But if you are indifferent as to the make of rifle then I'd have to say that I'd consider 243 Winchester or 6mm Remington ONLY in that 6mm bore size.

The other possible advantage is that on say a Reminton 700 you can simply buy a (cheap) used stock and have that cut-down to her current stature and then re-fit the longer new factory stock when she "grows on" as it were?

A "better" solution that can "grow" with your daughter might be 257 Roberts? Light 87 or 100 grain bullets now with 117 grain bullets later?

The Brits may have the Beetles, but they don't compare to Roy. The 240 actually has alot to offer. It IS faster and still easy to shoot. It does burn more powder, but the 243 burns more than the 6x47 too. Midway has more brass than you can store, resale on Weatherby rifles in 240 is actually very good if you don't trade it at Bob's country Bunker, and best of all...It is sooo cool! Every kid on the block starts with a 243. She may not shoot but a month or two a year, but cool lasts 24/7/365. Also there is really no need to grow in bore size and bullet weight for deer. If a 240 will kill em when she's 14, it will keep killin till she's 60. If she heads off for elk or kudu she'll want more than a 120 from an old Bob. But then I wasn't blessed with the practicallity gene.

Here is a formula for recoil factor. It doesn't give pounds--just a comparison, which is what you asked for. Bullet weight(in grains)+powder charge(in grains)X muzzle velocity (in fps)divided by 3500 (constant) divided by rifle weight in pounds. I don't see the velocity gain of the .24oWBy over a .243 as being worth it. If it aint broke don't fix it--she's shooting a .243 and game wont know the difference.

quote:

The Brits may have the Beetles, but they don't compare to Roy. The 240 actually has alot to offer.

Nah!

The 240 Roy is actually a complete "knock off" copy of our Brit 240 Holland and Holland but just with that trademark Weatherby "double radius" shoulder.

Now if you want a REAL Brit powerhouse 240 then try out 244 Holland and Holland Magnum. That is the 375 H & H necked down to 6mm.

And it actually was a piece of crap in many ways! But it did give a nominal 3,500fps with a 100 grain 6mm bullet.

Now Holland and Holland aren't stupod and the reality is that whilst they will still build you a 240 H & H or a 244 Magnum they list as "stock"...yes...243 Winchester!

quote:

Originally posted by ARWL:
CA, look here:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

According to this recoil energy is 8lb 240 is more than a 8lb 270. But of course there's a lot more to perceived recoil than that. You could also try a muzzle brake, or a can if it's legal where you are.

CA I apologise as I'm going to ask a question and I don't want to highjack this thread.

Tim, what bullet did you use for the African animals? What was the range. Just interested, considering a hot 6mm myself.

Thanks.

80 Grain Barnes TSX

Sorry, The shootign distance varied between 50 to 200 yds.

Thanks Tim.

quote:

The 240 Roy is actually a complete "knock off"

The 240 H&H actually has quite a bit more taper, hence less capacity the the Roy version.
Back when I was young and foolish ( as opposed to old and foolish) I had a batch of the H&H brass I fireformed into wthby.

quote:

Originally posted by theback40:

quote:

The 240 Roy is actually a complete "knock off"

The 240 H&H actually has quite a bit more taper, hence less capacity the the Roy version.
Back when I was young and foolish ( as opposed to old and foolish) I had a batch of the H&H brass I fireformed into wthby.

Just the sort of info I was looking for! It is surprising how many folk think that the 240 Weatherby was something new and don't realise it is a "knock off" (with less taper etc and the double radius shoulder) of the 240 H & H.

But at least I suppose Roy Weatherby at least had the sense to use a 243 and not 245 diameter bullet!

Would those fireformed cases not size back with care in 240 H & H dies?

In the 1970s they, boxer 240 H & H, were being "cleared out" by one of the "jobber" gun shops her - Fred Carr of Pudsey - at about £4 per 100!

quote:

Would those fireformed cases not size back with care in 240 H & H dies?

I dont see why they wouldnt have, but alas, they are long used up. It was good brass though.
The easy way for either the H&H or wthby version is a belting die from C&H and make all you want from 06 based brass.

INMHO the 240WBY is head and shoulders above the 243win and has more energy than the 257bob.
I have hunted with the 243win since 1970 so I think I can be objective about the two. Your daughter will handle the slight increase of recoil with no problem, just as long as you are willing to pay for the difference it is a fantastic cartridge. It may be the best pronghorn cartridge of all.

quote:

Just the sort of info I was looking for! It is surprising how many folk think that the 240 Weatherby was something new and don't realise it is a "knock off" (with less taper etc and the double radius shoulder) of the 240 H & H.

The Roy round is differnt case head diameter. The .240 uses the large .513 magnum case head, the Roy version uses a .473 belted head case.