I have an old FN Weatherby in .300 Weatherby and I would like to rebarrel it to .375 H&H. Are the feed rails too wide on the magazine well? Do I have to go with a .375 Weatherby with the same blown out shoulder, or will the H&H version reliably work?

If I had an FN Weatherby, it would be a collectible. They're beautiful, old and only marginally up to the thrust of the .300 Weatherby. Why not put it in the rack and pick a newer long-action for the .375 project. I did my .416 Rem on a used Weatherby Mark V action which was very reasonably priced because it wore a synthetic stock. I'm very happy with the outcome and it could have been a .375 just as well.

slancey,
You could do it as the .375H&H and .300Wby. are about the same length.

However, Patrick is right. That rifle is more valuable than a German- or Japanese-made Weatherby rifle.

You may want to check out this site, to get an idea of what your rifle may be worth:
http://www.weatherbycollectors.com

The money you get from the sale of your rifle may more than cover the cost of BOTH a .300Wby and a .375H&H.

George

------------------
Shoot straight, shoot often, but by all means, use enough gun!

I understand the concern about altering an original FN Weatherby, but I suspect from your description of your gun as "old" that it's not in super good condition. If that's the case and there is little collector value there, then you may wish to go ahead and rebarrel to the caliber of your choice.

As to the feed rails, there is a simple answer: Just load the magazine full of .375 H & H cartridges and see how they are retained. You can test feed them without the need of fully closing the bolt.

Good luck.

It is normally only a matter of rebarreling and it will work most of the time for a 375 and a 416...

The std. FN action action was never intended for a 300 Wby, 7 STW and such ilk, it was not designed for those cartridges and many developed headspace. they don't handle the 300 Wby and hi intensity actions very well, however if they are totally openned up in the rear then one can get by with it but only if properly done and loaded with a degree of intelligence...

I would consider that conversion a move in the right direction and the action will handle the 375 H&H pressures from now on...

------------------
Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Well, I sure do appreciate the responses, as you all have given very credible rationale. I think I'll be leaving it .300 Mag until the barrel burns out. It's an old gun, but was recently professionsally refinished to better than new condition, so the collector's value is questionable, but it's too darn nice to sell. I think I would rather have a heavier gun for .375 anyway, as this Weatherby is about 7 1/2 pounds with scope. Thanks to all your input, I'll be using another action for the .375. Any ideas, other than Mark V?

If it were me I'd just buy a new Model 70 Winchester in 375.Have it tuned up and it should do fine. Very nice rifle also.If you are bent on going custom,and if you have the bucks, go for a Dakota action, or a complete rifle?