.300 Weatherby help

[Amon458]

I am booking my first safari to Africa and the largest animal I will be hunting is a kudu while the smallest will be an impala. I know the 300Wby isnt liked but unless I buy another rifle it is what I have available. What bullet would the more experianced people here recommend? 180gr Partitions maybe?

 

[Grumulkin]

Who told you the 300 Weatherby isn't liked and who cares if it isn't; it's your safari. I took one on my last safari and it was liked just fine. I took a truckload of stuff (a bakke full) with it.

My go to load uses 200 grain Accubonds.

 

[K-man]

I think the "dislike" over the weatherby came from the failure of the bullets used 20, 30 years ago. Check with your P.H. but the newer constructed bullets today give great performance. I wouldn't worry about the caliber but just about shot placement.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I think the .300 Wby developed a bad reputation amongs some PH's / Outfitters when hunters showed up just recently having bought them. Because they were just recently bought or perhaps rarely shot, the hunter was not used to the recoil, and were flinching at it. Now you've got a bullet traveling at that super speed but not being placed in the vitals. Lots of long follow ups versus hunting for the next critter is not what a PH wants to be doing.

But if you're used to yours and can shoot it well, have at it. 180 / 200 gr A-Frame / North Fork / Barnes TTSX would be my choice.

 

[enysse]

The 300 Weatherby is a fine caliber, if you shoot it well. It's more than enough for game up to eland.

 

[Divernhunter]

Swift A-Frame bullets. 165gr would be my choice but 180 will also be fine.
I like them better than Nosler PAR which I use also. Being bonded they hold together and give a larger mushroom than the PAR bullet.

My daughter and I used them on our SA hunt and they worked great with all one shot kills with little to no tracking.

 

[flatwater bill]

Amon ....Since you are hunting impala I suspect you are off to RSA. A huge country with many different biomes for hunting: from short range dense scrub to wide open areas for long shots. It would be difficult to find fault with a 300Wby for this destination.
Since you ask about bullets, I assume you are a handloader.
I have owned two 300 Wby's over the years, and love the caliber. It was difficult for me to reload this cartridge, though. The rifles have been made in at least 3 countries with varying degrees of freebore, and with two twist rates. My guns were quite different from one another. I initially mixed up the brass, and thus caused most of my own problems.
It took quite a while to find an accurate load for my rifles, and I think your challenge may be finding a bullet that your rifle shoots well. I did my best shooting with a relatively short 200 grain bullet (Speer Grand Slam)
Kudu are big. I have only seen one weighed before field dressing. It was weighed because it was unusually large. 402kg (889lbs). I would guess 650 lbs a more common weight for a bull. The 300 is plenty of gun. Oryx and zebra, although a little smaller, are the really tough targets.
Anyway, experimenting around with various loads means lots of shooting, and that means lots of practice. That's what is really needed with any rifle with 50 ft lbs of free recoil.
Best of luck.....................FWB

 

[Velo Dog]

Amon458,

I'm one of the characters who does not care for super high chamber pressure cartridges, such as the Weatherby line.

However, it's mostly because I'm a recoil wimp, they just kick too bloody fast.

After that, I do not care for all that meat loss from excessive velocity impacts, and there are other reasons as well but, no doubt I have whined enough already so, I will stop.

That being said, there are some fantastic bullets available these days which, reportedly hold together incredibly well, even with unnecessarily high velocity impacts.

So, my 2 pennies worth is that, if for some reason I was bringing a .300 Wby to Africa, I'd definitely want it loaded with the heaviest Swift A-Frame bullet that my particular rifle shot accurately.

Hopefully that would be the 220 grain (if such is even available in the A-Frame) or the 200 gr A-frame (I know Swift does make a 200 gr A-Frame in .30 caliber).

Even though I do not care for the .300 Weatherby, I know that if you load it with a high sectional density/tough bullet and you shoot it straight, your critters will be in the salt before you can twitch and holler howdy.

We will look forward to your report on it all.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

PS:
You're gonna turn a double back flip when you see Africa.

 

[redriver]

I have shot many animals from steenbuck up to a 1000# elk with mine, no complaints here, I have a few Weatherby guns and they are all
quality firearms, I only use 200gr swift A-frames in my .300

 

[Amon458]

Yes i handload. I was worried anything bigger than 180gr would be way to much for impala. As far as recoil goes IMO it kicks like a kitty compared to both my shotguns 45-70 and 458 lott

 

[James.Grage]

the 300 Weatherby will smack them just fine...

180 gr are a great choice...

I am sure the animals will die just the same as if shot by some other rounds...

 

[buffybr]

I think the .300 Wby developed a bad reputation amongs some PH's / Outfitters when hunters showed up just recently having bought them. Because they were just recently bought or perhaps rarely shot, the hunter was not used to the recoil, and were flinching at it. Now you've got a bullet traveling at that super speed but not being placed in the vitals. Lots of long follow ups versus hunting for the next critter is not what a PH wants to be doing...

I think Phil is right on here. Too many newby hunters with flashy new Weatherby rifles that they either were afraid to shoot and/or hadn't shot much, and especially years ago, with bullets that wouldn't hold up to Weatherby velocities.

After 40 years of admiring Weatherby rifles, in 2009 I finally bought a .300 Weatherby Vanguard. I took it on a PG hunt in South Africa in 2012 and it made one shot kills on all of my animals from a Klipspringer at 314 yards to a beautiful Sable bull. My handloaded 168 grain Barnes TTSX bullets also performed perfectly.

Last March I took my .300 Weatherby to New Zealand where again the 168 grain TTSX bullets made one shot kills on 4 of the animals that I shot there, including a great Red Deer stag.

I've also used my .300 Wby to make one shot kills on two Montana bull elk and a reportably hard to kill west Texas Aoudad, also with 168 gr TSX and TTSX bullets.

When I bought my .300 Wby, I immediately put it in a custom stock that fits me, had a KDF muzzle brake installed on it, and put a mechanical recoil reducer in its stock. Its recoil doesn't feel any harder that the recoil from my .308 Win. For the past year or so, I have shot my .300 Wby almost every week at our local range--5 shots standing or sitting at a 100 yard gong, and 4 shots prone at the 430 yard gong.

For over 20 years, my favorite elk bullet was the 180 grain Nosler Partition at .300 Win velocities. The bullets that I recovered had all expanded back to the partitions, shed the lead from the front portion of the bullet, and weighed about 100 grains, or had retained about 56% of their original weight. I have only recovered 6 TSX or TTSX bullets from the animals that I shot with them. All of these bullets had expanded to look like the mushroomed bullets in the Barnes advertisements. Two of the TTSX bullets had only lost their plastic tips for a retained weight of 99% and two of the TSX bullets had a retained weight of 100%. The other two bullets had hit shoulder/upper leg bones and had lost one and two petals, but still retained over 85% of their original weight. This is why you can go down one or two bullet weights with Barnes bullets -- you still get great penetration and will have a high retained bullet weight.

Most of the animals that I have shot with the TSX/TTSX bullets from my .300 Weatherby resulted in complete pass throughs, including one of the bull elk, the Sable, and the Red Stag. If you use these bullets, make sure there is not another animal behind the one you are shooting at.

My only regret with my .300 Weatherby is that I didn't buy it 40 years ago. It has quickly become my favorite rifle.

 

[Grumulkin]

Yes i handload. I was worried anything bigger than 180gr would be way to much for impala. As far as recoil goes IMO it kicks like a kitty compared to both my shotguns 45-70 and 458 lott

What many don't understand is that a heavier bullet doesn't mean way too much. Heavier bullets hold together better and do less meat damage than a lighter one. I've shot several smaller animals including an impala with 270 and 300 gr. bullets out of a 375 H&H Magnum. It was very effective but not "way too much" as judged by damage to meat and hide.

I tried various bullet weights in my 300 Weatherby Magnum. I have two loads that do very well; one with 168 gr. Berger VLDs with which I took out 4 Pronghorn Antelopes and a couple of Whitetails and 200 gr. Nosler Accubonds which I used on Impala, a multitude of Springbok, etc. I'm much more concerned with accuracy than about bullet weight.

It's said that shots in South Africa are usually less than 100 yards. That's many times true but I used my 300 Weatherby to put down a Gemsbok at about 400 yards.

My 300 Weatherby has about a 25.5 inch barrel. My Encore 300 Win. Mag. has a 28 inch barrel and guess what. With 200 gr. Nosler Accubonds muzzle velocity for my optimal accuracy load in both comes out to 2,850 fps. Surprisingly, no one is bitching about 300 Win. Mag. velocity or even hating it.

 

[billc]

I would vote for the 200 grain aframe.They will do a great job on everything you want to take.Yes it maybe alittle big for the impala but perfect for kudu and wildbeast.It worked great on eland this year for me.
Also have had some good luck with the 180 grain ttsx.That should also work on everything you want.I shot those both out of my 300 win mag but cant see why they would not work in a 300 bee though

 

[buffybr]

What many don't understand is that a heavier bullet doesn't mean way too much. Heavier bullets hold together better and do less meat damage than a lighter one. I've shot several smaller animals including an impala with 270 and 300 gr. bullets out of a 375 H&H Magnum. It was very effective but not "way too much" as judged by damage to meat and hide...

Yes, on previous African hunts I shot bushbucks, steenboks, a Vaal Rhebok, a black springbok, and a jackal with 270 and 300 grain TSX bullets from my .375 Ultra mag. When hit in the middle of the body, the meat and hide damage wasn't too bad, but hits within 3-4" from the edge of the body made fist or larger size exit holes.

IMO accuracy trumps everything else, and a lighter bullet will have a flatter trajectory which will mean less holdover at longer ranges. My 168 grain TTSX load for my .300 Weatherby chronographs 3250 fps muzzle velocity and produces 3940 fp of muzzle energy. Sighted in 2.5" high at 100 yards that gives me a +/- 3" point blank range out to 330 yards, and only drops 10" at 400 yards which isn't as far as I practice but is farther than I've ever shot an animal.

Animals that I've shot with 168 grain TSX/TTSX bullets from my .300 Bee had very little meat loss, unless the bullet hit a bone.

 

[Saul]

I actually think that the .300 wby is an amazing caliber and I will be taking mine to africa for sure (mainly because it belonged to my grandfather). Besides the sentimental value of this gun, it has taken every animal I have ever used it on. I really like the 180 grain Nosler Accubond loads from Weatherby.

 

[Geoclarkclark]

The .300 Weatherby is a fantastic round for African plains game hunting! On my first safari, I took along 200 gr. Swift A-Frame bullet ammo, and it worked perfectly on everything, up to and including Hartmann's Mtn. Zebra.
If I were to go back with this rifle, it would be with Barnes 165 gr. TSX bullets- flatter, less recoil, reliable expansion with no bullet weight loss. Plus it is a very accurate bullet in my rifle.

 

[EPD1072]

As mentioned before I think the dislike is from hunters going over with brand new rifles and not being able to shoot them properly due to inexperience. I went over in 2013 with my 300 Wby Mark V. I was fortunate to take kudu, impala, gemsbok, blesbok, and eland with it. I used 180 grain TSX and they performed very well. The 300 Wby was fine and the PH's had no issue with it. They actually liked my rifle very much. The 300 Wby will serve you well as long as you are comfortable shooting it.

 

[Code4]

Kudu aren't that tough and a .308W with premiums has been known to pass through an Impala so no need for 'mega' projectiles.

Use the projectile that is MOST ACCURATE in your rifle. Practise and you will do fine. The .300 Roy most definantly has a place in Africa.

 

[glh]

The .300 Wby. is an excellent choice for PG.Used one in 2013 RSA for zebra,kudu and warthog,absolutely devastating performance with the 220 gr Nosler Partition loaded at a leisurely 2850 fps with RL 25.Gun used was an original Win. 70 in .300 WBY but had a custom PacNor 26" barrel and ltw stock,Zeiss 3-9 scope that resulted in a field ready weight of 8 lb.Granted recoil is lively but be a man and get used to it!Very much over gunned for the kudu and warthog but when the zebra, standing 150 yd. distant, turned to depart just as the shot broke, glad I had what I had.This combination penetrated 3' of the upper rib cage on an angling shot and was amazed that the animal made it 125 yd. before expiring.
Trajectory when zeroed at 200 yd. is absolutely suitable and one shot kills are common when placed properly.Have also been experimenting with the Barnes 175 gr. long range bullet and think it would do very well.