340 Weatherby Mag

[Luvthunt]

I took a 340 wby and a 300 wby on my first two African hunts. Shot the 225 Nosler Part. In the 340 and the 200 gr Swift AFrame in the 300.Alternating between the two on a daily basis. These hunts were in the mid 90s so various animals were available in Namibia and then Zim. The 340 and the Partitions definitely were very effective. That is not to say the 300 with Aframes did a bad job but most animals went a little farther then the animals hit with the Partitions out of the 340.
My DG hunts after that I used the 340 and a 375 HH and lastly the 340 and a 458 Lott. Several PH remarked about the 340 and its DRT effectiveness.
Recoil seems to be the greatest issue as to the greater Use of the 340.

 

[BeeMaa]

The 340WBY cartridge is certainly up to the task you have outlined but the reason it’s not as popular can be traced to two factors that I’ve seen over the years.

First is separating the 340WBY from a Weatherby rifle. The cartridge is great but more often than not the Weatherby rifle was braked and the stock had horrible shooting ergonomics. Put the cartridge in a CZ550 like @One Day... did and it’s a completely different story.

Second reason is ammo availability in the places you intend to hunt. Remote camps in Alaska and Africa are not likely to have 340WBY laying around. Finding it in a local store could be just as bad. Travel enough with rifles and you will eventually have your luggage lost. No ammo is a bummer.

Ballistics are ballistics and the 340WBY is a great one but it’s been shown over and over again that the speed that Roy attained with his cartridges is often times not needed. The 338WM, 35W and 375H&H along with the 8mm’s I’ve missed (all of which move slower than the WBY) have been getting the job done quite well for a very long time. Combine that with ammo availability and the 340 gets left behind.

EDIT - Welcome to AH. Apologies for not starting with that.

 

[TX_GreatPlains]

The 340WBY cartridge is certainly up to the task you have outlined but the reason it’s not as popular can be traced to two factors that I’ve seen over the years.

First is separating the 340WBY from a Weatherby rifle. The cartridge is great but more often than not the Weatherby rifle was braked and the stock had horrible shooting ergonomics. Put the cartridge in a CZ550 like @One Day... did and it’s a completely different story.

Second reason is ammo availability in the places you intend to hunt. Remote camps in Alaska and Africa are not likely to have 340WBY laying around. Finding it in a local store could be just as bad. Travel enough with rifles and you will eventually have your luggage lost. No ammo is a bummer.

Ballistics are ballistics and the 340WBY is a great one but it’s been shown over and over again that the speed that Roy attained with his cartridges is often times not needed. The 338WM, 35W and 375H&H along with the 8mm’s I’ve missed (all of which move slower than the WBY) have been getting the job done quite well for a very long time. Combine that with ammo availability and the 340 gets left behind.

Very good points. I can’t deny the ergo’s of my Mark V deluxes are pretty lacking. Also I prefer a Mauser type action. Thank you for your input!

 

[RR 314]

My daughter's favorite gun when it comes to killing is an Ed Brown .340 without a brake. She just turned 14 and has shot it the last couple years. Granted, it is a heavier rifle, but recoil is a non-issue. I really like the cartridge and think it is great for many applications.

 

[grand veneur]

Very good points. I can’t deny the ergo’s of my Mark V deluxes are pretty lacking. Also I prefer a Mauser type action. Thank you for your input!

The advertising from Weatherby in the late sixties and early seventies was very well done. We were all impressed by the quality of the Mark V rifles. Back then my dream was a rifle Mark V Europa caliber 300 Weatherby Magnum. For many reasons I have never purchased such a rifle and the only one rifle Mark V I have shot with in my life was that caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum from a PH. I was immediately enthusiastic about the cartridge and was lucky enough to be able to purchase a little bit later a used rifle of this caliber built with a Brevex Magnum Mauser action. My rifle caliber 340 Weatherby Magnum was also built with an FN Mauser system. The interesting thing is that I own almost replicas of Roy Weatherby original rifles built in the early days for his cartridges with FN Mauser and Brevex Mauser actions. The stocks were a little bit different, rather like those of the Mark V rifles.

 

[One Day...]

... I was immediately enthusiastic about the cartridge and was lucky enough to be able to purchase a little bit later a used rifle of this caliber built with a Brevex Magnum Mauser action. My rifle caliber 340 Weatherby Magnum was also built with an FN Mauser system. The interesting thing is that I own almost replicas of Roy Weatherby original rifles built in the early days for his cartridges with FN Mauser and Brevex Mauser actions.

These must be very nice rifles indeed

Truth be told, if Blaser produced a .340 barrel, I would likely get it, although in truth too, it would not really do anything more than their .300 Wby barrel does, delivering massive killing power at range, or up close.

One of my rare - very rare indeed - 500 yards shot (513 yards laser ranged to be specific) flattened this truly great Eastern Cape Kudu with the .300 Wby 165 gr TTSX factory load at last light...

And the same .300 Wby load also flattened this very nice Kalahari Southern Greater Kudu at 150 yards...

Not sure the .340 would have done better. The recent revolution in bullet technology truly up-gunned the .300...

I am not sure one can beat the .300 Wby / .257 Wby combo for a PG hunt, and shooting them in the R8 removes most of the Weatherby stigma in Africa

 

[BeeMaa]

257WBY - I love a 6.5mm that identifies as a quarter bore.

If I really NEEDED a caliber below .300, that's the one I'd be getting. Too many other pursuits at the moment.

Might have to gift it to my wife...

 

[TX_GreatPlains]

I sincerely thank all those who took the time to share your knowledge on this thread. I gained some really good insight and new things to consider.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Locally speaking my small home town perspective....

Being a youngster at the time, Weatherby was the top of the line in firearms. Beautiful rifles with a beautiful (expensive) price. Meaning for the price for a Weatherby a person could buy a Remington or Winchester rifle and a Savage, Mossberg, or any one of a dozen other brands of shotguns and 2 years (hunting seasons) supply of ammunition for both.

Another draw back back then was the additional cost for Weatherby specific caliber ammunition. Few and far between gun shops carried Weatherby caliber ammunition. Unlike the it didn't matter if a person own a Remington, Winchester, Savage, Sears and Roebuck, etc. rifle, the ammunition was interchangeable, available at just about every hardware and mom and pop country stores and the Remington, Winchester, or other factory ammunition was cheaper.

Back then just about every hunter dreamt of wanting to own a Weatherby rifle just for the prestige of saying they owned a Weatherby. And for those few that could figure out a budget to purchase a Weatherby seldom hunted with it unless the Weatherby was chambered for the more common Remington and Winchester calibers.

A couple or so years ago a relatively speaking (5 hour drive from me) an AH member offered up a 340 Weatherby for sale. I purchased from him thus finally satisfying my long time desires to own a Weatherby in a Weatherby caliber. The 340 uses a 338 diameter bullet, which checks another box of owning a 338 caliber.

Since the 340 is sort of a big bore it falls in with my 458WM and 375H&H in the cartridge gun range line up, which on occasions may also include 50 cal and 10-11 gauge muzzleloaders or a couple of small calibers 22's or (1 to 3) 30-06s or 12 gauge slug gun for a day at the range. All firearms are shot in a rotation of 4 or 5 shot strings. Warming up with the smallest caliber progressing to the largest caliber I can get a feel for each rifles recoil. On those range days where I just gotta start with the biggest caliber and digress down I don't really feel or notice any other rifle's recoil after firing 4 or 5 rounds from the 458WM. Well, Okay, I may not even really feel or notice the 458WM's recoil when I start with the 10 gauge double barrel muzzleloader.

IMO:
The Good: the 340 Weatherby falls somewhere between 338WM and 338 Lapua. For hunting NA biggest game ie. elk, moose, and bears it's definitely a step up from the 30-06. The Weatherby (Vangaurd) is still a beautiful rifle for a factory produced rifle.

The Bad: Still not a caliber that can be found in remote mom and pop rural general stores. But that's true for many other calibers here in NA like various 375s, 458 WM and Lott, and with exception of 45-70 any caliber starting with a 4 and bigger. Then there is the noticeable recoil if one is not use to shooting the bigger magnum calibers.

Note: traveling abroad with any North American caliber other than the most common popular calibers 223, 5.56, 308, and 30-06 one could have trouble locating and purchasing ammo.

So, Why not a 340 Weatherby? Contrary to the many popular opinions that one certain caliber can do it all ie. 30-06, 375, etc. if one caliber could do it all for hunting (and still have meat for the table) and for general shooting (short, intermediate, long ranges) using one caliber all the time would become very boring.

As for the asthectics or ergonomics of Weatherby rifles; Well...same can be side for all manufactured firearms...it is a matter of what fits the individual best. What fits, feels, swings, aims on shouldering, etc. for one person doesn't mean it will be the same for another individual.

 

[JimP]

I got hooked on the .340 Weatherby back in the mid 60's when it was considered a wildcat with shooters just necking up their 300 Weatherby cases to .338 and stuffing some powder into it. The ballistics of the round really got my interest up when I saw what it could do with a 250 grain bullet compared to a 7mm or .30 caliber round.

I had the chance to pick up a couple over the years with a friend beating me to a classic Mark V before I had a chance to pick it up. A couple of years later I was in a gun shop when I saw just what I wanted. A .340 Weatherby Mark V with a fiberglass stock in stainless steel. A added factor was that it was made here in the USA shortly after Weatherby moved their manufacturing back here. As a plus it had a muzzle brake that was removable.

I had that rifle for a number of years before I even shot it. I was looking to the right scope and found a Leopold VX3 3.5-10x40, I ordered the scope up and had it mounted the same day that I received it. I found some ammo on Cabela's site and ordered 4 boxes of ammo. 2 of the 200 grain Hornady and 2 of the 250 grain Hornady ammo. Then one day I was talking to Randy Brooks of Barnes bullets and he handed me a box of Weatherby ammo loaded with the 225 grain Barnes X bullet, he asked me to try them out and let him know how I liked them.

I took those 225 grain Barnes X bullets out to a range and tried them out. The first three shots at 100 yards cut a cloverleaf into the target. I had tried the 200 and 250 grain Hornady bullet but couldn't get a grouping like that. I stretched out the range to 250 yards and those X bullets were still within a 1/2 of each other, I had found my bullet and loading.

Being as cheap as I am and not wanting to spend $100 on a box of ammo I set up my chronograph to see how fast those X bullets were traveling. If I remember right they were just over 3000 fps. I then grabbed my loading manuals and went through them. Barnes had a load using 4831 that I tried but I was getting pressure signs so I went back to the books. I found a powder that listed a top load of around 3100 fps, I decided on a load for 3000 fps and loaded them up. At the 250 foot range 5 shots went into 1/2" with zero pressure signs. I had my loading. I did switch up to the 225 grain TTSX from Barnes but all else was the same.

If I am punching targets I'll place that muzzle brake onto the barrel, other than that there is a thread protector on the barrel. I can shoot it around 10 times before my shoulder lets me know that it has had enough, this is without the brake. With the brake I can shoot it all day long.

On my first safari I took the .340. When we went down to the range and I pulled it out with the brake on it my PH and the others just rolled their eyes. I took 3 shots from the bench and all were where they were suppose to be. I then took the brake off and placed the thread protector onto the barrel. My PH later thanked me for doing that. I hunted the hunt without the brake, I have never felt any recoil when shooting at a animal, thank you adrenaline.

In the end that rifle is my go to elk rifle. I have taken several elk and a number of mule deer with it, along with 20 or so South African Plains game, only a couple have needed more than one shot. But then I have the idea that if the animal is still standing that I need to keep shooting. Fewer tracking jobs that way.

As for ammo, I don't depend on a local store. On both of my trips to South Africa I have taken 60 rounds, bringing more than half back each time. I load my own and have sufficient powder, primers, and bullets to last me for quite a while on top of 3 boxes of factory ammo that I first purchased.

 

[HerbJohnson]

On the 340 Weatherby. It hurts to shoot. Hurt equal's flinch. BAD. I had Answer Products install a recoil reduction system on my customized 340 Bee. Synthetic stock, barrel cryogenically treated for accuracy. ETC. P.S... Mark 5 action. Deadly accurate, recoil of a 270. VERY loud. Only complaint. I use swift A-Frames custom loaded 250 grain. All one shot kills on Greater Kudu, Gemsbok, Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, and Ostrich. I would use it confidently on my upcoming Cape Buffalo hunt but you know why I can't. Awesome caliber. Will use it on my next USA hunt for elk. Shot a cow elk with it at 70 yards. Frontal chest shot. She took one step backwards on bullet impact, then fell over dead. Swift A-frame 250 gr.. exited a rear hindquarter. A recoil suppression system is tantamount with a 340 Bee. Use excellent hearing protection and hunt with this outstanding caliber.

 

[wolfhunter]

your 340 wby will work great my hunting buddy and I were in AK. spring bear he was using a 340 wby 250 gr. I had a330 dakota I hand load 225gr. swift both one shot kills.as long as you have plenty of amo be happy shoot that 340

 

[IvW]

200gr out of a handloaded 300 H&H will be -4.2" at 300.....better SD.....lot less recoil.....

Or a 300 WM for that matter......