378 Wheatherby Magnum, opinions please

[Von S.]

I enjoy looking at the beautiful mounts that some guys have made. Some look more real than when they were alive. I have just the horns and skulls and skins of other creatures.

My trophy has always the shot itself. That one moment when the world goes into slow motion and all is silent.

It most certainly does not matter to me what caliber or rifle anyone uses. I could care less if someone wants to March right up on an elephant with a BB gun and give him a few right between the eyes. No skin off my nose. Who knows? If you got jingle Bob's that big to do something like that it might just work.

A animal killed with a 600 OK is no less of a trophy than one shot with a 375 HH or vise versa. By the way, the 600 ok is a hoot to shoot.

 

[One Day...]

I read somewhere that "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit" said to mean that sarcasm is unkind and not very funny.

Yes, I have seen my fair share of issues with Weatherbys as well as the people who tried to use them.

Most just plain could not handle the recoil which always ends up bad for the animals being hunted as well as the rest of the hunting party(PH, game scouts, trackers..).

I did hunt with one client using a 340 Weatherby that could handle it and yes everything that he shot with it was basically DOI. However I have never seen anybody who can handle either the 378 WM or the 460 WM with any kind of competence. Yes sure there may be a few around who can handle them, I however have never seen one.

I have never said on here all Weatherby cartridges are crap neither have I said Weatherby actions are crap. What I have said is that 378 and 460 WM cartridges are both very poor choices for African DG and more so if that rifle happens to be a Weatherby rifle.

Yes I have seen Weatherby rifles go off when the bolt is closed and also seen them go off when the safety is disengaged and then the issue I had with my own Weatherby action that I elaborated on in a different post.

Sure you can ridicule me for using the wrong terminology at the time(thankfully corrected by somebody who has more knowledge than me with regards to Weatherby actions) however the fact remains that if that allen screw is loose then the rifle does not function as intended and is in fact dangerous to use.



At least it appears we agree on one point.



I was not trying to be disrespectful but when somebody makes a bold statement such as that I cannot believe it, simple as that.

Well the only way that is remotely possible I guess is if you have hunted very few animals in that 67 years otherwise it is still my opinion that it is:


If that is taken as disrespectful, ask admin to remove the smiley!



I certainly did not join this forum to boast about my hunting career, dish out PH numbers and outfits I have and still work for or post pictures of DG game I hunted with clients over the years etc.

I found this to be a very informative forum and the best one out there with regards to hunting, in particularly Africa and feel I can make a positive contribution.

I do have 44 years hunting (27 years as a Professional Hunter) as well as 23 years as a DG foot safari guide experience and I am happy to share my knowledge and personal experiences.

Yes opinions regarding topics may differ and we will never all agree that x is better than y and sometimes things may come across slightly different than exactly what is said but that all makes for interesting conversation and allows individuals to make up their own minds.

Perhaps the way I say things are a bit too straight forward to the liking of some but it is the way it is.

You can call me what you like, internet PH or whatever you fancy as a name, and you most certainly can make your own assumptions with regards to somebody you know nothing about, I have nothing to prove with regards to that, I know the extent of my hunting career and what I have and have not done.

If anything I said here offends anybody I apologise as that is not my intention. If you still feel offended you are welcome to PM me.

Thankfully the OP made an excellent choice and yes I do not like 378 WM or 460 WM rifles and I do not recommend there use on African DG.

For some of the smaller Weatherby cartridges, yes there use for them and some actually make sense.

I am currently still contemplating converting my one 375 H&H to AI which for all practical purposes is the same as a 375 WM.

All the best.

Thank you for the post @IvW, it is fair. I apologize for a bad attempt at humor, and will not shy away from admitting that 'sarcasm' is probably a fair characterization of it, hence not to my credit. My bad.

What triggered my reaction was my perception of your contempt for other folks who do not share your opinion. This is why I always try to substantiate my personal likes & dislikes with as much fact as possible, and abstain from categorical statements that tend to come across as condemnations, dismissal ... or worse.

I will share one fact that you may characterize as you wish, but that I know to be true. I am turning 60 years old in 2 months and have been hunting for more than 40 years on three continents. I do not have an exact count of how many big game animals I have shot, although I have shoe boxes-full of yellowing old pics, but it is likely several hundreds, and I have lost one wounded deer during archery season, and a number of birds (ducks, quails, etc.) over the years that I clearly hit but never recovered despite my best efforts. However, I too, to the best of my recollection, and like @Von S., have never lost an animal that I shot with a rifle, mostly through good luck I will hasten to add, and maybe (?) because I tend to 'over-gun' in both caliber, bullet weight, and bullet construction. The most recent one, a Blue Wildebeest that I shot badly due to my own fault, under-correcting for both a shot on the trot and a strong crosswind, we only recovered because of an amazing Bushman tracker named Strahli during my recent plains game hunt (https://www.africahunting.com/threa...faris-august-2018-plains-game-paradise.45017/), so I take zero credit for this, although I will go to the grave believing that the fact that it was carrying a .340 Wby 250 gr slug made it more sick and convinced it to bed faster than it would have with a .270 Win 130 gr. But the fact is that we did not lose it and to this day (again, to the best of my recollection), I have recovered everything I shot with a rifle.

I hope that you will appreciate that it takes a bit of pluck to make this statement after the treatment dished out to @Von S. but these are just the facts, and again I do not credit anything but luck. It certainly does not mean that I always made a good shot, and a number of them required follow ups, but, there it is... I therefore do not believe that it is impossible, and that others who share in this luck are dishonest or should be accused of being so... THAT is what triggered my unkind reaction.

Best
Pascal

PS: As to "thankfully corrected by somebody who has more knowledge than me with regards to Weatherby actions", I was the one, and I only did it because I thought that your post could mislead some folks and inadvertently result in unsafe conditions with the weapon.

PS2: I too contemplated for years rimming my .375 H&H into a .375 Wby, and finally decided to keep the H&H as is, and add a .416 Rigby...

PS3: I think that there is a .257 Wby in my near future. Have been trying to find one so-chambered in a Win 70 Stainless Classic, but without luck so far. Unsure whether it will be a re-barrel job on said action, or a Vanguard, or a Mark V...

 

[Von S.]

Pascal,

And with an evil Weatherby as well? Oh the shame....oh the shame. Don't you know that your.....now what did that guy call it?,,,,, Oh yeah...." Bloviation" will now put you into his, "Well you must have not went hunting much then" club

Pascal! I believe that there's quite a few guys here who are fine confident shots here who do more than "spray and pray" like some sort of half rumped brush poppers.

(Hey I figured out the smiley guy thing....Yahoo)

Way to go Pascal.

 

[Red Leg]

Pascal,

And with an evil Weatherby as well? Oh the shame....oh the shame. Don't you know that your.....now what did that guy call it?,,,,, Oh yeah...." Bloviation" will now put you into his, "Well you must have not went hunting much then" club

Pascal! I believe that there's quite a few guys here who are fine confident shots here who do more than "spray and pray" like some sort of half rumped brush poppers.

(Hey I figured out the smiley guy thing....Yahoo)

Way to go Pascal.

I am the guy noting "bloviation." Seemed more polite than BS. I also like to think I know a little bit about shooting - picked it up along the way in my line of work, in competition, and in the field. I have gotten around a bit, and like Pascal have taken at least a couple hundred head of game - probably closer to three-hundred - many of them, to be sure, culls or management animals here and in Europe. I have no way of tallying it now, but I am confident that I have taken a hundred whitetail alone (the vast majority does of course). I know relatively few others with that sort of experience (apparently Pascal is one of those). Regrettably, all the others, to include me, have a couple of stories of shots we should not have taken. I have three: a badly bow-shot whitetail which I eventually recovered days later (one reason I walked away from bow hunting), a deliberate neck shot on a wildebeest that was not fatal, and a lost roe deer cull. I am not proud of them, and I hope that I learned from each. I find it exemplary that you have never had that experience - not once - ever.

I should also note that I am not merely confident, I am absolutely certain no one on this site falls into the "spray and pray" "bush poppers" crowd - not a single person. Most of the people who contribute here take their vocation very seriously. Many have a lot of experience with DG calibers and using them on game. Perhaps you too will reach that conclusion once you have been here a bit longer. But then again, as I read this post - maybe not.

No one ever said the Weatherby was evil. I believe that I noted that in a different package, the .300 Weatherby might well be the best general purpose caliber on the planet. The OP wondered about the .378 as a first DG rifle. Those with experience with DG in Africa, suggested it was not a good starting point for a number of reasons, regardless of 150m ballistics, that still seem very valid to me. I have yet to read what exactly it is in your experience with dangerous game that tells you something different.

 

[Von S.]

Mister Leg,

Or can I just call you "Red"?

I laugh like hell at just about everything under the sun as I find humor in anything, so I got no Burr in my britches over anything anyone has written.

I have all ready posted a short list of things I have murdered with the 458 win mag as a nice fella asked me. I even included the alligator gar that met his end off the dock in Port Aransas. The list of kills was good and pretty numerous and it only entailed that one caliber.

Every year I head to Texas to go after speeders, Mulies and white tails and for them I use a 25-06. AI and a 264 WM and don't want to shoot anything closer than 400 yards and have passed up some magnificent animals at pretty close range as it's the shot that matters to me more than the animal and my joy and proof of my ability is when I face plant whatever I am shooting at.

I have extreme patience and have always been a student of my targets anatomy. My favorite spot on an eating animal is the first three vertabrea and for baldies I like the head as it never fails to immediate face plant anything. The longest I ever waited on target was about 3 hours before I dropped the sear.

I enjoy shooting baby piggies right through the coconut as I skin, brine,smoke,cook and then freeze them for future gathering at my house. Amazing how many there are in the Kingdom of Texas.

I lived in Rhodesia until it was better that I skedaddled and since then I have been back on the continent 6 times.

I have only been really scared in Africa once and the following day I blasted a hole through him that you could have thrown a football through the exit with a bullet of my design. I was singing/ humming "Men of Harlech" as I stomped my way right at him and after murdering him in mid roar I walked up on him loudly singing and kicked him right in his jingle bob's to make sure he was dead and for making my left leg shake the day before.

The most powerful long range shoulder fired weapon I ever owned fired a 1600 grain bullet and offered around 45,000 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. It now had a home in Texas and is owned by a fella who told me that shooting it is the most fun he ever had in his like with his clothes on. Oh.... it's a push feed!

I have an ex-wife in Texas and one that comes from Norway and she's meaner than a sun cooked kettle of cat piss.

I am really not a hunter as I am a precision shooter who just happened to murder animals.

I am 72 years old and do not appreciate anyone who without knowing me starts throwing dung in my .direction.

Anything else you want to know? If so then you just dance your way to a keyboard and fire away.

Did you notice I learned to use the smiley faces?


Best of luck.

 

[One Day...]

... Regrettably, all the others, to include me, have a couple of stories of shots we should not have taken. I have three: a badly bow-shot whitetail which I eventually recovered days later (one reason I walked away from bow hunting), a deliberate neck shot on a wildebeest that was not fatal, and a lost roe deer cull ...

We share the sad story of a lost bow-shot deer @Red Leg, and I want to emphasize again that I have PLENTY of "stories of shots I should not have taken," believe you me, as I think you say in Texas ;-)
It is just that I have been uncommonly lucky with the outcome of bad or unwise shots when rifle shooting, generally to no credit to me whatsoever, as I hope I stated clearly enough. And, of course, I have clean-missed my fair share, which I do not count as 'lost animals.'

I can also share that I killed an elk with a KTM 990 Adventure, and a cow with a BMW 1200 GS Adventure. Totaled both bikes (as my profoundly dismayed insurance agent can testify LOL) but walked away with nary a scratch. I guess I am just lucky when it comes to my encounters with animals, and I humbly thank the Lord for it and cross my fingers that it will continue...................

A true case of better be lucky than good.

 

[Red Leg]

Mister Leg,

Or can I just call you "Red"?

I laugh like hell at just about everything under the sun as I find humor in anything, so I got no Burr in my britches over anything anyone has written.

I have all ready posted a short list of things I have murdered with the 458 win mag as a nice fella asked me. I even included the alligator gar that met his end off the dock in Port Aransas. The list of kills was good and pretty numerous and it only entailed that one caliber.

Every year I head to Texas to go after speeders, Mulies and white tails and for them I use a 25-06. AI and a 264 WM and don't want to shoot anything closer than 400 yards and have passed up some magnificent animals at pretty close range as it's the shot that matters to me more than the animal and my joy and proof of my ability is when I face plant whatever I am shooting at.

I have extreme patience and have always been a student of my targets anatomy. My favorite spot on an eating animal is the first three vertabrea and for baldies I like the head as it never fails to immediate face plant anything. The longest I ever waited on target was about 3 hours before I dropped the sear.

I enjoy shooting baby piggies right through the coconut as I skin, brine,smoke,cook and then freeze them for future gathering at my house. Amazing how many there are in the Kingdom of Texas.

I lived in Rhodesia until it was better that I skedaddled and since then I have been back on the continent 6 times.

I have only been really scared in Africa once and the following day I blasted a hole through him that you could have thrown a football through the exit with a bullet of my design. I was singing/ humming "Men of Harlech" as I stomped my way right at him and after murdering him in mid roar I walked up on him loudly singing and kicked him right in his jingle bob's to make sure he was dead and for making my left leg shake the day before.

The most powerful long range shoulder fired weapon I ever owned fired a 1600 grain bullet and offered around 45,000 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. It now had a home in Texas and is owned by a fella who told me that shooting it is the most fun he ever had in his like with his clothes on. Oh.... it's a push feed!

I have an ex-wife in Texas and one that comes from Norway and she's meaner than a sun cooked kettle of cat piss.

I am really not a hunter as I am a precision shooter who just happened to murder animals.

I am 72 years old and do not appreciate anyone who without knowing me starts throwing dung in my .direction.

Anything else you want to know? If so then you just dance your way to a keyboard and fire away.

Did you notice I learned to use the smiley faces?


Best of luck.

Thanks Von S. I seem to have had the adjective just about correct.

 

[Red Leg]

We share the sad story of a lost bow-shot deer @Red Leg, and I want to emphasize again that I have PLENTY of "stories of shots I should not have taken," believe you me, as I think you say in Texas ;-)
It is just that I have been uncommonly lucky with the outcome of bad or unwise shots when rifle shooting, generally to no credit to me whatsoever, as I hope I stated clearly enough. And, of course, I have clean-missed my fair share, which I do not count as 'lost animals.'

I can also share that I killed an elk with a KTM 990 Adventure, and a cow with a BMW 1200 GS Adventure. Totaled both bikes (as my profoundly dismayed insurance agent can testify to LOL) but walked away with nary a scratch. I guess I am just lucky when it comes to my encounters with animals, and I humbly thank the Lord for it and cross my fingers that it will continue...................

A true case of better be lucky than good.

I normally use a heavier caliber for road kills - F-150's primarily and just lately my F-250. Glad you walked away - either of those could have left a mark.

 

[One Day...]

.257 Weatherby Magnum on 300 to 500 lbs antelopes - opinions please

OK, we had enough fun with the .378 Wby, and I have an honest question. Do you guys have any experience with the .257 Wby on Elk or Moose in America or Europe, or Wildebeest / Hartebeest / Kudu / Waterbuck / Sable / etc. in Africa?

As stated earlier, I am tempted by something with 'the weight and recoil of a .22' (well, LOL, almost!) and that supposedly can pole-ax 300 to 500 lbs animals like the hammer of Thor...

I am starting to put together my next African trip with a dedicated stint after Vaal Rhebok (after all I am at core a Chamois hunter from the French Alps), but there will also be Lechwe, Nyala and Sable, and likely a few others on the list, and I think that I will take only one rifle this time. Would the .257 Wby with 115 gr Barnes TSX do?

Would especially love to read from folks who have actually shot (hunters) or witnessed first hand (PHs and guides) animals in the 300 to 550 lbs class shot with .257 Wby.

Thank you all in advance
Pascal

PS: seriously, I mean it. It is at https://www.africahunting.com/threa...0-to-500-lbs-antelopes-opinions-please.45286/

 

[Ragman]

Mister Leg,

Or can I just call you "Red"?

I laugh like hell at just about everything under the sun as I find humor in anything, so I got no Burr in my britches over anything anyone has written.

I have all ready posted a short list of things I have murdered with the 458 win mag as a nice fella asked me. I even included the alligator gar that met his end off the dock in Port Aransas. The list of kills was good and pretty numerous and it only entailed that one caliber.

Every year I head to Texas to go after speeders, Mulies and white tails and for them I use a 25-06. AI and a 264 WM and don't want to shoot anything closer than 400 yards and have passed up some magnificent animals at pretty close range as it's the shot that matters to me more than the animal and my joy and proof of my ability is when I face plant whatever I am shooting at.

I have extreme patience and have always been a student of my targets anatomy. My favorite spot on an eating animal is the first three vertabrea and for baldies I like the head as it never fails to immediate face plant anything. The longest I ever waited on target was about 3 hours before I dropped the sear.

I enjoy shooting baby piggies right through the coconut as I skin, brine,smoke,cook and then freeze them for future gathering at my house. Amazing how many there are in the Kingdom of Texas.

I lived in Rhodesia until it was better that I skedaddled and since then I have been back on the continent 6 times.

I have only been really scared in Africa once and the following day I blasted a hole through him that you could have thrown a football through the exit with a bullet of my design. I was singing/ humming "Men of Harlech" as I stomped my way right at him and after murdering him in mid roar I walked up on him loudly singing and kicked him right in his jingle bob's to make sure he was dead and for making my left leg shake the day before.

The most powerful long range shoulder fired weapon I ever owned fired a 1600 grain bullet and offered around 45,000 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. It now had a home in Texas and is owned by a fella who told me that shooting it is the most fun he ever had in his like with his clothes on. Oh.... it's a push feed!

I have an ex-wife in Texas and one that comes from Norway and she's meaner than a sun cooked kettle of cat piss.

I am really not a hunter as I am a precision shooter who just happened to murder animals.

I am 72 years old and do not appreciate anyone who without knowing me starts throwing dung in my .direction.

Anything else you want to know? If so then you just dance your way to a keyboard and fire away.

Did you notice I learned to use the smiley faces?


Best of luck.

If there was an "unlike" button, I'd use it for this post.

 

[Von S.]

Wow Pascal,

It reminds me of , "The ocean is so big and my boat is so small"...

I have no personal experience with it as with some things my mantra is "Bigger better faster sttronger" gets stuck in repeat mode.

Of course you can kill what animals you mentioned, but it wouldn't take much for a failure. it

 

[IvW]

Mister Leg,

Or can I just call you "Red"?

I laugh like hell at just about everything under the sun as I find humor in anything, so I got no Burr in my britches over anything anyone has written.

I have all ready posted a short list of things I have murdered with the 458 win mag as a nice fella asked me. I even included the alligator gar that met his end off the dock in Port Aransas. The list of kills was good and pretty numerous and it only entailed that one caliber.

Every year I head to Texas to go after speeders, Mulies and white tails and for them I use a 25-06. AI and a 264 WM and don't want to shoot anything closer than 400 yards and have passed up some magnificent animals at pretty close range as it's the shot that matters to me more than the animal and my joy and proof of my ability is when I face plant whatever I am shooting at.

I have extreme patience and have always been a student of my targets anatomy. My favorite spot on an eating animal is the first three vertabrea and for baldies I like the head as it never fails to immediate face plant anything. The longest I ever waited on target was about 3 hours before I dropped the sear.

I enjoy shooting baby piggies right through the coconut as I skin, brine,smoke,cook and then freeze them for future gathering at my house. Amazing how many there are in the Kingdom of Texas.

I lived in Rhodesia until it was better that I skedaddled and since then I have been back on the continent 6 times.

I have only been really scared in Africa once and the following day I blasted a hole through him that you could have thrown a football through the exit with a bullet of my design. I was singing/ humming "Men of Harlech" as I stomped my way right at him and after murdering him in mid roar I walked up on him loudly singing and kicked him right in his jingle bob's to make sure he was dead and for making my left leg shake the day before.

The most powerful long range shoulder fired weapon I ever owned fired a 1600 grain bullet and offered around 45,000 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. It now had a home in Texas and is owned by a fella who told me that shooting it is the most fun he ever had in his like with his clothes on. Oh.... it's a push feed!

I have an ex-wife in Texas and one that comes from Norway and she's meaner than a sun cooked kettle of cat piss.

I am really not a hunter as I am a precision shooter who just happened to murder animals.

I am 72 years old and do not appreciate anyone who without knowing me starts throwing dung in my .direction.

Anything else you want to know? If so then you just dance your way to a keyboard and fire away.

Did you notice I learned to use the smiley faces?


Best of luck.

I may have initially misjudged you.

400 yards minimum distance, high neck and head shots only, mulies, white tails and baby piggies and no misses in 67 years! WOW!, I wish I could do that at 110 yards.

You truly seem to be in a class of your own.

I am really not a hunter as I am a precision shooter who just happened to murder animals.

I am 72 years old and do not appreciate anyone who without knowing me starts throwing dung in my .direction.

Perhaps your own words sum it up quite nicely, especially when you are the one throwing the dung around!

 

[Von S.]

Never said I never missed...I said I never lost one that I did hit ,also I never said at what range I shot them little piggies at or what I actually shot them with. Comprehension?

Concentrate! Hell I tracked a few head of game for hours and didn't loose them.

You have a nice day!

 

[Nyati]

Maybe I can help you here, Pascal, Red Lechwe and Tsessebe, I shot with a .22-250.

Scimitar Oryx with a 25-06. The same rifle was used by a friend of mine for Sable, Wildebeest and Eland.

 

[IvW]

Never said I never missed...I said I never lost one that I did hit ,also I never said at what range I shot them little piggies at or what I actually shot them with. Comprehension?

Concentrate! Hell I tracked a few head of game for hours and didn't loose them.

You have a nice day!

You keep contradicting yourself and no matter how hard I concentrate it just seems like more moo poo.....or .....smiley....never mind.

 

[EZRider]

If there was an "unlike" button, I'd use it for this post.

We will just “like” yours instead.

 

[2L8]

I've never shot a .378 so I'm not going to comment.

If you find a nice .375 Weatherby though it's pretty nice. A little more speed if you want it with the ability to shoot .375 H&H if you need to. Of course it's not on the same planet as the .378 Weatherby, more like a slightly improved .375 H&H because that's what it is.

 

[1dirthawker]

wow,
sounds like the gentleman that started this thread had a lot to think about and made a good choice.
re: the 378, if you can shoot one well and have good enough bullets, good on ya. but i do agree with the thought about sniping dangerous game at long distance, bad form.

just a thought about guys that "deliver energy" to an animal, (at any range). long wounds, tissue damage in vitals kill animals, NOT energy figures. 3,000-4000-5000 ft lbs delivered to non vitals = lost or suffering game. big tough game never did get the memo, they are not impressed by energy. they do notice excellent bullets placed well in the vitals. yes, a bigger blow by a bigger cartridge is appropriate, especially when hunting DG.

I have a little side show i put on for my clients when hunting brown bear. i take a paper plate and ask them, could you hit this with your rifle at 100 yards? the answer is alway yes. could you hit it at 200 yards? almost everyone thinks for a few seconds and most of them answer, yeah but they say it with a touch of trepidation.

I then slap the paper plate to my chest and spin once or twice and take off at a bit of a run, then stop and ask could you hit that one at 200? nobody ever says yes. then, i tell them, that is why we don't like to shoot bears far away. I suspect PH's feel much the same about shooting DG at a distance, whether the gun is a 378 weatherby or a 500 nitro.

just my thoughts.

 

[colorado]

If you read the story in the link on the 475 A&M Magnum it sums up my feeling on the 378 Weatherby. And I own a 7 1/2 lb 375 Weatherby lol

https://www.africahunting.com/threa...non-for-hunting-african-dangerous-game.13230/

 

[krish]

Ray,

I am 72.

And 128lb soaking wet

HA HA