378 Wheatherby Magnum, opinions please

[JPmbogo]

I have never quite caught on with the more case capacity, more powder, higher velocity crowd. A 375 H&H will do the same thing as the 378, but maybe a bit closer range. After all, you are shooting the same bullet. Same applies to other calibers. Let's take an '06 against a .300 Win mag and a .300 Weatherby mag, all shooting a 180 gr bullet. All the charts look at muzzle velocity - when was the last time you shot anything point blank? Now, start looking at down range velocities. Without actually quoting same, let's just say for purposes of discussion, that the 06 will have the same velocity at 100 yrds that the 300 Win Mag has at 200 and the Weatherby at 300. My point here is just get closer to the the target! Are we hunting or are we shooting?

Next, and I am going to really stir the pot here. The 375 H&H since its inception in 1912 (I believe) has always been touted at the ultimate all purpose caliber. The problem with "all purpose" anything is that it is never the best for any one application. I have hunted elk with a 338, a 340 Weatherby and a 375 H&H - all did the job just fine. With the exception of the 340, the 338 is just as effective as the 375 with less recoil and perhaps better sectional density per give bullet weight. I took a H-S Precision 375 takedown rifle to a plains game hunt in SA. Rifle and scope combo worked great, but one of my 338s would have done just as well. On the other end, the 375 is marginal on the really nasties, i.e, buff and ele. I suppose if you are committed to a one gun safari that includes plains game and a buff, the 375 might do just fine. However, how about a 404 or 416 in that case? I would rather be a bit over gunned on the lower end rather than under gunned on the upper.

 

[Fastrig]

.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/

Supposedly this was Roy’s favorite, and if true it’s for good reason...the 257 Wthrby Mag is a great caliber. With a 115 or 120 grain round I’m sure it could take animals in the 400-500 lbs range with little trouble. I use 90 grain rounds on whitetail and they drop in their tracks...a lot of energy behind those rounds and they don’t drop enough out to 400 yards to worry about. I’ve not personally hunted animals in the class you are asking about with the 257, but it would be fun to do so and it wouldn’t worry me to be underpinned at all.

 

[bruce moulds]

do you mean rounds or projectiles?
bruce.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I see you’ve stated the .375 H and H rifles are rare in your country and you have the opportunity to buy a .378 Weatherby. But, have you checked the availability of factory cartridges for that caliber and/or if you reload, the availability of reloading components for that cartridge in your country?

 

[Ray B]

The 257 Wby was my dad's favorite rifle but he didn't shoot anything larger than large mule deer with it. but they were large mule deer from his friends ranch in Montana where they lived to old age because it wasn't open to the public and the crops induced large deer as much as large beef. The problem with the 257 prior to monometal and solid shank bullets was the bullet diameter limited the jacket thickness and thereby the jackets strength. when the jacket is only .257" it doesn't allow for an .049" jacket and still have an effective lead core. I am confident that a present day solid shank bullet such as a North Fork with a broadside chest hit would promptly down a large elk, possibly not a moose just because they seem to be hard to convince that they are dead. But the point is: there are bigger bullets that don't require the classic standing broadside shots, so why not honor the animal and use a cartridge reflective of the animal's stamina?

 

[Fastrig]

The 257 Wby was my dad's favorite rifle but he didn't shoot anything larger than large mule deer with it. but they were large mule deer from his friends ranch in Montana where they lived to old age because it wasn't open to the public and the crops induced large deer as much as large beef. The problem with the 257 prior to monometal and solid shank bullets was the bullet diameter limited the jacket thickness and thereby the jackets strength. when the jacket is only .257" it doesn't allow for an .049" jacket and still have an effective lead core. I am confident that a present day solid shank bullet such as a North Fork with a broadside chest hit would promptly down a large elk, possibly not a moose just because they seem to be hard to convince that they are dead. But the point is: there are bigger bullets that don't require the classic standing broadside shots, so why not honor the animal and use a cartridge reflective of the animal's stamina?

The mono-metal bullets were made for the 257 Weatherby (or vise-versa)....fantastic pairing of rifle and ammo.