Weatherby Vanguard Synthetic (300 Wea Magnum)

[oscar1975]

I wish I could go hunting in Africa friend, thank you very much for your good wishes.

Oscar.

 

[monish]

Oscar,

you are Welcome. Please do venture into the world of African Hunting , you would be addicted to it for all the times to come. Is the 300 WM in your gunrack ??

Happy Hunting !!


Monish

 

[oscar1975]

Hi Monish, I wish I could be fond of hunting in Africa, but my budget does not allow it. Certainly the long way to go Weatherby rifle that I can have it for the same budget problem. I'll buy saving euro to euro (the currency of the EU). You know when you have the rifle.

Thanks,

Oscar

 

[buffybr]

Hello Oscar, I just found this thread, and thought I'd give my 2 cents. I've always admired Weatherby rifles, and two years ago I finally bought one. A Vanguard in .300 Wby with a 24" blued barrel. I like to tinker with guns, so I built a AA Fancy walnut stock for it that is glass and pillar bedded with a recoil reducer in the stock and a Limbsaver pad. I also had a KDF muzzle brake installed on it. The resulting felt recoil is about like a .308 Win.

I handload and have been able to get three shot moa or less groups with Barnes 180 and 168 gr TSX bullets and Hornady 178 gr Amax and 168 gr BTHP bullets. I've chronographed the heavier bullets at 3200 fps and the 168 gr bullets at 3350-3400 fps.

I haven't shot anything large with it yet, but in January some friends and I hunted exotics in Texas. I used the 168 gr TSX bullets and made almost instant one shot kills on a Blackbuck, a Scimitar horned Oryx, and an Aoudad. All shots were at about 100 yds and through at least one shoulder. Meat damage and bullet exit holes were minimum.

I have a variety of other big game rifles, including two other magnums, but this .300 Wby is fast becoming my favorite.

If or when I go back to Africa, I'll be taking my .300 Weatherby.

 

[oscar1975]

I ask myself I also recharge the 300 Weatherby Magnum, to get all possible benefits. I want to hunt medium and small (there are people who told me that having a 338 Winchester Magnum, ideally, buy a smaller size and that as I want a Weatherby cartridge, it makes sense to buy the same rifle in 257 Weatherby Magnum. But I like more the 300.

Oscar.

 

[LouisB]

Hi Oscar

I have a 300 Weatherby now it is not actually the best caliber for our hunting conditions where you shoot on shorter distances however I borrowed it to Thomas a clients who hunted with me recently.
He used Federal’s nozzle partition’s (180gr) and shot Giraffe and Eland with it very successfully!

I am very impressed what a good bullet does combined with some serious kinetic energy for a plains game rifle.

Cheers
Louis

 

[oscar1975]

Hi Oscar

I have a 300 Weatherby now it is not actually the best caliber for our hunting conditions where you shoot on shorter distances however I borrowed it to Thomas a clients who hunted with me recently.
He used Federal’s nozzle partition’s (180gr) and shot Giraffe and Eland with it very successfully!

I am very impressed what a good bullet does combined with some serious kinetic energy for a plains game rifle.

Cheers
Louis

Hello, your contributions to help me decide the size and I will opt for the first thought that the 300 Wea Magnum.

 

[LouisB]

No problem Oscar always happy to help!

Enjoy the hunting.

Cheers
Louis

 

[oscar1975]

No problem Oscar always happy to help!

Enjoy the hunting.

Cheers
Louis

Thank you very much. Nice to meet you.

Oscar.

 

[oscar1975]

Hello, the rifle Weatherby that shortly I will have amount a rifle scope marks Pentaflex 4-12x56RI, that is to say a quite mediocre rifle scope (I will use it at first to save for another viewfinder). I have seen the rifle scopes Redfield and really I have liked (I think in 4-12x40 with reticle Accurange). What seems to you?

Thank you,

Oscar.

 

[oscar1975]

Some photos, the scope is 3-12x56IR.

 

[B9.3]

Good choice Oscar, my most recent 300 is a Weatherby Mark V SLS. It is stainless steel with a matte black oxide finish. It came with a laminated stock which I have replaced with a HS Precision stock. It has a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 in Warne Mounts. This rifle has the slickest, smoothest bolt feed that I have ever felt. I have incredible confidence in this rifle, I would hunt any critter on this planet it. If I was reduced to only one firearm (God forbid) it would be this rifle in this calibre.

 

[twmarsh]

I know this thread is getting a bit old, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents. This being my first post, let me start by saying "thank you" to everyone on this forum who has shared information about their experiences. I plan to use much of that information in planning my 2012 trip to South Africa. I was in the same boat about the .300 Wby mag Vanguard and bought it in the stainless model last month. Holy cow! The thing is a beast! I had a Vais brake installed, and with the factory recoil pad, the recoil is very manageable (most of my shooting thus far has been shotguns, mainly Browning A5s with no recoil pads). For someone coming from different experience, the Wby recoil would probably be startling. Barring some bad event with the Wby, I plan to shoot at many things with it for a long time.

 

[TERMINATOR]

I know this thread is getting a bit old, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents. This being my first post, let me start by saying "thank you" to everyone on this forum who has shared information about their experiences. I plan to use much of that information in planning my 2012 trip to South Africa. I was in the same boat about the .300 Wby mag Vanguard and bought it in the stainless model last month. Holy cow! The thing is a beast! I had a Vais brake installed, and with the factory recoil pad, the recoil is very manageable (most of my shooting thus far has been shotguns, mainly Browning A5s with no recoil pads). For someone coming from different experience, the Wby recoil would probably be startling. Barring some bad event with the Wby, I plan to shoot at many things with it for a long time.

Just remember that PH's and guides HATE standing next to hunters with muzzle breaks. I know more than one that is deaf in one ear from a hunter shooting a monster with a muzzle break next to him in the field.

Only one person actually answered his question. You WON'T get OPTIMUM velocity from the 24" barrel...you need the 26" to get OPTIMUM velocity. But what you will get from a 24" will still be a shade faster than a .300 Win Mag in the same barrel length.

Look at my pics. I used a .300 Weatherby Mark V with a 26" Barrel in Afica. I love the caliber. I also own a Mark V in Synthetic Fluted .24" which is over one lb lighter than the 26" in wood. I own it for Elk hunting where I am walking uphill at elevation vs. the hunting I didn in Africa.

The recoil is noticible but managable if you practice correctly. I wear plugs under headset on the range and wear a slip on shoulder pad. 90% of recoil is mental and sound driven so the more sound you take out the less you notice it.

When shooting on game you never notice it.

 

[James.Grage]

I purchased a Weatherby Mark-V in about 1983...with a black synthetic stock...

The rifle has worked flawlessly over many hunts to Alaska Moose - Caribou - Black Bear - Mt. Goat. only one exception...sling attachment stud to the stock became lose on the first trip and it was repaired - so no exceptions after that...

I have also used this for fish with great success by the way, ptarmigan - grouse - antelope - White & mule deer...and my favorite "PRAIRIE DOGS". Skunks, badgers, and raccoons...

My rifle has the 26 inch barrel and i shoot 180 grain all the time...

So i say go for it...

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH twmarsh! Most PH's will not welcome the Vais muzzlebrake...but if you shoot your gun accurate, you will be alright. Bad shots, are frowned at. Take a gun you can shoot fast and accurate.

 

[buffybr]

Hi Oscar,

Congratulations on getting your .300 Weatherby Vanguard. I posted earlier on this thread about my new .300 Wby Vanguard, and in re-reading this thread, I noticed you had some concern about using your .300 Wby on small animals like Roe deer.

I have never shot a Roe deer, but I think they are similar in size to this Blackbuck antelope that was the first animal that I shot with my .300 Wby. He was standing quarting to me about 120 yds away, and I put the 168 gr Barnes TSX bullet into the front of his right shoulder. The bullet exited just in front of his left ham, and you can see a little bloody spot there in the photo. The damage to the animal was not excessive.

 

[oscar1975]

Hi, I've been so long without entering the forum some time ago that I have a Weatherby, my concern remains the same, how much power and speed to 300 Weatherby lose with a 24 inch barrel? Surely this loss does not significantly affect the game itself and 300 meters will remain a rifle with precision, power and far enough.

The thing is I still have not tried the rifle, I have a 300 Weatherby 150 pods waiting to be recharged, the only thing is that I'm OK budget for my young child has hearing loss and this entails a number of expenses, for example he has that their hearing aids and cost 3000 euros, and thank God that I am a civil servant and my insurance paid a good part of them. Obviously my son is paramount and must be left aside the whims and tastes. However when I try the rifle I'll let you know.

Regards,

Oscar.

 

[oscar1975]

Hi Oscar,

Congratulations on getting your .300 Weatherby Vanguard. I posted earlier on this thread about my new .300 Wby Vanguard, and in re-reading this thread, I noticed you had some concern about using your .300 Wby on small animals like Roe deer.

I have never shot a Roe deer, but I think they are similar in size to this Blackbuck antelope that was the first animal that I shot with my .300 Wby. He was standing quarting to me about 120 yds away, and I put the 168 gr Barnes TSX bullet into the front of his right shoulder. The bullet exited just in front of his left ham, and you can see a little bloody spot there in the photo. The damage to the animal was not excessive.

Thanks friend, perhaps, the roe is a little smaller than the antelope in the photo (beautiful indeed and I take and I congratulate), but imagine if the bullet is too soft does not have to do enormous damage.

Oscar.

 

[B9.3]

Hi Oscar, do not worry about velocity loss with your 24" barrel in the 300 Weatherby as it is only about 50 fps. Trust me, it means nothing in the real world. The 300 Weatherby is a splendid cartridge for hunting all manner of game. 24" or 26", the game will not know the differences and neither will you.
However, always remember that shot placement is paramount. A good 180gr projectile in the heart/lung area will kill any Deer or Antelope on this planet.
I have used with great success Nosler Accubond, Partition Gold, Barnes TSX, Swift A-Frame, Woodleigh PPSN and my favourite North Fork. All 180gr, you will not need heavier than 180gr for the game a 300 Weatherby should be used on with any of these projectiles. I have used a lot of others that I would not use again on big animals like Sambar Deer and Wild Cattle and Asiatic Buffalo. The ones I named have been a good choice for me.
As for scopes, the Zeiss Conquest is a splendid choice and these scopes are the reason that I sold my Leupolds. All my hunting rifles now have either Zeiss Conquest or Zeiss Victory Diavari. I wish you good hunting and your son good health. Beau.