What about a .375 Wby?

[freefall]

Here is a picture of Nick, bottom right with a couple of his old hunting buddies. Does anyone recognize some of the faces ?View attachment 550184View attachment 550184

Elmer is pretty unmistakable.

 

[K95]

A animal is never going to know the difference between the H&H or the Weatherby. A hundred or two hundred fps is irrelevant in killing power. Some people use the 280 Rem while others prefer the 280 AI it’s all a personal preference. I think the improved version is a sexier looking round and if you reload you won’t be trimming your cases as much especially if your loading them up with double based Vihtavuori powder, who knows maybe that magical powder will do wonders in the Wea case as well. It’s just something different that not everyone has.

 

[Jim Golden]

I too am a 375 WBY fan (especially after reading Warren Page), BUT I will say I get 2710fps out of my H&H when using VHT N540 powder. Bullet 300gr TSX & Woodleigh RNSN. The small bump I would get from reaming one of my H&H’s to WBY is not worth it to me. Vihtavuori 500-series powders are amazing. I have shot hundreds of these loads in my 375 (in TX summer heat), and never had any signs of pressure. Not even a sticky bolt lift. Much of my brass is 4x reloaded.

I'm going to have to check that powder out. I've only used RL22 in mine.

 

[Jim Golden]

In all honesty, I often shoot 375 H&H factory 300g A-Frames though my 375 Weatherby. They seem to do the job just fine on the big bears. For elk where longer ranges might be encountered a 300g A-Frame at 2800 fps is a nice option (kind of like a 338 Win Mag on steroids). Though I have to admit my younger son has laid claim to the 375 Weatherby, so I'm stuck with either my 270 Weatherby or my 500 jeffery for elk this season.

I've put about 60 H&H's out of my Weatherby and they shoot just fine. Recoil is noticeably less, and the fireformed necks are a bit short, but no ill effects at all. If I got into a scrape and my rifle showed up but the ammo didn't, I wouldn't hesitate to use H&H's in the Weatherby. I need to chrono some, and let you guys know what the velocity difference is. I'll try to do that soon...

 

[colorado]

A animal is never going to know the difference between the H&H or the Weatherby. A hundred or two hundred fps is irrelevant in killing power. Some people use the 280 Rem while others prefer the 280 AI it’s all a personal preference. I think the improved version is a sexier looking round and if you reload you won’t be trimming your cases as much especially if your loading them up with double based Vihtavuori powder, who knows maybe that magical powder will do wonders in the Wea case as well. It’s just something different that not everyone has.

I don't disagree with you, but the same argument holds for why do we need a 300 Win Mag when we have the 30-06 etc.

 

[Bonefish2150]

In all honesty, I often shoot 375 H&H factory 300g A-Frames though my 375 Weatherby. They seem to do the job just fine on the big bears. For elk where longer ranges might be encountered a 300g A-Frame at 2800 fps is a nice option (kind of like a 338 Win Mag on steroids). Though I have to admit my younger son has laid claim to the 375 Weatherby, so I'm stuck with either my 270 Weatherby or my 500 jeffery for elk this season.

270 WEATHERBY MAGNUM,160 gr. Nosler Partition bullet.

 

[Challer]

Interestingly, there was just a thread here on the 375 HH rimmed, and many thought it had the advantage because it was 100-150 FPS slower

 

[krish]

@meigsbucks
In a Australia we have an esteemed gunwriter Nick Harvey and his thoughts on the matter are he can't figure out why weatherby stopped clambering rifles for the 375 Weatherby.
It is a better round than the original 375 and doesn't slap you silly like the 378. In his opinion it is the pick of the bunch of the 375s.
He had a Winchester model 70 in 375 and had the Weatherby treatment done to it. As you said if you want you can still use the normal in the Weatherby chamber.
Bob

Wetherby did not want competition to their 340 wby.
Krish

 

[grand veneur]

Wetherby did not want competition to their 340 wby.
Krish

That may be, but the success of the cartridge 340 Weatherby Magnum is also limited.

Weatherby probably expected more success with his cartridge 378 Weatherby Magnum. In the meantime, however, the cartridge 460 Weatherby Magnum, despite the small number of users, is still more successful than the cartridge 378 Weatherby Magnum.

The cartridge 375 Weatherby Magnum would be in all cases certainly a better cartridge in this caliber class.

 

[krish]

That may be, but the success of the cartridge 340 Weatherby Magnum is also limited.

Weatherby probably expected more success with his cartridge 378 Weatherby Magnum. In the meantime, however, the cartridge 460 Weatherby Magnum, despite the small number of users, is still more successful than the cartridge 378 Weatherby Magnum.

The cartridge 375 Weatherby Magnum would be in all cases certainly a better cartridge in this caliber class.

How ever I do have both 340 and 375 wby. Also 375h&h and 378 wby. I use the 340 most of the time. Like go to rifle. I am fascinated by 375 wby, so got it after a long search. It is fun to have different ones. If you want it and can afford it, then get it. That is the way I look at it.
Krish

 

[K95]

I don't disagree with you, but the same argument holds for why do we need a 300 Win Mag when we have the 30-06 etc.

Totally agreed with you if you keep your shots under 300 yds , we all should try and do this

Wetherby did not want competition to their 340 wby.
Krish

Well I guess the 340 Wea is to the 300 Wea what the 375 is to it. All I know is it’s a superb round for the person who wants one rifle to hunt around the world.

 

[EfRed]

In my view quite a few of Weatherby's first introduce rounds were pretty much all based off of the .300 HH. You can actually fire 300 HH in a 300 Weatherby and fire form the cases that way. Then the 257, 270, 7mm, and 340 Weatherby magnums were based off of the .300 Weatherby by necking up or down to the proper caliber. The 375 Weatherby is just a blown out 375 HH round. I don't have the specifications in front of me but I would imagine that the 375 Weatherby is very close to the 375 HH AI round.

Later Weatherby started to come out with their own case design to come up with the .378, and 460 Weatherby magnums and later the 30-378 and 338-378 Weatherby magnums. There are of course the smaller Weatherby rounds such as the 224 Weatherby, and the 240 Weatherby.

The 300 Wby Mag, the 340 Wby Mag, and the 375 Wby mag are all full length rounds developed from 300 or 375 H&H cases. The 7mm, the 270 and the 257 Wby mags use a shorter, 30-06-length case. The 300 and 375 Wby are ballistically identical to their AI counterparts.

 

[EfRed]

How does the .375 Weatherby compare to the .375 Ackley Improved? I guess either way you can fire form a standard H and H into the Weatherby or AI? Interesting?

Ballistically identical. Yes, you can fire H&H in a Wby or an AI, though some rifles will balk. Lose a little bit from H&H ballistics.

 

[EfRed]

I think the world of the 375 H&H, but the 375 Weatherby, in my mind, fills the need for a flat shooting hard hitting cartridge for North America as well. It shoots as flat as a 338 Win Mag, and hits harder. You can hunt sheep with it in a 7 1/2 lb rifle and if you run into a grizzly, you're prepared.

All good points.

 

[EfRed]

For African hunting I don't see enough advantage of the .375WBY over the .375H&H to overcome the practicality of the .375H&H. But If I was looking to also hunt Marco Polo sheep in Asia then I think the .375 Wby or RUM with very high BC bullets would be the caliber('s) to have.

You can fire 375 H&H in most 375 Weatherby rifles, with a small loss in velocity; hard to see a real edge in practicality for the H&H. There is a noticeable difference in recoil, but it matters only if you are shooting a lot of rounds. I live in the US where this cartridge is a novelty, not a need. And it's hard to pooh-pooh the old African formula of a BIG bullet at a lower velocity for really big game. With today's bullets, extra velocity won't hurt, if you want it. Just to throw a different perspective into the mix: I remember my Father asked an Alaskan Eskimo what he used for hunting polar bear. The answer: 30-30 or 303 British, depending on what he could get.

 

[EfRed]

You can get that 100FPS difference by handloads if speed is your thing. You can get a flatter trajectory by using copper bullets that have more volume at a given mass.

So then it comes down to the gun itself. Many 375 weatherby rifles are indeed, weatherby rifles. Most credible 375HH rifles for Africa are controlled round feed, nearly all Weatherby rifles ever made (excluding early mausers) are push feed.

So if you decide you're going to get a CRF rifle and are eyeing the 375 weatherby, the question then becomes why would you spend all that custom money to accomplish about what a 375HH will do? Might was well get a 404J or another caliber where the juice is worth the squeeze of paying all that expense for a CRF custom.

Just my thoughts. I've never missed an animal or failed to kill cleanly due to a missing 100fps, but I sure have had issues with bad stock fit, jams, and failure to extract. For those reasons I don't want a weatherby branded gun, I want a foolproof CRF in a very reliable caliber for extraction like 375HH, 404J, 458WM, 416 Rigby, etc.

I've found that in my push feed Wbys the cartridge is retained by the mag feed lips until it is well entered into the chamber. I've never had a failure to feed with those rifles. I think Boddington wrote of holding a push feed rifle upside down while feeding some rounds; the rifle worked just fine, and Craig came off the idea that a push feed can't handle odd positions. On the other hand, a Mark V rifle was never made that had a 3 position safety, you MUST unload them through the bottom of the magazine to guard against accidental discharge. I know of two instances where a Wby went off "by itself" when being unloaded by cycling through the chamber. And I love the fit of a Weatherby stock, and find it very good for ameliorating recoil. A personal thing...

 

[Jim Golden]

I've found that in my push feed Wbys the cartridge is retained by the mag feed lips until it is well entered into the chamber. I've never had a failure to feed with those rifles. I think Boddington wrote of holding a push feed rifle upside down while feeding some rounds; the rifle worked just fine, and Craig came off the idea that a push feed can't handle odd positions. On the other hand, a Mark V rifle was never made that had a 3 position safety, you MUST unload them through the bottom of the magazine to guard against accidental discharge. I know of two instances where a Wby went off "by itself" when being unloaded by cycling through the chamber. And I love the fit of a Weatherby stock, and find it very good for ameliorating recoil. A personal thing...

I did this test myself. Took a Model 70, and a Weatherby Mark V. Functioned them both upside down, sideways, all around at weird angles. Both worked fine. The only way I could get the push feed to fail was to "short stroke" it, where you only push the cartridge in about 1/3 the way and then pull the bolt back. There hasn't been enough resistance yet to snap the extractor over the case head. As long as I pushed the bolt forward the whole way, (didn't even have to close it), the extractor snapped over and would pull it right back out.

The claw extractor on the Model 70 fully engaged before the feed rails released the cartridge fully. So, the Mauser type extractor does have that advantage.

But as long as you push the bolt all the way forward, I think a Mark V will feed pretty reliably. And, as wimpy as their extractors are and I have discovered after half a dozen Model 700's that I like Model 70's better...I've never had the Remington jam either.

All this being said, my Super Boomer is built on an Enfield Model 1917 action that does have the Mauser type extractor. I think they're all good...just need to practice with them

 

[roklok]

EfRed said " On the other hand, a Mark V rifle was never made that had a 3 position safety, you MUST unload them through the bottom of the magazine to guard against accidental discharge. I know of two instances where a Wby went off "by itself" when being unloaded by cycling through the chamber."

It amazes me that so many folks don't know how to unload a bolt action rifle without incurring this risk. Whether push feed or CRF, simply run the bolt back and forth without turning the bolt handle down. Its that simple ! No need to fully turn the bolt into battery, just elevate the muzzle, roll ejection port downwards, and push bolt forward to strip rounds out of the magazine. Generally no need to even push bolt more than half the way forward, just until round pops free of feed lips, then withdraw bolt and round will fall out in hand. Repeat until magazine is empty. No risk of an ND when done this way.

 

[colorado]

Just stating the obvious, it doesn't have to be a Mark V, any gun in 375 H&H can be rechambered for the 375 Weatherby. So if you have a nice CRF Model 70 in 375 H&H and want a bit more oomph, very easy to accomplish and you can still shoot 375 H&H factory rounds.