Only Three Bolt-gun Hunting Calibers - Which Ones?

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

I'm a huge weatherby fan too--I've spent time behind the trigger of vanguards and Mark 5's in 270 up to 416--so I have to ask--why did you go with the RUM instead of the 300 wby? Fortunately I reload for them--last time I looked the 416 was getting well north of $200 a box.

The only complaint I have is that I'm not entirely enamored to their new bolts, but have definitely noticed a significant improvement in their barrels since opening the new factory and doing all production in-house.

I really don't know why, but I have never been a .300 WBY fan. It just never exceeded the .300 Win mag by enough to really impress me. The .30-378 is just brutal. The .300 Ultra just seems to be ideal. I really don't know what brass costs now for it, but I have a pile.
My favorite WBY MarkV are the Japanese Howas. I bought a lot of MarkV Weather Warriors and I have never seen comparable U.S. rifles outshoot them. I just love Weatherbys. The one I am currently playing with is the 6.5X300. It is a screamer.

[USAF Ret]

I watched Ron Spomer today and his choices were very interesting...

22-250 AI
7MM Rem Mag
416 Ruger

Funny, he said if you ask him tomorrow, he might have a different answer..

[jetinteriorguy]

Originally Posted by USAF Ret

I have the 6.5 Grendel and 270. Just have accumulated a lot of stuff here and there. Got the 22 LR for the little critters.

I do have a really nice accurate .22 as well, but I’ve become addicted to the .17HMR. I’ve been popping gophers out to 150+ yards with ease, and when this thing hits it’s all over. But in reality the .22 would be a more sensible choice if ammo cost and availability are factored in.

[stagpanther]

I just love Weatherbys. The one I am currently playing with is the 6.5X300. It is a screamer.

The biggest liability to owning Weatherbys IMO is that they tend to roast the throats and bores pretty fast if you shoot them any more frequently than the typical 3 shots two weeks before hunting season opener, I believe they set the headspace with the barrel and bolt upon manufacture. Getting a new barrel is a time and money consuming operation. The 270 weatherby is one of the best IMO.

[Nathan]

Ruger 77 African in 6.5x55, Meopta Optika 6 FFP scope….light handy rifle
Winchester 70 custom in 300 Sherman, Vortex Viper PST 2 3-15 - standard weight, 300 mag performance, big enough for bears(if you had to)
Full custom (Bighorn, KRG, Bartlein) in 28 Sherman Magnum, Tract Toric 4-20x for when you need to go long.

[Nathan]

The biggest liability to owning Weatherbys IMO is that they tend to roast the throats and bores pretty fast if you shoot them any more frequently than the typical 3 shots two weeks before hunting season opener,

They do make new barrels!

[MarkCO]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

The biggest liability to owning Weatherbys IMO is that they tend to roast the throats and bores pretty fast if you shoot them any more frequently than the typical 3 shots two weeks before hunting season opener, I believe they set the headspace with the barrel and bolt upon manufacture. Getting a new barrel is a time and money consuming operation. The 270 weatherby is one of the best IMO.

None of my Weatherbys are chambered in Weatherby Cartridges. Non-issue. I do have a factory barrel (bought cheap after they discontinued it) for my .338-06.

[stagpanther]

They do make new barrels!

They do--have you ever tried replacing one on a MK 5? If you use their in-line locking lug bolts it's not as trivial as a remage (assuming you get the nut off in good style). I love weatherby's--but they are not exactly easy for the typical shooter to replace the barrel.

[44 AMP]

I love weatherby's--but they are not exactly easy for the typical shooter to replace the barrel.

and they were never made to be....

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

They do--have you ever tried replacing one on a MK 5? If you use their in-line locking lug bolts it's not as trivial as a remage (assuming you get the nut off in good style). I love weatherby's--but they are not exactly easy for the typical shooter to replace the barrel.

Considering I eliminate the barrel nut when I rebarrel Savages, no big liability there.

[stagpanther]

and they were never made to be....

That's a fact.

[Pathfinder45]

1. A decent 22 rimfire.
2. A 30-'06 Springfield or 270 Winchester; either will do.

Three is more than you need, but perhaps a 223 might be useful. If you get too many, it becomes a collection of stuff that you don't use. Save room for a lever-gun, though.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

7mm stw for those times when IT and ME ain't friends.
270 win when I'm perched in a tree
300 sav when I have to be quick and stealthy in the bush (still-hunting)

[Pathfinder45]

So, my model 70 is a 5+1 capacity rifle, as it is a 270 Winchester... Just a thought, worthy of consideration....
The 30-'06, loaded with 220 grain bullets, is a well-proven dangerous game rifle in Alaska. Switching to a magnum will cost you magazine capacity, in case that matters to you.

[USAF Ret]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder45

1. A decent 22 rimfire.
2. A 30-'06 Springfield or 270 Winchester; either will do.

Three is more than you need, but perhaps a 223 might be useful. If you get too many, it becomes a collection of stuff that you don't use. Save room for a lever-gun, though.

Oh, I already have. Marlin 336C 30-30.

[NHSHOOTER]

22-250 M700 Remington with bull barrel for lil critters
25-06 M77 ruger cause I inherited it from my brother and it shoots bugholes
7-08 Browning xbolt , big enough for me in the northeast.
and I reload for em all and they all shoot bugholes..

[The Verminator]

LOL!

Jack O'Connor proved conclusively that all you need is a .22 LR and a .270 Winchester.

I'd choose my Remington 581 and my pre-64 Winchester Model 70.

I might add my Winchester Model 94 30-30 just for fun and brush hunting.

End of story.

[44 AMP]

The biggest liability to owning Weatherbys IMO is that they tend to roast the throats and bores pretty fast if you shoot them any more frequently than the typical 3 shots two weeks before hunting season opener,

OK, so its a liability, but compared to what??

Consider looking at it the way we look at high performance race cars.

They are high performance machines, who deliver the top possible performance at the cost of pushing the machine to its limits in short order. To get the most out of them we push them hard, and they wear out soon. No different from race cars, who run one race and then completely rebuild the engine, and then replace it the next run.

So, maybe that tuned specialty racer will give you top performance for only a limited number of miles. Do you want to use them up in practice? OR in a 500 mile race for the big bucks??

Same with the hot magnum rifles, shooting them wears the barrels out. Sight in and then only shoot at big game, a few shots a year, they last decades of use. Shoot them all summer blowing away prairie dogs or paper targets looking for that magic "last 1/4", and you'll need a new barrel by deer season. Probably.....


There's no free lunch....

[jmr40]

Most of the time we choose our hunting cartridges for completely irrational reasons. The truth is that a 26-caliber bullet weighing 140 gr or more will take any animal in North America. The only real differences are the ranges they are effective, how much recoil you're willing to tolerate, costs, and availability. Pick what you like.

Especially if we eliminate the big 1000+lb bear in Alaska and Canada and limit ranges to under 400 yards. If you want to hunt really big stuff that bites back or if you want to shoot stuff in the next county, then other choices might be comforting.

I hunted most of my life with a 30-06 because 50 years ago that is what I was told was the best choice. While it isn't a bad choice it wouldn't be on my list today. Although I have 2 with too much history to ever sell.

I think most people would be better served with something in the 6.5 CM, 7-08 or 308 class as an all-around rifle. Pick what you like, they all do the same thing. I choose 308 because of cost and availability.

I'd want a 223 for varmint shooting and cheap plinking.

I could probably do it all with just 2. But if I were inclined to have something bigger it would be a 375. Probably the 375 Ruger over 375 H&H simply because less expensive rifles are available in that chambering.

I don't plan to ever shoot at game farther than my 308 is capable so I don't need a long-range rifle, but if I did it would probably be 7mm Rem mag. Although 280 AI would get a look. Of course, I'd have to eliminate the 375 to keep it to 3 rifles.

[stagpanther]

OK, so its a liability, but compared to what??

Consider looking at it the way we look at high performance race cars.

They are high performance machines, who deliver the top possible performance at the cost of pushing the machine to its limits in short order. To get the most out of them we push them hard, and they wear out soon. No different from race cars, who run one race and then completely rebuild the engine, and then replace it the next run.

So, maybe that tuned specialty racer will give you top performance for only a limited number of miles. Do you want to use them up in practice? OR in a 500 mile race for the big bucks??

Same with the hot magnum rifles, shooting them wears the barrels out. Sight in and then only shoot at big game, a few shots a year, they last decades of use. Shoot them all summer blowing away prairie dogs or paper targets looking for that magic "last 1/4", and you'll need a new barrel by deer season. Probably.....

I've been shooting a number of weatherby's for a fairly long time--I know what the bargain is with them--they are first and foremost a hunter's knock em down rifle for which I think they are arguably unequalled for. Perhaps it's wishful thinking that there was a way get a user-friendly easily replaceable barrel Weatherby considering how they are manufactured--I for one would readily pay a premium for that.

[44 AMP]

Perhaps it's wishful thinking that there was a way get a user-friendly easily replaceable barrel Weatherby considering how they are manufactured--I for one would readily pay a premium for that.

Do consider that the entire idea of the user replacing a rifle barrel himself didn't even exist until relatively recently. Even the Savage barrel nut system wasn't created with that in mind.

From the earliest days of cartridge arms, replacing a barrel was "shop work", and one took the gun to a gunsmith to have the work done. That's what was required and what people came to expect to be required for well over a century plus....

Special tools, gauges, and often reamers were needed to do the job right. PLUS a degree of skill. These were things most people didn't have, and wouldn't get, it was easier, simpler, and even cheaper to have a gunsmith do it.

Even with military rifles, (until the M16), fitting a new barrel was only done at the very highest level of maintenance (Depot level in the Army), because fitting a barrel to the rifle receiver required FITTING, which the lower 4 levels of maint were not trained, equipped or authorized to do.

The M16 changed that, its design allowed for essentially "plug and play", and I replaced many barrels working at the Direct Support/General Support level (levels 3-4) as a Small Arms Repairman.

IF in Springfield, or a Garand, or M1 Carbine or M14 needed a barrel, it was sent to Depot maint (division level) it was not done at brigade level or lower.

Commercial rifles were generally made that way as well, needing work the hobbyist rarely was set up to do in order to fit a barrel correctly.

I don't think one should expect "plug and play" from guns designed back before it was considered something useful or desirable.

Today many people's expectations have changed a bit, and newer designs reflect that, to a greater or lesser degree.

Still, while you might be willing to "pay a premium" for an easy barrel swap in a Weatherby, I don't think most people would.

Most people who buy a high end "sports car" send it to the professionals when it needs work. The few that don't are generally enthusiasts who personally enjoy doing the work, and have their own home shop to do it with.

[FITASC]

7mm BR
7-08
7mm Mag

All older Remingtons (granted the 7mmBR came originally in an XP-100 pistol format)
Otherwise, convert the 7mmBR to a 6mmBR rifle

[stagpanther]

Most people who buy a high end "sports car" send it to the professionals when it needs work.

That's fine--if you have one that lives within 1,000 miles and is not back-logged a year or two out.

[Jack O'Conner]

.243 for very long shooting at pronghorn antelope

.308 for everything else except coastal brown bears

35 Whelen for big bears

I downed a big moose with my .308 while hunting in Saskatchewan. Not armor plated. - Jack

[Sarge]

30-06 and 375 H&H. 223 for rodents and such, I reckon.