300Wby in a 24" barrel

[Guest]

By my thinking, this round really needs a 26" barrel to perform to its potential. Anybody shooting one in a 24" tube and getting decent results? Is it any better than the 300WinMag? How does it compare to the 300WSM and 300SAUM? I have looked at data, but it is all from 26" barrels, and I am curious to know how much loss there is with a high capacity case like this when shortening the barrel.

 

[JD338]

dubyam,

The 300 Wby will yeild best results with a 26" tube.
A 24" barrel will cost you about 100 fps.

 

[buckfever]

My Dad has a Remington M700 classic with a 24 inch barrel and he gets the same velocity as the Nosler reloading books. 180 gr pt at 3200 fps so don't worry about the 2 inch shoter barrel.

 

[Greg Nolan]

Same here. I have a Winchester 70 in 300 WBY. I get 3145 fps. with a 24 in. barrel while staying below max loads. What an accurate, flat shooting caliber. The only downside was, untll the AccuBond came along the full potential of the cartrige wasn't realized. It's so fast that the partitions shed their front too violently at closer ranges and other bullets either exploded (almost lost an elk that way) or became a solid and didn't expand. (Barnes-x and Failsafe).
Don't worry you'll be very satisfied with what that little 24 in. barrel will do for you. As far as comparing the 300WBY. to the 300 Win mag or 300WSM. Don't! You've got 200fps. advantage any way you look at it, Either factory or handloads, especially if you want to go above 180 grs. The others run out of case capacity. If you buy factory ammo you can get heavy magnum 300WBY. just like you can 300 Win. Mag. The 300RUM on the other hand will come out about equal.
Good Hunting
Elkhunt :grin:

 

[metallica]

You can never go wrong with a 300wby. I am interested on how the accubonds will shoot out of a 24" barrel. I havnt been able to get them to shoot out of my gun yet. If you go for the 300wby i would highly recomend the nosler brass for it. great brass. I have gotten 8 reloads out of them with only one triming and no signs of over pressure or work hardning.

keep us informed with your choice.....

 

[Big Squeeze]

To Dubyam.........................The 300 Wby., either in the 24 or 26, will outperform the 300 Win., 300 WSM and the 300SAUM which commonly use the 24" tubes. ..............With the 300 Wby., the 2" difference in barrel length, in relation to any velocity loss, is almost a wash here. Absolutely nothing to be concerned about. That 24" 300 Wby. will do the same thing under the same identical hunting circumstances on the same game as the 26" barrel............You are concerned about only 2"?? If that`s the case, I should really be pulling my hair out when it comes to my 16.5" barreled compact Ruger 300 WSM!! Well guess what!.........Even though my barrel is 31% shorter than a std. 24", I only lose about 3.5% to 4.5% in velocity when compared to the 24" 300 WSM`s!! Yep! You read that correctly!! And, my chrono results prove it!..........There seems to be this on going thinking out there, that there is in fact, a substantial velocity loss of about 50 fps. for every inch of barrel length lost!...... NOT TRUE FOLKS!!!!....... If that were true, I`d be losing an average of 375 fps. vs. the 24" rifle tubes as my barrel is a whoppin 7.5" shorter!!.........As further evidence & truth of which I write and for any of you short barreled skeptics out there; please go to...........shootingtimes.com.....click on "long guns", then scroll down to......."Short answer about scout styled rifles." Within that several page article by Dick Metcalf, he talks about the actual and real velocity loss using the shorter barrel...... His test rifle, which is exactly like mine in appearance, but different in caliber, is the 7MM/08.......Ruger no longer chambers the 300 WSM in this compact..........This is a great read and will open the eyes & mind to those who do read it.................

 

[Big Squeeze]

Dubyam.................As further back up to Metcalf`s Shooting Times article,,,,,,,,,,,,please also see,,,,,,,,,,,www.gunsandammo.com. Click on "long guns",,,,,,scroll down and click on pg. 4...... There you`ll see another article written by Richard Venola about that same rifle, which confirms again, the small percentage of velocity loss, with a barrel 7.5" shorter...........By the way, just in case your curious. My 150 gr. reloads chron`d at 3155 fps. The 180`s at 2994 fps. And the 200`s at 2828 fps. Groupings were from .875" to 1.220"..........All from a 16.5" barrel..............After reading both articles are you still concerned about losing 2"??????

 

[rick smith]

You will loose approx. 15-25 fps per inch of barrel length. Also, the powders that give the highest velocity in the longer barrels will give the highest velocity in shortened barrels. Going to a faster powder will not gain you any velocity in the shorter barrels. Old wives tales abound in reloading forums.Rick.

 

[FOTIS]

In my mind anything WBY or RUM should equal 26" barrel.

Now maybe it is in my head.........

 

[Guest]

I'm sort of in the same camp as you, POP. I originally asked this question because I ran across a very abused Mark V lightweight in a gunshop and it has a 24" tube. I think whoever owned it had it cut down when they had the Accubrake installed, as I was unaware of Weatherby making Accumarks in 24" (but maybe they did make the lightweights that way?). If the gun checks out, I am going to try to get it for a good price, as the guy said he'd like to make a deal on it, just to get it out of his shop. It is pretty dirty, and the forward action screw got lost at some point and was replaced by a large allen-head cap screw! The bore, however, looks pristine, and the entire gun has a coat of oil on it, so it is not rusty, just filthy and pretty beat up looking. The bottom metal appears to have been scuffed by a saddle scabbard or something, and the stock has several places where the grey/black web finish is rubbed off to reveal the flat black underneath. The only real concerns were the barrel length, and the fact that the trigger is horribly gritty, which is unusual for Weatherby, I think, but then again, I've only handled about 10-12 of these, so I don't really know. Everything except the barrel length is a relatively easy fix, though, so maybe...

I have seen some rifles manage to maintain velocity as barrel length shrinks, but usually that is directly proportional to case size. I have also experienced a better maintenance of velocity using faster powders in some instances (like 30-30Win & 7-30Waters in a TC Contender), so I wouldn't dismiss that 'wives tale' across the board. As for the short mags, I will ask a friend what he is getting from his 20" 300SAUM these days, just for reference.

 

[JD338]

Sounds like it might make "sense" to get the rifle. If it doesn't give you the performance you desire, you can always rebarrel.
Keep us posted.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I was thinking that same thing. I'd really like to have another Mark V, and this would lower the point of entry a bit. I think the trigger issues are just a matter of cleaning, as there is dirt and grime everywhere on this gun, so I imagine the bolt/sear are in need of cleaning as well. I don't think it's the trigger mechanism itself, as it has no grit to it when the bolt is out. It would certainly make a good long term project. I could end up rebarreling it to .340Wby, which is what I really want in a Mark V anyway. The guy is checking to see what his boss will let it go for.

 

[JD338]

Cool.

The 340 Wby shoots a 210 gr PT at 3200 fps, good for most NA game and African plains game. The 225 gr AB will make the 340 Wby a true Long Range hammer.

 

[Guy Miner]

Interesting, sounds like it was used for some hard hunts, but perhaps not shot much.

It can be tough with the naked eye to see the true condition of the rifling, look for a "gray" area ahead of the chamber in the bore. What looks kind of gray to the naked eye is usually what the bore scope reveals to be badly checked & eroded rifling. This is normal in a rifle that's been shot a lot, but also indicates that it's getting close to, or already is, time to re-barrel.

Regards, Guy

 

[Guest]

Yeah, the whole bore looks pretty much pristine. It is shiny and clean all the way up from the neck area to the crown. I used a bore 'reflector' I carry with me, sort of a fiber optic stick bent 90 degrees, as I don't want too much light in the bore, it makes it hard to see anything. Overall, I think you're right, hunted hard, not shot much. Obviously taken down at some point, as the allen-head cap screw is not a Weatherby factory option! I will be back down that way sometime next week, so I will see what the best I can get them to on it is.

 

[Big Squeeze]

To; Rick Smith.................................I agree with your assessment of 15 to 25 fps. of velocity loss for every 1" of shorter barrel length. That would be on par with my chrono results.................

 

[rick smith]

dubyam, I think you misunderstood what I posted about faster powders. If RL 25 is giving you the best velocity for your mag at 26", if you chop the barrel to 22", you can't make up the velocity loss by going to a faster powder like RL 15. RL 25 will also give you the best velocity at the shorter barrel length.Rick.

 

[Guest]

That's what I thought you meant, and my response is still a qualified 'maybe.' I have experienced just the situation you're referring to, with 30-30 loads. The powder that gave the best velocity out of a carbine barrel in two different rifles did not maintain its velocity as well as another powder that was slower in those two rifles when switched out to a TC Contender pistol (with a 14" barrel). So in that case, the 'faster' burning powder was not the highest velocity in the longer barrels, but was the highest velocity in the shorter one.

 

[rick smith]

I am talking about the same rifle, not two different ones. As with most rifles, they are one unto themselves. The carbine load into a contender. Two totally different firearms. I agree with what you found but that is not what I was refering to.Rick.