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Weatherby accuracy problems

Warm_Garand said:
Full disclosure.

I have a .300 Weatherby rifle. It reliably shoots .75 MOA 3-shot groups with Weatherby 180 grain spire-point factory ammunition, and my level of skill is such that I am able to replicate those groups.

I have noticed that it takes superb discipline to shoot an un-braked .300 Weatherby Magnum without flinching.

Presumably your rifle has a brake--OR you are superbly disciplined.

If not--look no further. The problem may well be human error.

As the Weatherby rifle is intended for hunting large game, presumably you have a hunting scope on it, AND presumably that hunting scope's parallax is internally fixed at 100 yards, AND presumably that scope does not allow for parallax correction--so presumably you are doing your load testing at 100 yards. And presumably you understand parallax error.

Were you seeing sub-MOA groups at 100 with Weatherby factory ammo? I'm talking BEFORE you decided to re-bed the rifle.

Presumably you have a torque wrench, and you are familiar with Weatherby's torque sequence and their torque specs?

Did you experiment with different torque on the action bolts? Sometimes one can find a sweet spot.

You might want to haunt the Weatherby boards, and make inquiries about what pet loads people are seeing success with for your particular caliber Weatherby Magnum rifle.

Weatherby Nation

Share your passion for the shooting and hunting sports and all things Weatherby
weatherbynation.com weatherbynation.com

Lastly--and you probably don't want to hear this--but the .300 Weatherby (for instance) isn't particularly efficient as a "tactical" rifle shooting one-ragged-hole groups, and if that is what you are looking for, you might want to reconsider. It has been designed to be a light, portable rifle an individual intent on hunting large game can take into the Idaho back country that can effectively push a hot slug through the shoulder-blade of a bull elk and fatally damage its heart. And for that purpose, a 3 inch circle of probability at 200 yards is perfectly adequate.

All the best.
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That was a lot of words to tell the op to know his role
 
Broc said:
Having a hard time seeing this. How are you hitting the heart if you are hitting the shoulder blade?

A 6.5cm will get the job done, a 300wby is not needed for this. And the 6.5 will do it shooting 1/2 MOA.
Click to expand...

Well then--you GO Girl!

ETA: I see in another thread that you are and your rifle are a consistent .25 MOA shooter. That is very impressive.
 
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Warm_Garand said:
Consider making up some dummy rounds, and having a friend load your 2nd or 3rd sting and swap in a dummy round (or two).

I made some up for a combat shotgun and I'm glad I did.

Flinch can be dealt with--but you have to know whether or not it is happening.

And watching your crosshairs hold steady as a rock while dropping the hammer on a dummy round in the chamber of magnum rifle is a beautiful feeling.
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I have done this and DONT just pass it by - this is good advice. I did it as a trap shooter, sub junior. As soon as my club saw i developed a flinch from shooting a 16ga new england arms single shot with a screwed on recoil pad n the screws half out they realized what kinda pain i was enduring trying to hang with the men and learn some trap as a kid.
Luckily alot of great men took me under their wing and turned me into a 4 time multi state handicap and doubles champion within a year. I remember coming home from school excited just to practice front bead line ups then to shoulder thousands of times. You really wanna beat this you have to be serious about it and approach it scientifically and stick with it.
 
mac1911 said:
Start here

well lets see if his gun even has the proper prefix. New /used , cal
Ugh I have so many questions
How was free bore or leade measured.
I would be at minimum taking a bore scope and taking a look inside. Plus free bore will differ with different bullet ogive designs.
When measures that way.

What is the throat length (free bore) on your Weatherby rifles chambered for Weatherby magnum calibers?

What is the throat length (free bore) on your Weatherby rifles chambered for Weatherby magnum calibers?
faq.weatherby.com faq.weatherby.com
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In my limited time as a gunsmith and training shooting - yes a borescope of decent quality with a set of refractors is necessary equipment. Esp if you are a common buyer of used firearms.
 
mac1911 said:
Start here

well lets see if his gun even has the proper prefix. New /used , cal
Ugh I have so many questions
How was free bore or leade measured.
I would be at minimum taking a bore scope and taking a look inside. Plus free bore will differ with different bullet ogive designs.
When measures that way.

What is the throat length (free bore) on your Weatherby rifles chambered for Weatherby magnum calibers?

What is the throat length (free bore) on your Weatherby rifles chambered for Weatherby magnum calibers?
faq.weatherby.com faq.weatherby.com
Click to expand...
The OP already measured the distance to the lands. 1/2" is absurd. It is unacceptable to have a modern rifle, from a company that prides itself on quality and accuracy, have a 1/2" jump.

Per the OP, he can't seat the bullets further out unless he wants a single shot rifle and bigger bullets won't solve the issue.
 
Warm_Garand said:
But once you learn to stoically surrender to recoil your shooting moves to a whole new level.

.308? Bitch, please.

lol.
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i shot my ruger sfar with hot loads, like around 50 shots or may be 70 - got a totally blue shoulder and then joint pain for a month. an 8lbs rifle kicks a ton, even on a mere .308.
then went on ebay and got this little BS rubber thing - and it solves bruised shoulder issue 100%
1702838030938.png
 
Broc said:
The OP already measured the distance to the lands. 1/2" is absurd. It is unacceptable to have a modern rifle, from a company that prides itself on quality and accuracy, have a 1/2" jump.

Per the OP, he can't seat the bullets further out unless he wants a single shot rifle and bigger bullets won't solve the issue.
Click to expand...
Like I said ,
Theres a lot of un knowns
What caliber, new or used rifle
How is it being measured.
What bullets exactly
I can shorten the jump to the lands by simple using a round nose soft point
What he measured was lands to bullet ogive.
So for his particular bullet profile he has what he decided for himself to much jump.

I would at least get chamber specs from the barrel manufacture
Or get a custom cut chamber to a specific bullet ?

Also add that Weatherby had specific models ID’d by serial #
along with Factory ammo for the .99” accuracy at 100 yards
 
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Broc said:
The OP already measured the distance to the lands. 1/2" is absurd. It is unacceptable to have a modern rifle, from a company that prides itself on quality and accuracy, have a 1/2" jump.

Per the OP, he can't seat the bullets further out unless he wants a single shot rifle and bigger bullets won't solve the issue.
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to bet that Roy Weatherby forgot more about accuracy than you'll ever know.

Weatherby's theories about freebore and generous lede for his magnum barrels have been born out since 1945--which is when he developed the 300 Weatherby Magnum.

Weatherby spec'd freebore for the 7mm magnum at .378.

7MM Weatherby Magnum.378

If you want to jump instantly to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the existing barrel because the OP is having some difficulty finding a load, hey--knock yourself out and rebarrel it. It's just money.
 
Warm_Garand said:
I'd be willing to bet that Roy Weatherby forgot more about accuracy than you'll ever know.

Weatherby's theories about freebore and generous lede for his magnum barrels have been born out since 1945--which is when he developed the 300 Weatherby Magnum.

Weatherby spec'd freebore for the 7mm magnum at .378.

7MM Weatherby Magnum.378

If you want to jump instantly to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the existing barrel because the OP is having some difficulty finding a load, hey--knock yourself out and rebarrel it. It's just money.
Click to expand...
.378 is a long, long way from .500
 
PatMcD said:
.378 is a long, long way from .500
Click to expand...
Im going to gander thats the reamer /chamber spec from mouth to lead.
Not lands to ogive which I think OP is measuring.
Im still betting put a old school flat base round nose soft point in there and the jump to lands shrinks.
Is it a lot of jump? I have no idea of the design specs or theory of weatherby magnums?
 
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I've been waiting to post this anecdote- Back in the 1970s and 1980s I was in a smallish gun club where we mostly shot rifles. A member friend told us that he had bought a Weatherby expecting great accuracy. He found that when at the range, the accuracy dropped after a few shots. After corresponding he was told that Weatherby guns were made for hunting and in hunting, they expect you to fire only three or so shots. If you fire more, the barrel will heat up and the groupings will spread.
This is what he told us.
 
Maxrobot said:
I've been waiting to post this anecdote- Back in the 1970s and 1980s I was in a smallish gun club where we mostly shot rifles. A member friend told us that he had bought a Weatherby expecting great accuracy. He found that when at the range, the accuracy dropped after a few shots. After corresponding he was told that Weatherby guns were made for hunting and in hunting, they expect you to fire only three or so shots. If you fire more, the barrel will heat up and the groupings will spread.
This is what he told us.
Click to expand...
ALTHOUGH it could be called a cop out, I buy it in this case and with the man/ developer in question.
 
Maxrobot said:
I've been waiting to post this anecdote- Back in the 1970s and 1980s I was in a smallish gun club where we mostly shot rifles. A member friend told us that he had bought a Weatherby expecting great accuracy. He found that when at the range, the accuracy dropped after a few shots. After corresponding he was told that Weatherby guns were made for hunting and in hunting, they expect you to fire only three or so shots. If you fire more, the barrel will heat up and the groupings will spread.
This is what he told us.
Click to expand...
This is pretty true. In hunting ( typical lighter contour barrels and platforms) you want your first cold bore shot to be the one to hit the bulls eye. Same as when we traveled to other states my dad always tested the cold bore shot the next morning.
I have watched many people shoot round after round “dialing in” their hunting rifles ( often on a rest) here in SE mass in Oct only to drag their rifles to colder and higher elevations and wonder why they lost their zero.
 
weatherby said:
It's not really bingo.
Weatherby magnums are designed with free bore.
I have 2 a 300 mag and 257 mag both are precise.

I'd keep trying
Click to expand...

FreeBore!

zippo-flame-lighter-fire-dark-hand-56231777.jpg

Warm_Garand said:
I have noticed that it takes superb discipline to shoot an un-braked .300 Weatherby Magnum without flinching.

Presumably your rifle has a brake--OR you are superbly disciplined.

If not--look no further. The problem may well be human error.


All the best.
Click to expand...

If they flinch, you know they're VC. If they don't flinch, they are well disciplined VC.
 
picked up some Shock Hammer bullets to start, plus made up a dummy round (good advice) load development starts on Saturday..Working brass as we speak. Thanks for all the input and advice.
 
Warm_Garand said:
Consider going GREEN.


lol.
Click to expand...
I was green about three years ago and had heart attack that knocked me on my ass for a spell, just getting back to normal now and can shoot my 460 smith without feeling like my chest was being caved in. 45/70 and my 7 mag were also put on hold for two years.. Its coming together..
 

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