new rifle .300wthby mag

[lostsniper308]

I just got a Weatherby VAnguard in .300wthby magnum. its a short 20" barrel so what will the shortened barrel do to accuracy, kick, and velocity/killing power. Is this thing a real shoulder amuputator? or not?

[Don Fischer]

Have no idea what it will do to accuracy , probally nothing. Kick, well if it's light, it will kick more. Velocity, you cut off 6" of any barrel and you lose velocity. A guess off the top of my head, I'd say you effectively taken a 300 weatherby and turned it into a 30-06 with a huge amount of muzzel flash.

[Drilling Man]

  300 Wby. with a 20" bbl....  It's going to have quite a bit of velocity loss from a 26" bbl. that "that" cartridge was designed for.  Lower velocity means less bullet energy....  With a case capacity that the 300 Wby. has, your going to get quite a bit of muzzle flash and muzzle "flip" that most folks consider recoil...

  I doubt it will hurt the accuracy any, but it is going to be a little harder to shoot with that shorter bbl....

  DM

[lostsniper308]

harder to shoot, how do mean? did it used to be a 26"barrel? i thought they were 24" like the .300WSM

overall will this thing be effective on game and have managable recoil? won't throw 5'8" 150lb me to the ground will it?

[R.W.Dale]

 I have the 300wby vanguard with the factory length barrel 24". I have no trouble beating 300 win mag velocities with handloads. (never shot a single factory round) Recoil with this rifle was downright tragic, mostly muzzle flip. I had the gentelman at ScoreHigh Gunsmithing rectify this by installing a brake. The rifle now kicks like a .243

[Don Fischer]

I have the 300wby vanguard with the factory length barrel 24". I have no trouble beating 300 win mag velocities with handloads. (never shot a single factory round) Recoil with this rifle was downright tragic, mostly muzzle flip. I had the gentelman at ScoreHigh Gunsmithing rectify this by installing a brake. The rifle now kicks like a .243

Well, how loud is it now?

[lostsniper308]

how much would a muzzle brake cost. any quick detach types?

[Don Fischer]

Quick detach muzzle brake? How about some 80# monofilliment tied on the end of the barrel with 2lbs of lead hung off it?

[lostsniper308]

funny, i looked at brakes, they are rather expensive, but how much does it cost on average to thread the barrel?

[R.W.Dale]

 this brake cost me $175 installed, this price included return shipping. As the shooter this particular brake isn't noticably louder (you don't want to make a habit of shooting a 300 magnum without hearing protection BRAKE OR NO BRAKE) Now while at the range my buddies have learned to stay back. But with the absence of ports on bottom the shooter doesn't get a lot more noise.

 This brake can be removed and a thread protector installed. This was an option I wanted when buying this brake but apoun getting some range time I doubt I'd ever remove it .


 

[Buckskin]

Suprising that the Wthby's have so much muzzle flip.  I have a 300 RUM in a 700 and it has very little muzzle flip, but has a nice whallop.

[Drilling Man]

Suprising that the Wthby's have so much muzzle flip.  I have a 300 RUM in a 700 and it has very little muzzle flip

  What isn't much to some, is a quite a bit to others...

  DM

[Buckskin]

What isn't much to some, is a quite a bit to others...
DM

I shot a coyote a couple weeks ago w/ my 300 RUM and didn't have a great base to rest on so I rested the rifle on my left fist, basically shooting one handed.  I know of some rifles that if I did that I would have a nice bleeding half moon above my eye.

[nasem]

Believe it or not.... a 30-06 with a 20" barrel might have more power to it than your 20" barrel 300 wby mag. 

That wby has sooo much slow burning powder that it NEED a 24" to 26" to burn most of it... with 20" barrel, alot of that powder woun't even burn until it exits the gun (annoying muzzle blast).

Sell that gun asap and get your self a 30-06 or 308 in a 20".... the power and performance will be just just like the 20" wby but minus the muzzle blast and the expensive ammo.

[Smokin Joe]

lostsniper, a Weatherby service center will install a Weatherby Accubrake with threaded muzzle protector for about $150.00

Check with:

Ahlman’s, Inc.
9525 W. 230th St.
Morristown‚ MN 55052
Ph # 507-685-4243
Fax # 507-685-4280

[R.W.Dale]

Believe it or not.... a 30-06 with a 20" barrel might have more power to it than your 20" barrel 300 wby mag. 

That wby has sooo much slow burning powder that it NEED a 24" to 26" to burn most of it... with 20" barrel, alot of that powder woun't even burn until it exits the gun (annoying muzzle blast).

Sell that gun asap and get your self a 30-06 or 308 in a 20".... the power and performance will be just just like the 20" wby but minus the muzzle blast and the expensive ammo.

 Given the same barrel length a 300 WBY will always have more velocity than a 30-06 if anything due to the higher pressure rating alone.

 And besides all of the powder in a rifle cartrige that is going to burn will do so in the first 3 or 4 inches worth of barrel.

[R.W.Dale]

Suprising that the Wthby's have so much muzzle flip.  I have a 300 RUM in a 700 and it has very little muzzle flip, but has a nice whallop.

 I was as well, My 300wby Ruger No1 was a relitive pussycat but this Vanguard just had it out for my forehead. When shooting from the bench I literally couldn't keep the forend from jumping out of my hand. This was even after switching from the craptastic factory stock to a Bell&Carlson Carbelite.

[Jimi]

Rule of thumb is that you lose 50-100fps for every 1" you take off the barrel. The .300 Weatherby, in my opinion, is the best of the .300 Magnums... You can load a heavy bullet, which is the true benefit of a magnum anyway.

[jro45]

I would say that you will lose about 40 to 50 FPS per inch of less barrel [ 22" barrel  to a 26" barrel ].

It shouldn't effect the accuracy. and probably less recoil because your bullet has lost some FPS.

[Drilling Man]

and probably less recoil because your bullet has lost some FPS.

  It's NOT the FPS that affects recoil...  When it comes to the cartridge, the weight of the powder charge and the weight of the bullet has most to do with the recoil.

  If the bullet goes 3,000 fps or 2,800 fps it doesn't matter, as in this case the weight of the powder charge stayed the same as did the weight of the bullet.

  Eariler someone stated that this 300 wby. may not be any faster than a 30-06 because of the powder not burning....  Well, to fix that, you load the 300 Wby. with a powder that has a "faster" burning rate.  It's not going to get back what it would have had with a long bbl useing a slow powder, but it will improve, and it will be faster than a 30-06...

  DM

[lostsniper308]

i'm curious if you could load a lighter bullet like a 150gr bullet??? would there be greater velocity here?

[nomosendero]

Have no idea what it will do to accuracy , probally nothing. Kick, well if it's light, it will kick more. Velocity, you cut off 6" of any barrel and you lose velocity. A guess off the top of my head, I'd say you effectively taken a 300 weatherby and turned it into a 30-06 with a huge amount of muzzel flash.

I agree, at least not enough vel. difference to justify the round.

Fast powder will help, but not enough.

As Drilling Man stated, the Wea. was designed for a 26" tube & they still work pretty good with a 24". Concerning the brake, remember that the
blast will increase even more with a brake being screwed onto a 20" barrel as opposed to the 24". Yes, hearing protection is vital & if you shoot it
once even while hunting with a brake on this 20"& no protection, you will pay, I promise!! If you got a good deal on this gun, I would either sell it
or have a 26" or longer Lilja installed. If you want a 300Wea. you might as well get the Wea. performance.