300 wby recoil

[bcraig]

I have had a couple  of them when I was a teenager( in the 70.s). lots of damage from both ends of the rifle ! I wouldn,t shoot a 300 Weatherby by remote control from the next county anymore ! Dont need it for deer(even for 400 yard plus shots)Ammo all but impossible to find at local sporting goods or wal mart and expensive when you do find it.

[gs50401]

For ammo order 100 cases from midwayusa. Load them and shoot. The other components are common once you get the brass. For heavy loads in any rifle try a standing rest. You can go with the flow much better than a seated rest.

[vabowhntr]

I don't have the 300 wby, but I have a 300 win mag that is about the same with handloads.  With a boyds laminate stock on it the recoil is not much different than my rem 725 in 30-06.  I don't shoot it hunched over at the bench, though.  I like mine as it is accurate with 165 gr TSX's and feel I can take just about anything I want out to about 300 yards with it, and don't see the need to shoot much farther.  Of course, I can do the same with my 30-06 with slightly less recoil...

Then again, I was also used to shooting 1 1/4 oz. slugs from my bolt action 12 ga before taking up the 300 win mag, so it is all relative!

[SHOOTALL]

Got a 300 roy for christmas a few years back. Then i got that spring stock and a leupold. Finally shot this rifle and after four shots to sight it in, I was done. The recoil on this thing is bad. Did say recoil? My teeth are still rattling. Can't fathom what the recoil would be like without the springy stock. This is not gonna get shot much.

Yep its an attention getter . Would rather shoot a  338win mag. My son has a 300 WM and a few years ago we sighted it in . I shot it about 14 times with a tee shirt on . We were at a bench. Well later I read that standing and using a sand bag on a 4-5 foot step ladder was better. I tried this with a 454 WM and it works. Just place a bag on the top of the ladder to get the correct height . What happens is you entire body is taking recoil and not just the top half.

[Lloyd Smale]

Personaly i dont think the recoil of the 300wby is all that bad. If you can shoot a 3 inch mag 12 guage a 300 wby is a piece of cake. Now when you step up to a 340 or 416 you get into a differnt ball park.

[lgm270]

Although recoil energy can be calculated in ft/lbs of energy, there are tremendous individual differences in perceived recoil.  Stock design and rifle overall weight are among the variables involved.  I once shot a .458 Win Mag that was custom made for the Safari Club International.  Actor Steve Seagal won it in a fund raising  bid.  His gunsmith was at the range one day, sighting it in.  It was a beautiful rifle, built on a pre-64 Winchester M-70 action.  But....the stock was the same weight and dimensions as on a regular 30-06/270.  Most big bores have larger more massive stocks which spread the recoil energy out over  larger part of the shooter's shoulder. Not this rifle. 

I foolishly agreed to shoot it after the gunsmith asked if I wanted to try it. Instantly I knew I'd made a mistake.  Apart from the too small dimensions of the stock for such a heavy caliber, it had a fancy schmancy European scope with a very short eye relief. This means I had to firmly push the butt of the stock into my shoulder but at the same time had to try to hold my head as far back as possible in order not to get whacked with the rear eye piece of the scope when it recoiled. 

I've noticed the same thing with the .300 Wby.  Most complain about the recoil, but stoically persevere. I know one guy who took up handloading and shot  .300 Wby  with 30-06 level loads for the rest of the time.  He liked the gun and liked being able to flash his Weatherby.  The 300 Wby is a great hunting round, but stock design, stock fit and shooter skill are very important in achieving  proficiency with this round.

[SHOOTALL]

Any gun that has heavy recoil will hurt you if you have not learned to handle it . Contary to what most think We Americans are not born knowing how to shoot the eye out of a gnat at 1000 yards or shoulder the hardest kicking gun with skill . All needs to be learned . 

[Troyboy]

I can't believe this thread has come up again. I had to sell a good plenty of my guns and all my reloading stuff. Had to relocate .............. would ya know I kept the 300 some handi's and a few pistols. The 300 has an axiom/knoxx stock. I am gonna get a press and start over with this mule. Reduced loading is the best solution since I could not part with this rifle.

[lgm270]

I can't believe this thread has come up again. I had to sell a good plenty of my guns and all my reloading stuff. Had to relocate .............. would ya know I kept the 300 some handi's and a few pistols. The 300 has an axiom/knoxx stock. I am gonna get a press and start over with this mule. Reduced loading is the best solution since I could not part with this rifle.

My hat is off to you Troyboy.  I admire your loyalty to a great caliber, even though it's much too much gun for me.

[buffybr]

I guess I'm not only the new guy here, I'm also the odd ball.  I started big game hunting in 1965 and except for missing a few years during the Vietnam era, I've actively hunted every year since.  My first centerfire rifle was a .30-06 which I later re-chambered to .30 Gibbs.  In the late '70s I built a .257 Ackley for my deer/antelope rifle and used the .30 Gibbs for elk size critters.  Those two rifles kept my freezers full of tasty venison for over 30 years.

Then in 2000 at age 54, I booked a hunt in South Africa and bought my first magnum rifle, a 7mm Rem mag.  A few years later I "upgraded" my 7mm RM to another 7mm RM which I took on a second African hunt and it is now my foul weather rifle for anything that we have to hunt here in Montana.  My 2005 African hunt was primarily for Cape Buffalo and I built my second magnum rifle, a .375 Ultra mag.  Out of the box, that rifle was the worst kicking rifle that I have ever shot.

Ever since I started big game hunting, I've admired Weatherby rifles and more specifically, the .300 Wby.  In the early '70s I spent many hours reading and re-reading the Weatherby catalogs and dreamed of my own .300 Wby.  Then a few years ago, at age 60, when many other hunters say they are trading their magnums for light kicking standard caliber rifles, I fulfilled a long time dream and bought a .300 Wby Vanguard.

I like to tinker with my rifles, so I replaced the factory Vanguard stock with a AA Fancy piece of Claro walnut.  Having tamed the recoil of my .375 RUM, I did much the same with my new .300 Wby.

The new stock is longer than standard, so it fits me.  The action and barrel is pillar and glass bedded, and the barrel is free floating.  To help reduce recoil, I installed a mechanical recoil reducer in the stock and added a Limbsaver recoil pad.  I also had a KDF muzzle brake installed on the barrel.  I also polished the trigger sear and adjusted it to break crisply at 3 lbs.  I topped it with a 4-12x Leupold and I checkered the stock with a multi panel pattern that I have on several of my rifles.

The felt recoil of this rifle feels no more than the recoil of my .30-06 or .270 Win.  It shoots 3 shot 100 yd MOA groups with 168 and 180 gr Barnes TSX and 178 gr Hornady Amax bullets.

So far I’ve only shot 4 animals, including this year’s bull elk, with this rifle, but they were all one shot DRT kills.  This is my new favorite rifle.

I only shoot handloads in all of my guns, and once I get the cases, the only difference in loading the .300 Wby and loading a .30-06 is about 20 grains more powder in the Wby.  At $21 per pound of powder, this results in about 6 cents per round more to load the .300 Wby than the .30-06.

[M'issippi Bruce]

My .300 Wby Vanguard is my current favorite rifle and has been since I bought it a few years ago. Recoil is, to me, pretty reasonable and I only notice it at the range - never even remembered pulling the trigger on this year's 2 deer, and I did see the bullet impact each one. The stock is the factory synthetic and there are no special mods to the gun at all. Reloading is the only way to afford to shoot the thing, though - $25 or so per box to load it vs $80 to buy them.
Weatherbys are among my favorites - although the worst recoil I've EVER experienced was from a .378 Wby in a 8 1/2 lb rifle that I made the "macho" mistake of shooting. That one hurt way more than the .460 that I also got to shoot.

[john keyes]

  Age and wisdom seem to meet somewhere around age 50

hasn't happened for me yet...........


back to the subject though, I've got a jap weatherby and I  haven't shot it in 5 or 6 years.  I have one handload for it: 82.0 RL22 and a 180 gr softpoint.    I have a nice scope on it that needs to come off and get put on a gun that gets shot more often, like every other rifle I own....but I like to shoot the big 300, just have to be in the right mood for all that thunder.  I think the 180 chrono'd at 3060 out of the 26" tube. 

[nomosendero]

Personaly i dont think the recoil of the 300wby is all that bad. If you can shoot a 3 inch mag 12 guage a 300 wby is a piece of cake. Now when you step up to a 340 or 416 you get into a differnt ball park.

I agree! I had a Mossberg pump 3 1/2" mag version for a while, that one will get your attention!

I had a MarkV 24" pencil barrel version for sev. years. It was very accurate as long as you allowed some cool down time. I shoot a 300WM now as that is a little better choice for me in that power range, but the 300Wea. is a great round. As far as recoil is concerned, the stock design, weight, recoil pad & other factors can make that better for you!

[charles p]

You can have that 300 Weatherby.  I've had three rotator surgeries, and each was to repair a full thickness tear.  Give me a .308 and I can do most of what that mag will do.

[oldfort]

I have a farmer buddy that has a pre 64 Mod 70 chambered for .300 WBY for close to 50 yrs. One could probably not load all the coyotes that he has shot with it into a box car.
 
I am older and fatter now, but the recoil from my wood stocked Vanguard in .300 WBY does not bother me that much. I shoot WBY factory ammo, so I don't shoot it much.

[lgm270]

I guess I'm not only the new guy here, I'm also the odd ball.  I started big game hunting in 1965 and except for missing a few years during the Vietnam era, I've actively hunted every year since.  My first centerfire rifle was a .30-06 which I later re-chambered to .30 Gibbs.  In the late '70s I built a .257 Ackley for my deer/antelope rifle and used the .30 Gibbs for elk size critters.  Those two rifles kept my freezers full of tasty venison for over 30 years.

Then in 2000 at age 54, I booked a hunt in South Africa and bought my first magnum rifle, a 7mm Rem mag.  A few years later I "upgraded" my 7mm RM to another 7mm RM which I took on a second African hunt and it is now my foul weather rifle for anything that we have to hunt here in Montana.  My 2005 African hunt was primarily for Cape Buffalo and I built my second magnum rifle, a .375 Ultra mag.  Out of the box, that rifle was the worst kicking rifle that I have ever shot.

Ever since I started big game hunting, I've admired Weatherby rifles and more specifically, the .300 Wby.  In the early '70s I spent many hours reading and re-reading the Weatherby catalogs and dreamed of my own .300 Wby.  Then a few years ago, at age 60, when many other hunters say they are trading their magnums for light kicking standard caliber rifles, I fulfilled a long time dream and bought a .300 Wby Vanguard.

I like to tinker with my rifles, so I replaced the factory Vanguard stock with a AA Fancy piece of Claro walnut.  Having tamed the recoil of my .375 RUM, I did much the same with my new .300 Wby.

The new stock is longer than standard, so it fits me.  The action and barrel is pillar and glass bedded, and the barrel is free floating.  To help reduce recoil, I installed a mechanical recoil reducer in the stock and added a Limbsaver recoil pad.  I also had a KDF muzzle brake installed on the barrel.  I also polished the trigger sear and adjusted it to break crisply at 3 lbs.  I topped it with a 4-12x Leupold and I checkered the stock with a multi panel pattern that I have on several of my rifles.

The felt recoil of this rifle feels no more than the recoil of my .30-06 or .270 Win.  It shoots 3 shot 100 yd MOA groups with 168 and 180 gr Barnes TSX and 178 gr Hornady Amax bullets.

So far I’ve only shot 4 animals, including this year’s bull elk, with this rifle, but they were all one shot DRT kills.  This is my new favorite rifle.

I only shoot handloads in all of my guns, and once I get the cases, the only difference in loading the .300 Wby and loading a .30-06 is about 20 grains more powder in the Wby.  At $21 per pound of powder, this results in about 6 cents per round more to load the .300 Wby than the .30-06.

Welcome to Graybeard.  A great post. I enjoyed reading of your experiences.

[Lloyd Smale]

I always chuckle at guys who claim something like a 300 wby is way to much for them but i look in there gun cabinet and theres 3 12 guage shotguns and id bet a dime to a dollar somewhere in the house theres a box of 3 inch fineshot or a box of slugs. Why do you feel you cant handle the wby and think somehow majicaly you can shoot a 12 guage well.

[BBF]

For one think Lloyd there isn't a scope on top of the shotgun just waiting for the chance to engrave you.
The recoil difference between the 300 Win and the rechambered 300 Wby was noticeable. The other factor between a 12 gauge and a high Vel rifle is the recoil velocity.

[SHOOTALL]

I always chuckle at guys who claim something like a 300 wby is way to much for them but i look in there gun cabinet and theres 3 12 guage shotguns and id bet a dime to a dollar somewhere in the house theres a box of 3 inch fineshot or a box of slugs. Why do you feel you cant handle the wby and think somehow majicaly you can shoot a 12 guage well.

I have shot both , the 300 was a vnguard with syn stock . The 12 ga 3-1/2 mag was a Bretta O/U that was light . The 300 W had more felt recoil . Ammo 180 wty brand in the rifle and rem heavy shot in the O/U along with some lead 2 oz turkey loads.
I think the felt difference is in the stock . Both are alot of kick , both are managed better standing than at a bench.

[parkergunshop]

Lloyd the difference between you and I and some that are wimping out from the .300 Weatherby recoil is experience that comes from shooting thousand of rounds in competion and working with calibers like .375 H&H and .458 Winchester Mags.    My rifle closest to the .300 Weatherby is a .308 Norma Mag in a eight pound rifle and to me it kick less than my six pound .257 Ackley Improved.
The only rifle I use a sand bag between the recoil pad and my shoulder is the .458 Winchester Mag,  The last time I fired it was from the bench because someone tresspassed on my property and put a lock on deer stand in a big Poplar tree,  being too lazy to climb the tree to take it down I fired twenty some rounds with the .458 and cut the tree off just below the deer stand 20 feet up the tree.
And I have never been engraved by the rear end of a scope with any caliber, If you have that problem you are not holding the rifle correctly in the first place for best accuracy.
 
 

[mcwoodduck]

Try raising the rifle up off the bench so you're upper body moves.  I use 2 canvas penny bags under mine and I don't notice recoil.  Hunching over into a heavy kicker will eat you up.  The Past or Allen pads make a huge difference without boogering your rifle up.

I can't shhot a rifle in any kind of mechanical restraint like the Lead Sled.

Forget that.  Stand up.  My 375 recoils pretty bad and the little No3 Ruger I have with the Bottom end of 458 Mag loads in the 45-70 are brutal.  But standing allows my whole body to absorb the recoil.
When sitting at the bech you have no where to go to excape the recoil.
 
Now back toi the No3.  Since I have the 375 H&H I no longer need or wan the holly cow loads from the 45-70 and have down loaded it to trap door pressures.  More than enough.  Unless you are hunting a bean field or the largest game a huge bullet and ultra speed are not needed.  Load 165 gran bullets to 300 Win Mag speeds and build up the speed if you want as you get used to the recoil.

[Buck-Ridge]

 I like mine and I like the results I get with it. I don't shoot it much. If I want volume practice with technique I shoot a 22. I shoot it annually to check the scope and shoot it a couple of times a year and kill a couple of deer. I don't notice the recoil shooting at deer any. When I don't want to shoot it I'll retire it and get something smaller. But until then If I can see past 200 yards when I'm hunting the 300 is what I'll use. When I can't see 200 yards I use My 35 Whelen. I enjoy shooting big guns that make 2 holes.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup if your scope bites you your probably not holding the gun right or you have the scope to far back or your using a scope with not enough eye relief. Ive shot many many rounds out of 458s and even 460 weatherbys and have never been bit by a scope on one. As a matter of fact the only time i got bit by a scope was on a 06 i was shooting in a weird position in the field. totaly my own fault. You just got to get over mentaly the fact that they gun jumps a bit and bellows. VERY few rifles actually hurt to shoot.

Lloyd the difference between you and I and some that are wimping out from the .300 Weatherby recoil is experience that comes from shooting thousand of rounds in competion and working with calibers like .375 H&H and .458 Winchester Mags.    My rifle closest to the .300 Weatherby is a .308 Norma Mag in a eight pound rifle and to me it kick less than my six pound .257 Ackley Improved.
The only rifle I use a sand bag between the recoil pad and my shoulder is the .458 Winchester Mag,  The last time I fired it was from the bench because someone tresspassed on my property and put a lock on deer stand in a big Poplar tree,  being too lazy to climb the tree to take it down I fired twenty some rounds with the .458 and cut the tree off just below the deer stand 20 feet up the tree.
And I have never been engraved by the rear end of a scope with any caliber, If you have that problem you are not holding the rifle correctly in the first place for best accuracy.

[Lloyd Smale]

Now a #3 with bottom end 458 loads with that cresent but plate is one of those reare ones that actually will cause pain!

Try raising the rifle up off the bench so you're upper body moves.  I use 2 canvas penny bags under mine and I don't notice recoil.  Hunching over into a heavy kicker will eat you up.  The Past or Allen pads make a huge difference without boogering your rifle up.

I can't shhot a rifle in any kind of mechanical restraint like the Lead Sled.

Forget that.  Stand up.  My 375 recoils pretty bad and the little No3 Ruger I have with the Bottom end of 458 Mag loads in the 45-70 are brutal.  But standing allows my whole body to absorb the recoil.
When sitting at the bech you have no where to go to excape the recoil.
 
Now back toi the No3.  Since I have the 375 H&H I no longer need or wan the holly cow loads from the 45-70 and have down loaded it to trap door pressures.  More than enough.  Unless you are hunting a bean field or the largest game a huge bullet and ultra speed are not needed.  Load 165 gran bullets to 300 Win Mag speeds and build up the speed if you want as you get used to the recoil.