340 Weatherby Mag

[Riflecrank]

Me 40 years and 40 pounds ago, imitating Boondocker of Eagle River, chewing on unlit cigar:

My Kodiak Kit: I only took two smallish bucks on that one-week, first trip, but had an 8-foot bear put his nose on my tent one moonless night. Exciting ! Shooed him off by firing my 340 Wby Mag from my sleeping bag.

One morning I shot a deer first thing upon arising to take a leak. I shot him in my longjohns. What he was doing in my longjohns I'll never know.

My Peninsula kaboodle:

I arrived on a flight that came in sometime after this one:

In the spirit of Elmer Keith and his 334 OKH, inspiration of the 340 Weatherby Magnum, my first ever selfie, and last one, was done with a waterproof Kodak Instamatic camera:

My solo trophy shot, Barren Ground Caribou antler tips in background.
Packing meat and antlers back to camp I broke through the ice on Shotsky Creek and got wet up to my neck, filled my hip waders at zero dark thirty, zero degrees F, and then the fun started for real.

 

[wvfred]

I don't shoot long range but if I hunted large game at long range the 340 would be a top choice.

 

[wolfhunter]

I like 225 gr. in my 330 Dakota

 

[ftrovato]

I like 225 gr. in my 330 Dakota

Where do you get brass for the 330 Dakota?

 

[Luvthunt]

Yeh, me too, I like 225s in my 340 ahead of Re 19.

 

[wolfhunter]

Where do you get brass for the 330 Dakota?

since it became almost impossible to find I dont shoot it as I would like to I have about 120 pieces and reload my own swift a frames and nosler accubond with retumbo how much brass do you have?

 

[JimP]

For the 330 Dalota you may be able to contact RCBS or Redding to get a form and trim die and use 404 Jeffery cases.

I know that forming your own cases is a pain, but if you need cases and want to shoot sometime you need to do what you have to do.

 

[ftrovato]

since it became almost impossible to find I dont shoot it as I would like to I have about 120 pieces and reload my own swift a frames and nosler accubond with retumbo how much brass do you have?

I have seen a few good deals on 330's rifles online for sale and don't pursue them because of the challenges around brass and gun value in that caliber.

However, I'm told one could contact Quality Cartridges and discuss custom brass.

Quality Cartridge Home

As far as making custom brass yourself, that would be an interesting project as JimP suggests.
Hard for me to own a rifle I cant shoot freely. But I really would like a 330 Dakota.

Parkwest tells me they have not sold (or recommend) one in over 10 years due to the challenges we discuss.

 

[Paul Homsy]

I hunted abroad before with a rifle caliber 9,3x64 Brenneke. As far as the recoil is concerned, with a 19g TUG bullet factory load it is stronger than that of the cartridge 340 Weatherby Magnum with a 250gr bullet. The cartridge 9,3x64 Brenneke is perhaps even superior to the cartridge 340 Weatherby Magnum in terms of working on game, but a lot depends on the bullet used. However, the external ballistics of this cartridge are not comparable to that of a cartridge 340 Weatherby Magnum and therefore one of the reasons why I own a rifle of this caliber.

The 9.3x64 Brenneke's recoil in a 9.5 rifle, pushing a 19gram bullet (not the usual 286 grains but a 292.6 grains bullet...) at 2930 fps, in a 9.5 pounds rifle recoils around 34 pounds.
The 340 Weatherby in a 10 pounds rifle...recoils about 20 % MORE using a 250 grains bullet. The Weatherby in a 10 pounds rifle generates about 40 pounds of recoil when the 250 grains bullet is pushed at 2830 fps. Speed is one of the 4 major components that determine recoil.
The shape and weight of your Brenneke rifle may give you the perception of heavier recoil but pure physics show differently.

 

[uplander01]

I used to use a 340 quite a lot, the recoil feels like more than it is, I think because the rifles usually aren't heavy and the velocity or "sharpness" of the recoil is evident due to the high velocity of the bullet....I believe its called recoil velocity

 

[grand veneur]

These are all recoils that are very much within the tolerable limits for every big game hunters.

 

[Paul Homsy]

These are all recoils that are very much within the tolerable limits for every big game hunters.

That's not what my post was about. It's clear that these recoils are well within tolerances for big game hunters.
My post was about responding to your claim that the Brenneke you mentioned had more recoil than a 340 Weatherby which is not the case, unless the Brenneke weighed 7 1/2 to 8 pounds which is unlikely. I used common weights to make a viable comparison.

 

[Paul Homsy]

I used to use a 340 quite a lot, the recoil feels like more than it is, I think because the rifles usually aren't heavy and the velocity or "sharpness" of the recoil is evident due to the high velocity of the bullet....I believe its called recoil velocity

Pounds are a measure of weight, not "velocity". Although it is movement that generates recoil. I calculate the pounds of recoil not the speed of the rifle pushed backward by propellant combustion and travel of projectile.

Recoil is based on raw weight of propellant, (not it's burning rate), weight of bullet, speed of bullet, weight of the firearm. Speed is one of four elements considered to calculate recoil. If you know how to calculate it which I do, please tell us more. I only calculate raw recoil which doesn't consider jet effect. My method does not discriminate. It just tends to show a little less recoil (4-5%) when one gets into the heavy cartridges. 450 and above. There are scores of reliable tables available online. If you know the weight of each element and the chronographed speed of your bullet you can get results within half a pound of recoil. Somewhat futile but nevertheless interesting to discover what your rifle generates.

To actually say that " the recoil feels more than it is " is strictly based on personal perception. It also, with apologies, doesn't make sense. Unless you mean that for the relatively small bullets of the .338 caliber, that cartridge kicks substantially more than others which is due to its substantial powder charge.

The recoil feels like what it is that you feel. It depends to some extent on your physical frame, body weight and how used you are to shooting different calibers. The weight of the rifle is another consideration but the recoil you feel is what it is.
If a powder used is slow burning but the speed of the bullet it generates is equal to that of a fast burning powder, recoil will feel softer because the burning rate of the powder is longer (in milliseconds) and the recoil impulse is distributed at a slower rate.
If it is a fast powder, the impulse feels sharper (which may lead to thinking it is a heavier recoil) because it is of a shorter duration.
Meanwhile on a scale, both fast and slow burning powders in the example above generate the same recoil. The shooter's perception is altered by the burn rate of the powder but that burn rate doesn't enter the equation to calculate recoil and is why "raw" weight of powder is used with no mention of its burning rate. Nor how it affects the shooter's perception. There is no denying that one may be more comfortable to shoot than the other.

 

[EfRed]

I am a Weatherby cartridge Fan since the sixties. When I was young, I always dreamed of a Weatherby rifle caliber 300 Weatherby Magnum, but I could not afford it. At some point and for many reasons I bought an old Brevex rifle caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum and a little later, there are about 20 years ago, I had a rifle caliber 340 Weatherby Magnum built with a FN Mauser action.

Nobody needs to convince me of the effectiveness of this cartridge. The cartridge is too powerful for hunting in my country, but worldwide I have shot some game with it and because of the good external ballistics of the cartridge, even at distances of over 400 yards. In all cases I used the 250gr GK bullet from Sierra.

The reason why the cartridge is not used very much is certainly due to the competition above all of the cartridge 338 Winchester Magnum, but also, as with some cartridges from Weatherby, the bad reports such as increased recoil and so on.

Thanks for teaching me a new word: veneur!

I have a 340 Weatherby and a 330 Dakota - the rifles are much different by the exterior ballistics are about the same. I really like the cartridges, prefer to the 300 mags. The 338 Winchester is absolutely good enough, more available, and cheaper in rifle and cartridge. Those who are strictly economy oriented will love it over the Weatherby and the Dakota.

But you have acquired a 460 Weatherby! I suspect you consider more than economy in your purchase decisions. So, like me, you maybe see more in a Weatherby....

 

[EfRed]

The 340WBY cartridge is certainly up to the task you have outlined but the reason it’s not as popular can be traced to two factors that I’ve seen over the years.

First is separating the 340WBY from a Weatherby rifle. The cartridge is great but more often than not the Weatherby rifle was braked and the stock had horrible shooting ergonomics. Put the cartridge in a CZ550 like @One Day... did and it’s a completely different story.

Second reason is ammo availability in the places you intend to hunt. Remote camps in Alaska and Africa are not likely to have 340WBY laying around. Finding it in a local store could be just as bad. Travel enough with rifles and you will eventually have your luggage lost. No ammo is a bummer.

Ballistics are ballistics and the 340WBY is a great one but it’s been shown over and over again that the speed that Roy attained with his cartridges is often times not needed. The 338WM, 35W and 375H&H along with the 8mm’s I’ve missed (all of which move slower than the WBY) have been getting the job done quite well for a very long time. Combine that with ammo availability and the 340 gets left behind.

EDIT - Welcome to AH. Apologies for not starting with that.

Agree on speed and availability. But manifestly disagree on the shooting ergonomics issue. I find the Mark V stock to be an absolute delight if shooting with a scope. Rifles designed for iron sights tend to have a lot more drop at the butt, tend to accentuate felt recoil for medium cartridges. IMHO!

 

[ftrovato]

Thanks for teaching me a new word: veneur!

I have a 340 Weatherby and a 330 Dakota - the rifles are much different by the exterior ballistics are about the same. I really like the cartridges, prefer to the 300 mags. The 338 Winchester is absolutely good enough, more available, and cheaper in rifle and cartridge. Those who are strictly economy oriented will love it over the Weatherby and the Dakota.

But you have acquired a 460 Weatherby! I suspect you consider more than economy in your purchase decisions. So, like me, you maybe see more in a Weatherby....

I have done enough with the 300s, 338 WM & 340 WM to feel very capable with all.

However, I can get on target much faster with the 340 (over the 338) thanks to its better trajectory.

And when the bullet gets there, you can clearly see that the animal was not hit with a 30 caliber bullet.
338 bullets out of the 340 are simply a hammer for a little bit more recoil.

But that's just my 2 cents. And they are not worth much these days.

 

[Africa1]

Bought my Weatherby Euromark 2005ish. Sent it off to Answer Products for a cryogenic barrel treatment,, a new synthetic stock and a recoil-suppression system. Off to Africa with a rifle with the recoil of a 270 now! Yes....they really bark so wear hearing protection. Shot Kudu,gemsbok,zebra and ostrich on my first trip to Africa. All one shot kills. Return home, hunt cow elk. 1 shot kill. Hunt 4 year old 1000 pound bison, 1 shot kill. Using 3-9 Swarovski optics. All shot under 300 yards. Custom loaded Swift A-Frames from Superior Products. 250 grains. In short. Handles like a dream, tight groups, bang dead. Good for anything in North America and most in Africa. Beware the muzzle blast.