.340 Weatherby Magnum

[bruce moulds]

what do we thik of this cartridge's capability with 250 gn aframes.
how close to , or how far behind is it to the 375 h&h on what weight animals.
it seems to offer an effective point blank range of 300 yds, but is this at the price of killing power.
how does recoil compare to the 375.
bruce.

 

[Von S.]

Hello Bruce,

The 340 is one flat shooting bad ass mother.

It will most assuredly out distance with more foot pounds any 375 load.

Is it a DG round? I don't think so, but that is only my opinion......and possibly the opinion of many countries in Africa.

Is it a good PG round? Actually it is probably the best there is if you can't handle the 378 s recoil and thunder.

It is the caliber that God uses when he shoots small stuff.

 

[NWT]

It is my all time favorite North American big game cartridge. Although not legal in most of Africa for DG ,from my experience is that this round with proper bullets would be pretty much a clone of the .375 on something like buffalo. The nice part of the .340 is it is extremely flat shooting. I have shot Dall sheep at 350 yds, bull elk front on at 15 paces, Alaskan Yukon moose up close , bears, and others. Every animal I have shot with the .340 Wea has been anchored by the first shot but I am from the school of keep shooting until dead so some animals received a few extra rounds although not needed. My hunting partner switched to a .340 halfway through his career , again never a lost animal.
Regarding recoil it is not a overly sharp recoil but more of a big punch. You do not want to make a light weight .340Wea. The guns we enjoy are CRF with 25-26" barrels , ours have 1.5-6 X 42 mm scopes, the rifles way about 10lbs scoped. I rate the recoil almost identical to the .375 in like rifles . I have not used A-Frames in the .340Wea but I bet they would be deadly. We have used exclusively .250 gr Nosler partitions. The .340Wea that I have been around are very accurate with full power loads.
I guess by now you can tell I like the round. It's a KILLA

 

[Von S.]

I have one one word....." Homeric".

 

[JimP]

I have used a .340 for the last 20 or so years. I found that it loves 225 gr Barnes TTSX bullets at 3000 fps, at least mine does. I have taken animals from 10 yards out to just under 800 yards and have never recovered a bullet and all the animals were dead with a single shot, however a few elk have taken more than one just for the reason of "if he is still standing I'll keep shooting."

On my African safari all the plains game that I took went down with a single shot. The smallest was a spring buck at 349 yards out to my kudu at 480 yards with a black wildebeast, impala, and bleastbok in between.

As for dangerous game I would not hesitate to use it but it is restricted by caliber, not bullet energy.

By the way, my rifle hates 250 grain Nosler partitions. It refuses to shoot them anywhere close to what I prefer, but those Barnes 225 TTSX will cut a nice cloverleaf at 200 yards all day long.

 

[Saul]

Absolutely amazing cartridge and criminally underrated. Unfortunately, I got rid of mine a few years ago. I now fill its role with the .338 Lapua. The big .338s are by far the best big game rounds. Hit like Thor's hammer without the sharp kick of the .300 magnums.

 

[PaulT]

The .340 Wby is a cartridge I have always wanted to try.

Unfortunately, it contradicts my preference for light-weight hunting rifles.
The .340 in a light-weight rifle is simply too much of a good thing, at least it is for me.
None-the-less a very useful cartridge for those who can handle it.

 

[bruce moulds]

yes paul, too light a weight might make things less than comfy.
my thoughts are for use on central australian ferals, camels, horses, and donkeys.
sometimes out in the desert, you need a bit of reach.
but you still need horsepower when it gets there.
and there is always the hope of a NT buffalo one day.
camels weigh 600 kilos?
my limiting factors are poor offhand shooting, and bigger groups at longer ranges, more so than rifle accuracy.
bruce.

 

[Luvthunt]

Been using a 340 wby for 35+ years. Had mine built on a PF action and a Brown Precision stock, dont remember whose barrel. Started out shooting 250 Nosler part. When the 225 came on the market changed to them. My rifle shoots 250s dead on at. 100 and the 225s 1 1/2 in high at same. Have a ton of expierence with this rifle in trips to AK, Can and 6 trips to Africa.used it for steenbok up to and including eland. Only change would be on eland would go to Swift A frames.
Most all shots were once and done. Did shoot a waterbuck 3 times at about 275 yds. Hits on most animals were dramatic.
Loaded several brands of solids but never settled on any as they did not shoot to any of the sp grouping. Carried 4 in case of need [AF] but would have to be under 50 yds.
Made a terrific medium rifle paired up with my 458 Lott or 416 Rem.
Took it to Kodiak on 3 trips for a DIY float trip for Sitka blacktails only because of the bears. Had several bear encounters and got pushed off one of the deer kills but had total confidence in the power of the 340 if things fell apart.
If you do the momentum cal’c it falls within the range of the 375 but lacks the frontal of the 375.
I believe because it wears the Weatherby name many people frown on it. In fact when the Phs in AF asked what I was shooting I replied a 340. Had two different Phs remark on the killing power.
It is on the light side at 91/2 #s with scope [1 3/4 to 6 Leupold]
It is a great cat rifle[ caliber/cartridge] with a 225 Nosler at almost 3100 FPS. The shock of the impact at under 75 yds is enough [if hit right] to shut down most nervous systems.
I love it.

 

[Von S.]

From what I have seen over the years, the majority of people who hunt have a problem with offhand shooting.

And unfortunately the majority of shots are offhand.

There are quite a few factors that I believe attribute to this lack of accuracy. The first and foremost I believe is the ever so popular " flinch" that can be caused by a few different things.

Recoil is probably #1, as in reality does anyone really want that beating that a big / medium bore magnum gives you? Another is noise. Yet another is rifle fit and here's one that very few ever think of and that is that some peoples subconscious simply just won't allow them to blow Bambi's brains out all over the landscape.

The last is the toughest one to fix as it is ingrained into your very make-up. But if that is the case you can train yourself to overcome that obstacle.

There is also certain medical conditions that simply will not allow a person to hold a rifle steady enough to make accurate offhand shots.

And believe it or not, there are many people who can't hit a pie plate with their hunting rifle at 100 yards and when they take the scope off and use the iron sites just can't miss and some are phenomenal with peeps.

Leaning, resting,timing, breathing, the hold,the squeeze and everything in between with a properly sighted in weapon and things happen in a good way.

 

[JimP]

For off hand shooting it takes a lot of practice. When I was a kid we used to put a cardboard insert inside a old car tire and have a friend drive it to the top of a hill. He then would send it down while we would try and hit the cardboard. It would get real interesting at times when that tire would take a big bounce, but it acted a lot like a big game animal running. We also would take our big game rifles out on rabbit hunts. Most of the shots at rabbits had to be taken off hand and quickly. We burned through a lot of ammo in those days but my friends and I were some of the best shots in school and never did have a problem hitting a running animal.

As for recoil, I have never felt it from my .340 while shooting at a animal. Now target shooting I'll come home with my right shoulder hanging a couple inches lower than my left. But I also have a removable muzzle brake on it for those extended range sessions. I have found that I can usually shoot that .340 about 10 times before I have had enough without the brake on. But can go though a lot of ammo with it installed.

 

[PaulT]

Another great cartridge in this category is the .330 Dakota.

A friend of mine had one for quite some time and hunted a lot of large animals across a number of countries with it.

Fast, flat shooting and carrying lots of "freight" at the business end.

I am in the process of having a light-weight back-packing rifle built from some spare parts that I have laying around.
The barrel I have is in .338 Cal and I have considered both the .340 and the Dakota but my recoil tolerance limits me to settling on the .338 Win mag.

A good friend recently had a visiting sportsman shoot 60 camels in one week on a cull hunt in Central Aus using a .338 Win mag and 225gn T.S.X's.
None lost and only a very few needing a second round.

 

[Luvthunt]

PaulT,
Will not argue with your decision, the 338 Win. Is a fine cartridge and may be easier to obtain factory loads in your country. I toted a 338 Win for several years and it did all I ever asked. However the 340, if you reload will do every thing the 338 will do faster, farther and quicker. I believe that most 338 bullets for reloading are engineered for 338 win velocities thus the faster vel of the 340 give you more dramatic results.
Recoil is somewhat a factor but with practice it is really manageable and if you find you need to increase momentum for penetration purposes you can move up in bullet weight and have a cartridge that will give you the vel that a 338 with a lighter bullet has.
My 2 cents. Envy your place of residence. GOOD luck and keep it going.

 

[bruce moulds]

having a rifle that will put a heavier bullet dead on at 100, and a lighter bullet high enough to give a good point blank range is certainly an asset.
the 375 h&h will do this too.
recoil. if you want a point blank range (+/- 3") of 300 yds with something that delivers a payload at 300, you are just going to have to wear it.
this might be the compromise that is the 340.
the 378 will deliver more horsepower out there, but at what cost to the poor shooter, and hence quality of shooting.
at least with today's better bullets, these high speed chamberings will also work in close.
we must remember that not all shots are either long or short range, so bullets must do both well.
another round to look at with these things in mind is the 8mm rem mag with 220 gn decent bullets, but the 340 wby offers greater frontal area and more bullet weight.
personally i am most happy with the power of the 9,3x64 with good bullets, but would like a longer point blank range.
bruce.

 

[rookhawk]

I've had at least one of these, a very pretty custom Ruger #1 in .340 W. I didn't understand the concept at all. It has more recoil than a .375HH and it kicks like a mule with sharp recoil. It's illegal for use on dangerous game since it's a .338 bullet. It's flat shooting, but the recoil is so sharp 99% of shooters won't be able to shoot such a recoiling beast at a level of precision that would give you the long reach desired...because it kicks that much.

A .375HH is an altogether superior cartridge for Africa / Alaska in my opinion, and the .340 is so overkill for elk when you can use a 7x57, or even a 300 winmag instead.

With 250gr bullets it puts out 43.1 foot pounds of recoil from an 8.5lb gun. Compare that to a .375HH with a 270gr bullet in a 9lb gun at 37.3 foot pounds of recoil. (and of course, most people are shooting scoped 375s at 10.5lbs where your recoil is around 32 ft. lbs from a 375HH)

Just my take. Owned them. Don't own it anymore. I think Roy Weatherby's ideas for killing game with velocity was a dumb idea once you enter the world of medium bore guns. <- my personal bias.

 

[Luvthunt]

Basic physics is the only thing you should consider in you above statement.
Do the momentum cal’c for the 340 and the 375 and revisit the 340 has more recoil then the 375.
The op was discussing the 340 for Australia and not Africa, so no limitation on caliber except what’s the shooter decides. Stay with the orginal.

 

[Luvthunt]

PaulT
Pls remember you can load the 340 to 338 ballistics but you cannot load the 338 up to 340s. Over time it only means a few more grains of powder.
ME— I would always wonder what a 340 would have done.

 

[rookhawk]

Basic physics is the only thing you should consider in you above statement.
Do the momentum cal’c for the 340 and the 375 and revisit the 340 has more recoil then the 375.
The op was discussing the 340 for Australia and not Africa, so no limitation on caliber except what’s the shooter decides. Stay with the orginal.

For scrub bulls and water buffalo? A 375hh is still a better bet I’d say.

 

[bruce moulds]

never having fired a 340, i am taking this all in.
i have developed a liking for the 7mmstw for certain applications and wonder if the 340 might be a larger calibre version of this.
my m70 stw barrel will not last a lot more shots, so rebarreling options are always on the mind.
with regards the ruger no1, it is in my opinion too light for more powerful chamberings, fine gun though it is.
yes the 375 and 9.3x64 are bigger hitters than the 340, but lack the point blank range.
life is a compromise.
one of the nazi leaders like goebells had a 9.3 based on the 404 case necked down, which with modern bullets would do what i want, but recoil, cases, dies, actions, and other hassles make it unsuitable.
pondering these things might be part of the fun.
bruce.

 

[meigsbucks]

I used to have a .340 WBY.: loved it. However, Swifts were not available back then. I now have a .338 RUM which is about the same ballisticly. A few months ago I used it with 225 gr Swifts on seven head of plains game, including eland. Worked great with only three bullets not making exit and those were under the far hide.
A .340 with 250 Swifts would be great for all PG and if legal wouldn't be a terrible choice for buffalo, but a .375 would be much better.
As far as recoil, the recoil energy is about the same as a .375, but the velocity of the recoil makes it very sharp.