My Quandary

[Shootist43]

Red Leg you are correct in your assumption. The barrel is clearly stamped 30-06, etched into the barrel is
300 Wby. Mag. The gun has virtually no collector value and in my opinion very little commercial value. If the gun shoots and functions well, it is probably best to leave it as it is. BTW when I picked this rifle out of the collection I did not have another 300 Magnum of any sort. This was my first.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

It was this very sort of nonsense back in the day that earned the Weatherby and the people using it their less than stellar reputation in Africa. Too many clients tried to emulate their magazine heroes with chronically bad bullets on game that was too big, too dangerous, or too far. Within its limitations, a great rifle. But this sort of silliness got people stomped.

That's true Red Leg You should really see how much those 1950s and 1960s era Magazines praise the .458 Winchester Magnum . They treat it like the bloody hammer of Thor !
That said , l certainly want Shootist43 to actually use this gun rather than make it a safe Queen . At the VERY LEAST , this article shows that the .300 Weatherby Magnum has good potential ( although it is dangerous and illegal to use on DG today ) . In the article itself , the last page speaks of a few instances when the gun fails the author.

 

[Red Leg]

Red Leg you are correct in your assumption. The barrel is clearly stamped 30-06, etched into the barrel is
300 Wby. Mag. The gun has virtually no collector value and in my opinion very little commercial value. If the gun shoots and functions well, it is probably best to leave it as it is. BTW when I picked this rifle out of the collection I did not have another 300 Magnum of any sort. This was my first.

Then I would shoot it. You might come to like it. With bullets today, it is a superb .30 cal magnum with a lot of reach. Fortunately, the gunsmith marked the barrel, so selling it isn’t an issue should you decide to move it along. I had a .300 H&H magnum pre-64 for a few years before a friend with a MacNaughton SxS offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse. It shot well, and shot comfortably, but it had the magnum length barrel. Yours will have a bit more muzzle blast and recoil due to the cartridge itself and the non-magnum configuration.

 

[shootist~]

First and foremost, IMO, is get a trusted gunsmith to check it over. It might or might not be safe to shoot. Would an 06 magazine even be long enough to fit a 300 Weatherby mag cartridge?

 

[TNDave]

If you are 30 caliber heavy and would like something different, how about a rebarrel to 358 Norma or 358 STA...

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Back in the mid 90(s) I helped a coworker sell part of his aging father's gun collection. Then several years later when his father was in Hospice they asked me to help them sell the remainder of his collection and I agreed. Since I didn't ask for anything the first go around the old man told my buddy that I was to get two firearms of my choosing, prior to any sales being made. I chose a Pre-war Winchester Mod 70 equipped with an "Alaskan" scope and a poorly sporterized 03-A3. Almost 20 later I had the 03-A3 converted into a 35 Whelen and restocked. The model 70 is what is at issue. I suspect that way back in the day a former owner had the 30 - 06 barrel re-chambered into the latest and greatest killing machine of that era. That being the 300 Weatherby Mag. The rifle is in pristine condition. The scope is still relatively clear but nowhere near up to today's standards. My quandary is what to do with it. WHAT WOULD YOU DO??

BTW selling it to you is not an option.

@Shootist43
Art if selling it is not an option my dear friend you could always just send it over to me to look after until Art 11 decides if he would like it in either 358 Norma or 358 STW.
I'll keep checking the mail mate.
Bob

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I would think the starting point would be, take the rifle to a qualified gunsmith and have a chamber cast mold made. Trying to fire a round thru a unknown chamber/ barrel is not the wisest thing to do.

 

[Zambezi]

I would say think about what "holes" you have in your armoury. Then if possible fill that hole by re-chambering this rifle to suit. (Obviously this depends on the condition of the barrel, chamber, etc etc)

 

[Professor Mawla]

You could have it re-barreled to a calibre which suits your tastes . I would opt for a Douglas Premium barrel in .338 Winchester Magnum .

Alternatively , you could just use it as it is . There is nothing wrong with the .300 Weatherby Magnum , especially if you download the powder charge and use a sturdily constructed bullet . I like the original Nosler Partitions , but any decent bullet will do ( like Northfork in Sweden or Rhino in South Africa or Barnes in the United States ) .

There is an excellent software called “ quick load “ which helps the aspiring reloader to tailor hand loads for almost any calibre . While blind faith should never be placed in a software , I have found “ quick load “ to be reasonably accurate for aiding me in tailoring hand loads for my .458 WM ( Winchester Magnum ) .

 

[RayAtkinson]

I would just rebarrel it or use it as is! Whats wrong with the scope, if it works don't fret the optics for big game, just put the X on the animal use a controled flinch andkill it...I remember an old Texas Ranger who swabed out his Weaver 4X to clean it and he mopped out the cross hairs...He killed his deer every year and seldom if ever missed, said he just put them in the middle of the scope and pulled the trigger..I shot it at 100 yards do just that and shot a 3.2 inch 5 shot group..Told him its good to go.I just put the target in the middle and yanked the trigger....Sometimes we don't need the candy, we just want it...