PH opinions on Weatherby

[enysse]

Buy and shoot a gun you like....after all you should feel comfortable during your hunt.

 

[buffybr]

I think Brickburn hit the nail on the head with his reply early in this thread. There have been too many guys that have been told or read or think that they need a new "big" gun to hunt Africa, so they show up with a shiny new Weatherby that they haven't shot much, or can't shoot, or are afraid to shoot, and end up not shooting well on their hunt.

Custom, you posted that you like and can shoot your .300 Winchester well. The .300 Win mag can easily kill any of the African plains game animals. Use some of the money you are thinking about spending on a new .375 H&H and buy ammo for your .300 Win and practice, practice, and practice. Buy or make yourself a set of 3 leg shooting sticks and practice shooting off them. Then take your .300 Win and a couple of boxes of 180 gr hunting bullets that are the most accurate in your rifle and have a great hunt in Africa. You need to gain experience hunting in Africa, your rifle doesn't.

Then, after you have experienced your first African hunt, and you want to return for a buffalo hunt, buy yourself a .375 and practice, practice, practice with it for that hunt.

I took a 7mm Rem mag on my first South African plains game hunt and it worked great for all animals including Kudu, Blue Wildbeest, and Gemsbok. For my second African trip, I wanted to hunt buffalo in Zimbabwe, so I built myself a .375 RUM and it worked great Buffalo, Nyala, and a few other animals down to a Chobe bushbuck. Then on my third African hunt I only took my .375 RUM and again it worked great on a variety of plains game from Eland down to Steenbok, and a Vaal Rhebok at 250+ yds. This past summer I took my fancy, custom .300 Weatherby to South Africa, and it made one shot kills on six plains game animals from a Sable down to an African Civet, and a Klipspringer at 314 yds.

My point is, I took a rifle that I was familiar and confident with on my first African hunt, then when I went on an African hunt that needed a larger caliber, I bought my .375 RUM and practiced with it for that hunt.

I handload all of my ammunition, so my costs are only a fraction of factory loads. With the same bullet, it only costs me 10 cents more to load a cartridge for my .300 Weatherby as it does for my .30-06. I also have cast bullet loads for both my .300 Weatherby and my .375 RUM, so I have very cheap and low recoil practice rounds for them.

 

[The Big Game Hunter]

I've hunted Africa with several different PHs and none of them had anything nice to say about Weatherbys. One of the PHs jokingly referred to them as "Wounda-bees" because he had so many clients mess up shots with them. However, as referenced earlier, most of the distaste for the brand comes from the Weatherby calibers, not the rifles. If you have a Weatherby rifle that you like and shoot well, by all means take it. There is nothing wrong in principle with the Weatherbys. The biggest issue is that guys get a rifle in the most powerful caliber available and are afraid to shoot it. As a result, they miss and wound animals much more than they should. A Weatherby rifle in .300 Win Mag will serve you well for plains game if you use premium, controlled expansion, 180gr bullets.

 

[Custom]

Thanks, Big Game. FYI, my son and I just got back three weeks ago. I took the 300 and made 5 one shot kills, from Kudu to warthog. 180 grain partitions did the trick.

 

[The Big Game Hunter]

Congratulations, sounds like quite a hunt. Obviously you placed your shots well; using a high quality rifle that you are comfortable with makes all the difference. The fact that you were using high quality bullets like the Nosler Partition (one of my personal favorites) certainly helped as well.

I'd love to see some photos of the hunt.

 

[Custom]

I posted my report, with photos, in the hunt report section for RSA, titled "Back from Kido Safaris". Not quite sure how to post the link here or I would. It was really a fantastic trip and I can't wait to go back!

 

[B9.3]

There seems to be a lot of stupidity around the subject of weatherby's. There is nothing wrong with the rifles or calibers.
Cashed up office workers & business men who don't or can't shoot often enough seem to be responsible for this opinion.
Weatherby Mark Vs are beautifully made, very strong & accurate rifles. They are also idiot proof & ultra reliable.
I don't understand the recoil thing. They don't kick any harder than any other cartridge of equal power. A 300 Weatherby kicks the same as a 300 Win Mag & less than an
Ultra Mag. I have been using a 300 Weatherby since 1975 & a 340 Weatherby since 1977. Either is not hard to shoot accurately.
I swear my friends Remington 700 BDL 6mm Rem kicks harder than my Weatherby Mark V 7mm mag. I had a friend with a 378 Weatherby. It was not bad at all to shoot.
Not a fierce to shoot as I had read about. I guess it just comes down to the individual.
Find a rifle that comes to the shoulder easily & comfortably in a caliber of sufficient power & practice as often as you can.
You are the master of your own firearm, do not be scared of it. If you think about recoil, you will get kicked. I think noise is more objectional.
To me the bark is worse than the bite.