Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Do I need a 240 Weatherby

I have an itch to by a 240 Weatherby but I am trying to justify the need for one. I would mostly use it for deer and some for varmint. No more than 200 yard shots.

I presently have a 25-06, 257 Weatherby and a 270 Weatherby. The majority of the deer I have shot both in Maine and Georgia have been with my old reliable 25-06.

All of them have dropped right in their tracks,

I suspect you have answered your own question.

Scratch the itch and buy a .240 Wby.

Used mine on a couple of coyotes.

95 gr Remington Accutip.

This one shot at about 225 yds away.



This one was about 30 yds +/-.



Rifle is a tang safety Ruger M 77 re-barreled to .240 Wby. Barrel length is a hair under 27".

I stopped worrying about need somewhere over 40 years ago. Your justification is the itch.

Probably not.

Well of course you need a 240wby!

Good grief quit second guessing yourself.

You can thank me later.

Here is mine and it has profoundly improved my life.

Oh and if building dont forget the 1/8 twist.

YES!

Pffft!

When you look at your inventory of rifles, do you have one ?

.243 vanilla with 95 grain BT's....

Had one for several years and killed lots of stuff with it. But I've seen a couple of .25-06's in action as well as my own .25-284. Couldn't see where I gained anything with the .240 Wby.
What I did have to put up with was the very expensive, less than wonderful, brass. Or, even worse, the cost of factory ammo.
If someone gives me one, I'll either sell it or rebarrel it. E

That is the ticket.

This. 200 yards ain't squat though, you could do that with a pistol round basically.....

But if you want, buy!

I have yet to have a round drop everything on the spot, that actually has ZERO to do with the round and ALL about shot placement.

Well said. I don't really need but one do it all hunting rifle......id rather have a large stable of hunting rifles. Keeps it interesting.....

I like my 240Wby, even though I have other rifles that accomplish the same thing. These include a 25-06 and a 257Wby, same as the OP. It's an interesting round that very few people own, and I like being a little different.

Also, an 85gr Sierra HPBT at 3500fps is like lightning on whitetails.

Mine is the top rifle in the photo. It is one of a matched pair of custom Pre-64s that I purchased here on the 'fire. the bottom one is a 220 Wilson Arrow.

I always wanted one too....

I have a New Haven Classic setting in the back of the safe in 270 Win that I don't need. I think a 1-8 twist barrel in 240 Wby may find it's way onto this action.

I think they both use a .470" bolt face, but wouldn't the belt on the .240 WBY cause issues?

Is it an easy fix to modify the bolt to allow a belted round on it?

Think I'm getting that itch after looking at these sweet rigs!

Don't have any issues with the Ruger.

Of course you need one. Think of it as an investment in your continuing education.

Always happy to help someone else spend money.

The 240 Wby is one of those calibers that can't be justified other than you just want one. Nothing wrong with that, though.

There's a guy on here from Oz witha a real beauty of a custom Mauser in .240. Hope he posts a picture again.

Why not go for a 1-8" twist 6mm-06? Cheaper brass and ability to shoot superior BC bullets.

from a guy that's been there and done that.....I can attest to the fact that a .240 wby isn't much more than a standard 6 mm Remington.

Actually one would be better off to have the "itch" being caused by a .257 Roberts.....

Easy answer is yes. The pragmatic answer is the 6-06 and 25-06 more or less fill the same niche with cheaper brass.

The .257 Weatherby is in a class of it's own.

Cartridge redundancy is the gun geeks joy. I imagine going hunting with a gun bearer/caddie with a golf bag full of rifles. The gun bearer will recommend the ideal rifle for each shot encountered. "Sir I would use the mashie on this one."

I have two of them and I love them both. What more does a guy NEED than a 12 gauge, a .22 and a .30-06? It isnt the need to have one, its my desire to hunt with things that everyone else really doesnt use. It also performs soo well!

Unless you intend to shoot long range with the heavies, the 240/6-06 will do nothing better than a 25-06.

Need...NO

Need to scratch an itch...of course!

The .25-06 is more versatile, can handle heavier bullets as well as lighter ones.

But, eight twist 6-06/240's are great LR rounds with 105's. Lots of performance, minimal recoil.

They have their niche, for sure.

DF

Need is an interesting word.

You probably don't need a .240 to kill deer.

You might need a .240 to scratch the itch.

Deer season only lasts a matter of weeks. An itch can last years. If y' gotta scratch ... scratch.

Tom

TOM,

"NEED" is definitely a four letter word...

A word Loonies don't like to hear...

DF

I believe one person said if you get one it will be part of the learning process.

Please allow me to partly disclose what I think you are going to learn.

You will find in searching for that perfect balance it always requires taking a step. I think you'll also find the step your contemplating is a step in the wrong direction.

The 257 Bob will likely speed up the learning process and after a few years you may start to wonder if the 250 savage might have been 1 step closer to where you wanted to be.


You already have enouph evidence to make some conclusions and I believe the course of wisdom would be to use what you learn. Otherwise learning isn't doing you one damn thing.



Shod

I loved my .7mm Wby Mag in Mark V Deluxe, but I hated that expensive ammo. I sold mine and have never looked back. Cheaper ammo means more shooting.

IMO shooting is more fun then buying ammo or brass.

JMO

BH63

The answer to any question where you ask, "Do I need a _____________________?" and the blank gets filled in with some kind, any kind, of gun, the answer is invariably "Yes."

Steve.

Enabler...!



DF

+1

I just ordered some W/W .25-06 brass from Cabelas. I make .240 cases out of .25-06 brass which is about half the price of Wby or Norma .240 cases. For a while, I couldn't find .25-06 brass, so when it became available, I pulled the trigger.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/5820015/11

Here's a thread on the .240.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8311560/1

DF

Rifle looneys cannot let need and want get in each others way! Buy a 240 WBY. and have fun.

Yes. One needs a 240 Weatherby for whitetail. A 6mm Rem will work for blacktail, and a 25-06 is perfect for mule deer. I don't know how you got by this long without one.

There's your justification.

Some, good solid reasoning there...

DF

Better yet, I've killed Mule Deer, Whitetail, Antelope, Caribou and Sheep (and varmints) with a 6MM-06. Simply neck down 25-06 brass -- same case capacity as 240W. Mine has a 24" #2 contour barrel (1 in 10) a Brown Precision stock and a LH Rem 700 action. Less than 8 lbs with a 2.5X8 Leupold. Shoots flat -- little recoil.

If you guys keep throwing around the "need" word you're gonna get booted from the "rifle looney" club!

Ain't that the truth...

DF

Absolutely not ! My 6/284 with 51.5grs of Re#23 produces 3600+ with 87gr V-Max. Taking mine to Montana this weekend for some Prairie Dog exploding .

YES

Thanks everybody for the great feedback!

Are you a rifle loony or aren't you.? If you are then yes, you need a 240 Weatherby. If you aren't, buy one anyway and become a rifle loony. There. Question answered.

Yes I am a loony. Looks like I will buying another one for my collection....

The 240 is one fast dude. powdr

Going to take my Vanguard S2 in 240 out this season for WT. Just put together my first test loads with 95gr Nosler CT . Powders are IMR7828 and H4831.

I'm still considering a fast .224 and the 240, 224TTH, and 22-250 are the front runners. powdr