Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 340 whtby?

Mark, you make too much sense and one of the reasons I bought a Ti
in 300 saum. I plan on using 165/168's in it.

The older I get the lighter the rifle for me. I don't have 20 year old knee's anymore that skip the hills like a roe.

When I had my 300 Win, 200's were thee only bullet I used in it, if that put's me in Greenhorns company that's a good thing.

btw, I have another one on the back burner I'm putting together....just for the heck of it.

Goodnews,
I appreciate the info!
My 340 does quite well accuracy wise with the 225gr TSX, sounds like the 210 TSX would be very interesting to try out.


Dober has probably killed some yotes with it!
~grin~

That Ti in 300 is a nice sounding rig, my bud took one and turned down the tube, and had it punched to WSM. His shoots great and feeds like generic dog poop.

But, I certainly do underforstand the idea of going lighter. Otherwise why would I be on the phone with McMillan/Brown and Basner today. I've got a winter project for my G33/40 going on.

New lighter tube, Talleys and such.

For giggles I also just stuck a 700 youth in 308 with the 20" tube in a Ti take off. It sure does handle like a dream.

Also sent my 2-8 for it off to Leo land today for a M1 for the top.

Later

Dober

M1 turret! You?

I was also thinking of turning down the tube of mine as well.

Where did he turn the muzzle dia. to?

I'm not sure what he turned it to, but I'd guess it is darn close to .55?

Dober

The first 340 Wby I had made was by Fred Sinclair, the benchrest gunsmith and shooter. It was on a left-hand Remington 700 action with a McMillan stock similar to the Marine sniper stock.

It weighed 11+ pounds without scope, sling, or ammo.

Shot little bitty groups.

Carried over the Idaho-Montana divide for elk.


Have since built the others on Weatherby Mark V actions, again using McMillan stocks but adding lead to the pour to make weight.


Will admit to having one lightweight Wby, but haven't used it yet.



No harm done.



.

My first one was my old 700 with a 23" 4.5 weight Schneider on it. It rode in a fine piece of African Walnut from Brown, had Conetrols on it and a 3-10 Leo.

Without rounds and sling it weighed in at 8.25 lbs.

My practice and chuck load was a 250 Horn and it would stick 5 of these muthas consistently into .75" or less.

Dober

Mark, you're a better man than me!

In my 8 1/4 pound Norma, I've switched to the 225 TSX over 75 grains of powder for 2950 fps. I was using the 250 NF with 75 grains of a different powder for 2810 fps.

I'm not really sure why but the 225 TSX kicks a lot less. With the 250 NF I used to think twice about rifle position when I shot it prone, with the 225 that's not a concern, I just hold to hit.

Rick with that rig there was a decided diff between dropping the hammer with the 210's and the 250's.

And the 300 SMK's that is another story...grins

Hell of a yote rifle I tell ya.

Dober

Sadist...

BTW, it presently wears a Brown, but I can't help myself. I've got a Echols Legend on the way for it.

what action?

Dober

I think im going to try the 210 tsx see where that falls then go up thanks everybody this was a very informative thread really learn alot.

Try R22 and 4350 and one or the other should perk like a big dawg!

Work up a load with the 200 Horn for practice would be an idea as well. This is one big time accurate slug for me also.

Good luck to ya and welcome to the world of .340's.

Dober

A trued M70 classic stainless with Wisner extractor, Pac Nor 23" 12-twist that Greydog turned to 0.635" at the muzzle. With a 1.75-6X32 in low QR's, it weighs 8# 5oz and balances on the rear edge of the guard screw. It's a keeper.

Hammer,

The Nosler Partition appeared commercially in 1948, the year Elmer Keith turned 49. He used it some, but steadfastly insisted it was for "fast, blow-up calibers" and that a heavier bullet was the real deal, almost regardless of construction.

Now, there are those who say the Partition does not compare to some of the hotshot bullets we have today, but I have killed several tons of big game with Partitions, I have also used most of the new super-bullets on enough game to know that if you cannot kill it with a Partition of a certain size and weight, it is highly unlikely that any other bullet is going to make a difference.

In short, Elmer refused to acknowledge the superior design of the first "premium" bullet long before his 60's. If I did the same thing, I would have quit trying new bullets 5 years ago, when I was 49. Yet in the past year I have tried at least 3 that I can think of offhand, all of dramatically different design from each other.

Don't get me wrong. I am a great admirer of Elmer Keith for a variety of reasons, but even 20-odd years ago, when I got my first .338, I soon found that the 275 Speer was not in the same league as the 250 or even 210 Partition. And I eventually found that even supposedly inadequate .338 bullets like the 200-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip killed 500-pound game a lot quicker than the 250 Partition, yet penetrated deep enough to rarely be recovered from such game (and that on quartering shots).

Elmer made his mind up about bullet weight and bore diameter in the 1930's. Though he continued to experiment with cartridges, he never really deviated from the 250-300 grain .33 bullet once he latched onto it, even when the bullets were terrible. On his first trip to Africa he would have been a LOT better off with a .30-06 and 180 Partitions (technology that had been available for a decade) than the .333 OKH and 300-grain Kynochs that he took for plains game.

JB

With greatest respect to you Mule Deer and as a student and enjoyer of your writings...

Respecting my elders is a habit that my family taught me to take to a further level than most. It's a habit I cannot seem to break or moderate.

When Dr. Deming taught me to look at the data, and other folks tell me the advantages of computer modeling, Dr. Deming gets the nod. When Colonel Cooper taught me to "front sight, press" and someone else tells me about instinctive shooting from the hip, Cooper gets the benefit of the doubt. When my flight instructor taught me to fly by the numbers and someone else told me about a new way, fly by the numbers carried me through the storms.

It's just a bad habit that I cannot break.


I exclusively used Nosler Partitions for umpteen years on game based on the written advice of Bob Hagel's books followed by personal conversations for years. Used the 210 Nosler some and the 250 Nosler more. Used the 175 in my 7mm's and the 200 in the 30's. Never had a failure with these or any other Nosler Partition here or abroad.

On a trip to Botswana many years ago, got a wild hair and carried Swift A-frames in my 375 H&H (300) and 460 Wby (500) for a change of pace. They worked well too without a failure. Used 570 Woodleighs in my 500 Nitro Express, again without failure.

Later in Africa tried Trophy Bonded Bearclaws and Hornady Interlocks, again without failures.

My African calibers have included but have not been limited to the 243 Win, 7 x 57 Mauser, 280 Rem, 308 Win, 30-06, 375 H&H, 378 Wby, 460 Wby, 500 Nitro Express, etc, etc. Have never had any problem with any of them when the bullet was well placed. But I can't claim a 100% track record in placing bullets well. Have hit a little off the mark on a few occasions.

But in respect for my elders and my forefathers, I will continue to use 250-grain or heavier bullets in the 338 bore (Keith), use the 429421 in my 44s (Keith), carry my 1911 cocked-and-locked with hardball (Cooper), convert 3-screw 357 Flattop Blackhawks to 44 Special (Skelton), use fixed-power Leupolds (Hagel), test bullets in sawdust/silt (Hagel), follow youngster Venturino's advice on black-powder cartridge rifles, etc.

And though I might have you beat a little in age, I do follow your advice on most issues of binoculars, spotting scopes, etc (from your well written book). Even follow your thoughts on scopes as long as they don't include sacrilege to the 338/250.

It's fun to exchange ideas on this forum. Glad that we can all discuss things in harmony. Think even Elmer would have enjoyed it.


Wish everyone a great Autumn.


.

At the time of singer Johnny Cash's death and many tributes were being made concerning his life and career...

One famous musical artist complained that Johnny Cash only knew three notes. Believe it was Bob Dylan who responded that, "Johnny Cash found his three notes. The rest of us are still looking for ours."

Elmer found his three notes too. The 338/250, the hot loaded 44 Special with the 429421, and the introduction of the 44 Magnum.

I haven't found mine yet.


.

Thanks for the reply. We are together on many things. Do not think that I don't respect Elmer. I do, immensely, not least because he wrote a lot about eating the game he killed, something that I know for certain not many modern gun and hunting writers do. He also appeared to have a happy marriage, and was very helpful and friendly to younger shooters (including me, who wrote him a letter about the .338-06/OKH in 1976 and got a detailed personal reply).

I still tend to use 200 Partitions in .300 magnums, but have tried others now and then. I also tend toward fixed-power Leupold scopes; took two rifles to Africa in May and both wore 4x L's. At first this was thought somewhat peculiar by a few of my companions, but then I shot a few animals and it wasn't.
I also shot a few animals with a bullet considered even "less premium" than a Hornady IL, the Sierra Gameking, and it worked fine.

I tend to the .45 "Long" Colt rather than either of the .44's, and carry a Smith 66 .357 rather than a 1911 due to undue influence from Bill Jordan, an influence even "elder" than Jeff Cooper. (I knew both Jordan and Cooper personally, though Cooper better than Jordan.) I never got what seemed to be meaningful results testing bullets in sand-and-sawdust, but did try it for a while, before going on to other media. I completely wore out the first edition of Hagel's GAME LOADS... book, and now am on the revised and updated edition.

I also don't really see the sense in using a .33 with bullets under 250 grains, but being a gun writer who was told (by one of his respected elders) that he had an obligation to try everything possible, I have used the .338 with a wide variety of bullet weights, and will do the same with the .340.

Good hunting,
JB

Though my daughters poked fun at me for the inauspicious and intellectual title, "Hell I Was There", I found the book interesting especially his early, formative years. I think he was a tough cookie.

Gdv

JB,
Do you have a 340 at present?

Gdv