Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Turning my Weatherby Ultra Lightweight .30-06 into a 7mm-08

Wait until you hear my rationale before you jump my stuff.

I just got my Weatherby Ultra Lightweight from the 'smith. He glass bedded it for me in my spare stock. That way, if my experiment doesn't work out I can put it back in the original stock and be none the worse for wear.

A little backstory: I posted awhile ago regarding the accuracy problems I've had with this rifle. Granted, they're not designed to be target rifles. A #1 contour barrel is awfully skinny. Weatherby claims 5 3/4 pounds without scope and I believe them. I used to shoot the Federal Premium High Energy load, 180 Partition going 2885, chrono'ed. That load kicked my hind end like no other.

Still, I tried 4 different powders, three different primers, powder charges, seating depths, and the best I could do was about an inch and three-quarters. And yes, I waited between shots. I shot hot. I held tightly, loosely, and in-between. But I never tried a different bullet.

So I got into Tikkas a few years ago and I found what I was looking for. Light (not ultralight, but light, 6 1/4 lbs,) stainless, smooooooth, and accurate. At the time, less than half price compared the the Weatherby. I've got a load for my Tikka -06 that I call "Hammer." 180 grain Partition, 59 grains Hunter, Winchester Magnum primer. It comes out of the tube around 2800 ft/sec. If I need more than my 7mm-08, I have it.

But I really, really like that Weatherby. So I decided to try one last time to make it work. New stock, glass bedding, free floated. And one more thing - try a different bullet.

I have a really accurate load that shoots sub-MOA in 5 different .30-06 rifles. Two Brownings, two Tikkas, and a Weatherby Vanguard. I developed it using 150 Accubonds and Varget powder as a low-recoiling round for my son and nephew. Clocks about 2650 at the muzzle, shoots through deer out to 285 yards, haven't shot it farther but I'm sure it would kill a lot farther.

Well I got to thinking, what about a 150 Accubond going 2850? Almost the same as my 7mm-08 load. Ballistically almost identical, in fact. So I loaded a box with a little more powder and I'm hoping to try it out this weekend. It would be great if I could find something that resonates. Wish me luck.




P

Sounds reasonable. I'd also look at the 155 Scenar if it was me.

If you like a given rifle but don't want recoil, downloading can work. I shoot a Whelen for our Primitive Weapons season, although I'd have bought a .358Win if it was available. Full-house Whelen loads are a dang lot for a 150lb deer. I load the Whelen down to .358Win levels with RL10x and it works great.

Another tack would be to try a Garand style match load using 4895 or 4064 and a 165/168 grain bullet.

Here's a quote along these lines from German Salazar:



You won't get his velocity, he's using a long Palma barrel.

Sounds like a great use of a nice rifle..

Probably would be an excellent set up for 125 AB's as well..

I would have sent it back to Weatherby a long time ago! Another member and I both have the same rifle as you and they group sub MOA, his with handloads and mine with just about anything factory. Good luck!

I shot today. I took my time and let the barrel cool. That #1 contour is skinny.

150 grain Accubonds over 48, 49, and 50 grains of Varget.

The best I could do, consistently, was about 1.75." I learned something, though, and I think I'm most of the problem. When I had the technique just perfect I could tell, the recoil was straight back and the bullets touched. If I shifted my grip or didn't maintain proper pressure on the forend the rifle would recoil differently and the groups would open up.

It was definitely noticeable. When I did it just right I'd get touching bullet holes. When I didn't, not so much. As an experiment I let go of the forend and let the rifle free recoil. Big mistake. You could drive a truck through the gap between the bullet holes. The rifle liked a firm grip, but not too firm.

I have a couple different powders to try but I'm not feeling very optimistic.




P

That worked in my Ruger No.1-B from day-one when I bought it new back in '87. It groups between .770" and .990" religiously, out of a rifle not universally praised for nth degree accuracy.

I was in to collecting and shooting Model 1903 Springfield rifles back then. My father had a Remington 742 and his "pet load" for that was 46 grains of IMR 4064 behind a 165 grain GameKing, sparked with a CCI BR 2. That load shot great out of every Springfield I had, so I always had plenty of them on hand. Thus, when I bought the No.1, that load, with the substitution of MacthKings for the GameKings my father used, was the first I tried. And since it was sub M.O.A...... Well, "load development" pretty much ended for me without really getting started. Over time, all I've done is tweak the seating depth a bit to compensate for throat wear.

It's still sub-M.O.A. out of that No.1......

Count me in as one who would heartily encourage the OP to try it if he hasn't already.

I was never a big Weatherby fan, but I have to admit, If I had to start over.. for big game hunting, I'd have 3 Weatherby Ultralites...in 243, 7/08, and 338/06....those are the best handling and balanced rifles I think I have ever handled...

It took me three Wby UL's in 280 before I got one that would shoot accurately. It is now the most accurate commercial rifle I own.

The action length of the 6 lug is the same for all standard cartridges. The bolt groove would have to be cut to obtain the stroke necessary to pick up & feed a short action cartridge. You would also have to change the magazine box.

Apart from the groups that you could drive a truck through, I'd not worry about paper groups that opened up a bit. Might be worth some accuracy penalty for a true lightweight.

Have you tried field positions and shooting at a 6" reactive target?

Re-read my original post. I'm trying to create a load that shoots well from my .30-06 that approximates the ballistics of my 7mm-08.


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Not a bad idea. I have a couple of those deer poster targets. I could put them at the 100 and 200 yard butts and fire from a kneeling position.



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Or find a hillside with a bunch of rocks...

I stand corrected.

Pharmseller,

Try a Scenar 155 or an A-max 155. With my 30-06 I get 3/4 inch groups with those bullets over 49 grains of Varget but 150 gr Ballistic Tips with the same load group about 2 inches.

+1

Both are very accurate.

DF