Tejano, I think you are on track. Discounting the difference in barrel diameter, rifling, chamber, throat, etc dimensions; the 26” WM could be close to the 24” Wby. SAAMI pressures and hence velocity are lower for the WM and the difference is small enough that the hand loader can easily obtain Wby velocities by exceeding established limits. I once bought a 7mm Weatherby at a bargain with the intention of rechambering it to 7mm STW until I figured out the very small gain was not worth the hassle.
Life Member NRA, RMEF, American Legion, MAGA. Not necessarily in that order.
