Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles THOUGHTS ON THE 240 WEATHERBY?

I have an opportunity to get a real nice one (six lug, trim action with nice wood). Anyone of you folks use or have used one?

I’ve had a couple custom 240 wby built on Rem 700 actions. Sold one in a fit of stupidity.
I found both of these guns to be very accurate, with shilen barrels.
I used 90 and 95 grain ballistic tips on 4-5 antelope, including one B&C. The cartridge performed very well on antelope.
Also shot some coyotes with 70 grain ballistic tips. The 240 weatherby is about as good as it gets for killing coyotes. However, hides get pretty trashed.
It’s not very popular, but I like it.
Sorry I can only comment on the cartridge, and not the rifle you are considering.

I have a 240, not in a Wby rifle. It’s a great round. I have a 9 lug MkV but it has a 7RM Brux bbl.

Those are nice rifles. I’d say go for it if the deal is right. If you get in right, you can get out without getting hurt.

DF

I have a Mk V I bought when I was on the Midway and it loves a Nosler 100 partition at a little over 3300 fps. The last couple of pairs I fired for sighters with a new scope were 0.3” and 0.5”. My son used it on a couple of his first deer when he was about 11 or 12. The load he used was with the discontinued 105 Speer spitzer. Loved that bullet and it shot very flat at 240 velocities.

Sure the cases cost more than your plain Jane cartridges but as Top Gun says, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”. Buy it and don’t look back.

I had one on a 700 action. It didn't shoot horrible but it was not very good. Hits count for more than misses. If your high velocity thingamabob does not shoot better than a medium velocity thingamabob, the extra velocity is entirely pointless because you can't hit anything with it reliably. The .240 falls between the .243 and .25-'06 in terminal performance. If it doesn't shoot better than a .243 there's no point in having it, just use the .243. I'd have been pretty satisfied with half MOA groups. 1.25 to 1.5 MOA groups won't cut it, that's just missing faster.

Tom

Love mine

My .240 HS Precision SPL also loves the 100 NPT and over MRP, half MOA at 400 yds. In fact the NPT is the best shooting bullet in that gun, and I tried a bunch. I haven't tried RL-26 yet, may need to check it out. Speed may be a bit more; it'll have to be pretty good to beat MRP accuracy. MRP is pretty close to RL-22, some say it's the same powder. So, RL-23 may also be one to try.

.240 cases don't have to cost more. Roll your own using 25-06 brass and a CH4D belt forming die.

DF







W/W on L, Wby on R, can't tell the difference. Neck is fully formed after firing. Performance is the same, W/W primer pockets are said to last longer than Wby/Norma. Brass may be harder.

Great round, but if you reload and wanted a 6mm long action the 6mm-06 makes more sense. However a six lug Mark action in 240 Wby with a fine stock is a nice conversation piece and may prove valuable as the years go by.

I have two of them. One is a custom build on a Rem 700 and the other is one of the new Accuguards. Both are great rifles and it is one of my favorite cartridges. I live in the open prairie on Wyoming and it can really reach out an touch a coyote at distance. The pronghorn antelope are no match for its range and mulies and white tail view them as pure death. I wouldn't get rid of those guns until the very end.... they are a couple of my favorites.

I should add... I would buy a third.

Nice Pronghorn rifles.

They do pretty good on WT's and hogs...

DF

I think rl33 is too slow

Classy .243/06 more-less cool rifle - Weatherby ...

Building from scratch, I’d go with 6-06. But, it would cost Jorge a lot more to do that vs. buying the 240.

DF

Not a totally responsive answer but … For 20+ years, I've used a 6MM-06 on every big game animal I've shot except Elk; including Mule Deer, Whitetail, Antelope, Caribou and Big Horn Sheep, I couldn't be more satisfied with a caliber. A 100 grain Partition @ 3270 fps. has taken them all. Mine's a Rem 700 with a #2 Douglas barrel.

The 240 is about the same cartridge -- I'd surely buy it.

Can't believe this made it so far without anyone bemoaning the slow twist.

One "advantage" of the .240, according to an article I read, is that during the Crunch, brass and ammo were as abundant as ever. Those 6-lug WBs are nice. I'd jump on it.

Yeah, I'd go 8 twist on a 6-06 build.

The 240 is 10 twist and won't stabilize 105's, at least mine won't. Pat sent me some 105 Scenars but they wouldn't group. Does great with 100 NPT's but they're sorta stubby compared to the sleek, high ogive 105's. Of course, it's length, not weight.

DF

Agree.

To me, RL-26 is about as slow as I'd want to go.

In some applications, '26 is faster than '25.

DF

Fotis. what primer, F-215s? I went ahead and picked it up for a good price. Very nice rifle, LIGHT! nice wood and matte finish bluing.

I'd start with a 210 if using an extruded powder. It's a little smaller than 30-06 capacity.