Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 240 Weatherby or 25-06 Rem for Coyotes, Deer, Pronghorn ?

And a 270 would be even more so

I would take a look at the 6 CM if wanting to spin 105s. My longest deer kill was an Amax at 2850 via 6BR...400 yds. You can gain a little more distance with a CM.

If you can accept shorter barrel life - Nothing wrong with a 240. I'd run 90-95s.

If you need more reach, you might want to launch more lead.

Tejano & Brooksrange: I actually have owned, shot, used and Hunted with both cartridges for many years now - my opinion - it's a tie!
Both are outstanding cartridges on out to 500 yards or a tad further.
Many years ago I had the world class riflesmith (and rifleman - he won the Wimbledon Cup back a ways!) Jim Cloward build me a heavy, long (27"!) barreled custom 240 Weatherby on a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 action.
It has been a dream Rifle since day one!
I remember my friends "cautioning" me about the inability of the 240 Weatherby to attain "good accuracy" do to the "rounded shoulder" of the 240 Weatherby cartridge!
My friends were wrong - REALLY wrong.
My Hart barreled 240 Weatherby is extremely accurate - every bit as accurate as my custom 6m/m Remington Ackley Improved or my Remington 40-X's in 243 Winchester and 6m/m Remington.
I have several Varmint weight Rifles in 25/06 Remington and one 25/06 Remington sporter weight Rifle - wonderfully is how I would describe their performance.
Wish I could "settle" your conflict about the 240 Weatherby vs.the 25/06 Remington - declaring one to be better than the other would be the riflery equivalent of blasphemy, IMO.
My 240 Weatherby brass has good case life and I have not been in a bind to find enough to support my needs.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

.240 HS Precision when I got it. Didn't like the HS stock at 42 oz.

Dropped it in a 26 oz Hunter's Edge. Got it unpainted, did my glass work, even filled in the bolt handle slot, sent it back to McM for paint, brown with black specks. HS even makes their own trigger, an improved 700 set up. The trigger housing has windows so you can see the sear, etc. Pretty neat.

It is now a MUCH better handling rifle. HS makes their own in house barrels, cut rifling like Brux and Krieger, just about as accurate. That's why I'm stuck with 10 twist. Barrel too good to swap out for 7 or 8 twist. Besides, it shoots 100 NPTs half MOA at 400 yds. Hard to beat in a hunting weight rifle. Just won't shoot 105's.

Current scope is a VX-6 2-12x42.

DF

Nice - had surprising accuracy using Rem 7 and 700s, using 105s. 9t. Still felt better about the 95 BT. My first kill with a 243 long ago used a 100 PT. Since used many others in 243 and 6BR, from 70 TNTs to 105 AMAX, the 95 BT is my fave of all for near and far. You are getting great results no doubt - no need to change.

This is one rifle that prefers the 100 gr. Partition over all others. When I find a rifle that loves NPT's, I'm pleased. Doesn't happen every time, or even that often...

But, when it does...

It's also amazing how much better the gun handles with the 26 oz Edge vs. the 42 oz HS stock.

The Hunters Edge has much better lines, is slimmer and the balance is forward, less weight in the stock.

It went from a gun that I didn't like that much to one I really like.

SPL reportedly stands for "Sporter Light". With that heavy HS stock, it was anything but light. Now, it is.

DF

Dirtfarmer: Very nice setup I could be very pleased with that if the bolt weren't on the wrong side. I don't think it is much of a handicap to have the 1-10 twist as most of the good hunting bullets are in the 85 to 100 grain range. The main diet of most of my 243s and 6mms is the 95 grain Nosler both Partition and Ballistic tips.

I believe that Roy Weatherny at least initially lathe turned the belts for the prototypes of both the 240 and 378 (from 30-06 and 416 Rigby respectively). One story has it that he took the prototype 378 to Africa with something like only 6-8 cases due to how tedious it was to turn them. Supposedly he shot an elephant with the 378 that dropped at the shot, which was a good thing as the next case jammed. I think I would have done a little more testing before trying that.

Re-sizing would be much less of an effort if the belt was mostly formed on the lathe with the reduction of the thicker part of the webb as well. This die looks interesting sort of a reverse Lee Collet die but it is only made in the H&H size. http://www.larrywillis.com/ A good machinist could make one for the 240 but could be costly.

I ran a 240 for several years, liked it, killed a lot of critters with it. If I had to pic one of the 2 I’d go 06’ and run 80-85s for a straight up deer killer

Larry's die is good for belted magnum cases. I have one that I use when it gets hard to close the bolt. That doesn't seem to be a problem with all belted mag cases, just some.

IMO, that type die isn't strong enough to do the case sizing the CH4D set up does. That process takes a LOT of elbow grease and actually leaves a brass ring when excess brass is extruded in the process. I pull that ring off the case. A FL .240 die won't do that, either. I tried it.

So, when I used the CH4D sizer, the punch they supplied to drive the case out of the die wouldn't fit. I had to use a large nail. Their punch was made to enter a 25-06 neck, not one already sized to .240... And, I had already unsuccessfully tried to form the 25-06 case in the .240 FL die.

It was a learning curve.

DF

These days, I am liking the 270 win and 300 Win Mag for deer and Pronghorn. I might be tempted on the 25-06 if I was regularly hunting coyotes at longer range.

the 25-06 will cover all those bases. I knock deer in the dirt all the time with my 22-243AI with 80 gr Amax bullets... which is more than enough for pronghorn and coyotes as well. Bigger bullets are NOT always the answer. That's my two cents...LOL....

While I truly believe I could make a shoulder die for the .240 WBY.....just using the 6 mm Rem makes way too much sense to me

A 257 Weatherby would be what I would look at, lots of performance, little recoil.

Good to know this thread still gets responses after 8 years, even though the original poster hasn't even logged on in 2-1/2....

The OP, eight years ago, was building a rifle.
Considering cost of dies, brass, availability...

Between the two 25-06.
Something a little "more", something?
25-06AI.
more?
25 SAUM

OR 6MM-06

Nothing like a long conversation!

My vote is for the 25-06....purely for practical reasons.

Then again if I were a true loony...definitely 240W-Bee

I’ve owned several 257 wby’s. And a couple of 25-06. Along with one 6-284 and one 25-284. My favorite was the 6-284.
Hasbeen.

25-06 because I have one.

What is the longest running thread? Eight years is a pretty good stint. I'm just glad I didn't buy/build all of the recommendations. Have a 25-06 and a 6mm AI and may add the 25 Roy and I will be good for at least another 8 years, I hope.