Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 6.5-300 Weatherby – for Elk?

I’d run the 140’s through any elk shoulder, quartering too or away.

if i was young and full of piss and vinegar i would have purchsed a 6.5x300 a great cartridge 30 years ago , i always thought i should have rebarreled a rifle to this fine cartridge but at 67 years of age the mountains seem to be getting taller and harder to climb up, so i will just use what i have now. but a 6.5x300 would be a very fine elk cartridge !

Nice shooting. I wouldn’t judge the new rifle too hard till you’ve had a few shooting and cleanings on the new bore.

Sounds like it’s going to be a fine rifle.

That 200 AB at any speed from 2700 to 3200 has been an incredible hunting Bullet for us. I goof around with a lot of bullets but other than the Scirrocos I dig the Accubonds. Pretty danged versatile Bullet. I’d like a 200 grain Scirroco for my RUM.

At the range right now with my son waiting in line for an open lane. Son will shoot the 7mm Wby, and me the 127gr LRXs through the 6.5-300.

Yeah, Beretzs, I would like to get the 265gr ABLRs loaded for the .340. They have a BC of 0.732.

My range session today was mostly-dedicated to my son and his 7mm Wby.

I shot 6 of the 127gr LRXs and got two appx-1” groups. I think I’m going to wait until the B&C stock arrives and go from there.

I chronoed three of the 127gr LRXs, and got 3,374, 3,387, 3,366, for an average of 3,376 fps out of a 26” bbl. That’s 155 fps less than Wby claims. My chrono results for the 130gr SSs was 60 fps slower than advertised, and the 140gr ILs were only 27 fps slower than advertised.

Question about the B&C stocks: The 9-lug version of what I am getting (which is what I have on my .340 Accumark) says: “Full aluminum bedding block extends from the grip to the front swivel stud, free floated barrel.”

The VG long-action version says: “Full aluminum bedding block extends from the grip to the front swivel stud, pressure pad.”

They do not have one that says “free floated barrel,” instead of “pressure pad” for the VGs. Is there a reason for that?

That .340 Wby with the free-floated barrel is the most accurate rifle I ever have shot. It's got the same barrel as the Accuguard.

Once I get the stock for the 6.5-300, should I just grind away this pressure pad in order to free-float it, or should I consider glass bedding it?

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

Free-float or bust

That's how I feel too. I was just wondering if there's something about the different actions that made free-floating more disadvantageous, such as how tightly the action fits into the stock. But, I'll likely grind down the pressure point, shoot it, and then, if no good, bed it.

That’s strange that your rifle got less than advertised velocity from the 127 gr LRX. I’ve never failed to get advertised velocity from Weatherby factory loads in my Mark V’s. Certainly all things are possible, including a chronograph error/bias. Happy Trails

My former riflesmith once told me a good barrel should never need a pressure point. I found that true on numerous bolt rifles both custom and factory. If the barrel does need a pressure point to shoot well then something is amiss, it's a bandaid solution. Others will disagree but that's been my experience.

Anything's possible WAM. But my Labradar always has come out consistent with my Magnetospeed and my Pro Chrono in the past. Though, for that reason, and the convenience of the LR, I've given away the other two.

That was my thinking as well. I may call B&C to see if they have an explanation.

Does the Accuguard synthetic come with a #3 barrel? If so it should be free floated. I owned the SS accuguard with the B&C stock 300 wby(factory free floated) and it shot lights out. The only thing I would be concerned on is how the synthetic stock will handle being free floated if it is not already.

Does that include rifles that have barrels bedded completely like a NULA or Barrett Fieldcraft? My Barrett shoots very well. Also, my pre 64s Standard models have a barrel bump from what I have read and they shoot very well too. Is the barrel bump a solution to get mass produced barrels to shoot well?

I'm not an expert but it might well be. The bumps dampen barrel vibration I was told. Some barrels have alot of vibration and some don't. Barrel harmonics.

Yes, it has a #3 bbl. My free-floated .340 Accumark with a #3 also shoots lights out. It is a fairly-hefty piece of steel. I also think I'll call B&C to see if, in some manner, the new VG stock is not designed for free floating.

That's what I assumed as well, and also that a fully and properly bedded barrel really doesn't have any pressure points, as all surfaces of the barrel and action are in contact with the bedding.

Just talked to a seemingly-knowledgeable lady at B&C. She told me that, with the stocks with the full-length aluminum bedding block, but with the pressure pad, instead of free floating, if you grind off the pressure pad, the barrel will drop because the stock does not fully bed the action. So, I may try it out as is, and if I'm not happy, then have the action fully bedded and float the barrel. She said that they just make them to Wby specs, and have no input into that.

Just noticed that that there are a few B&C VG long action stocks that are free-floated, but all but one is for #2-countour barrels, which means I would have to sand down the barrel chamber. But this one is for #3 contour: https://www.bellandcarlson.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=1134

So, I switched my order to that.

I'd shoot it with the pressure point first. Shoot some groups with the ammo.

Then, just to see if it shoots better floated, add a couple plastic bread ties under the forward part of the action, near the recoil lug in order to float it. Compare the groups. Then you'll know which direction you need to go. Easier to assess it both ways before trying to add it back if it does indeed shoot better with a pressure point.

Thanks for the suggestions Beretzs, but I changed my order to the one linked immediately above, and it comes with no pressure points--free floated. And it's already shipped. So, I will try that route, and am cautiously optimistic. I also could full-length bed it, but hopefully that won't be necessary.

The #3 contour barrel on the 6.5-300 is pretty robust. Here it is next to a #2 (standard) contour 7mm Wby: