Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Pre 64 300 Weatherby History?

I doubt Winchester had the H&H re-chambered. I think it would easier to re-chamber a Remington 721. Controlled feed actions often need rails/feed ramp modified in such work. At least that’s my experience with Mausers and 700’s.

Back when 03’s and Mausers were “customized” I understand the desire for more power, such as 35 Whelen’s or Weatherby’s or Norma Magnums. I think I saw more 03’s chambered in 308 Norma than the others mentioned BTW. Bullet selection, in general, was poor in comparison with today’s bullets. To get an “elk” rifle or a “grizzly” rifle modifying a factory rifle to handle the bigger animals was a way to go for some.

I don’t recall seeing too many 300 Weatherby factory rifles. But I’ve seen a few 721’s with 300 H&H markings. I wonder how many were still H&H’s.

Compared to today there were not nearly as many options for different chambered rifles. Now it seems the manufactures are coming out with all kinds of new whiz bangs. (I better sell my H&H and get a Ruger or my Swede is old fashioned and I need a man bun or trade my 7x57 for an 7mm-08 etc.)

Telling a customer that Winchester had the H&H re-chambered would allow for more $’s, I think.

That's a great suggestion, for those buying or looking for an original H&H. That would be frustrating to find out that what you bought really was not what you thought you were buying. Mine is marked "WBY", and the guy that sold it to me is top notch. When I come into his shop, he calls me by my first name, and I his. When he sold it to me, he said he had been saving that rifle for the last 20 years, "waiting for just the right person". One of the reasons he sold it for so cheap.. It's now one of my favorite rifles, that is on the do not sell for any reason list..

It seems to me that I have seen 7 or 8 M721s in 300H&H that had been converted to WBY over the years

Weatherby offered rechambering H&H's to their proprietary(at the time) cartridge. IIRC they charged $35

There is a pre 64 300H&H adverised locally for $1500
I guess it would be a good idea to have a dummy 300 wby if one was interested

338reddog: Any information or mention of the "condition" of that pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in 300 H&H Magnum?
Or contact information?
TIA
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Sadly, the 300H&H's were not the only ones that were rechambered to WBY cartridges:



This is one I found at a pawnshop for $600.00:


The sort of cool thing about this rifle was the receiver remained original. However, I probably would have been more inclined to keep it, had it been drilled and tapped. This was a 1948 rifle. It also had an original stock, that was worth almost what I paid for the whole rifle.




My 300WBY:



Restocked, before paint and recoil pad:


The 300wby is a fine cartridge. The H&H has a cool factor though. An all original H&H would be a nice find.

I like my original 300 H&H..



But I'll never pass up a chance at a deal for something chambered in a 300 or 375 Wby, if the price is right.

I got one a few years back, it was a rechambered 300 H&H.



I tried every trick in the book to make it shoot. Just something was off with it. I even put a Legend on it..

Well, in a small fit, I sent it to JES and he made it into a 375 Improved 1-10 Twist and it's one of my favorites now!









So, I got the donor for 800 bucks or maybe less and it became a fairly decent 375 in the end.

Do you need any 375 AI brass for that rifle? I have about 50 rounds I got with a rifle I bought quite some time ago and moved down the road, but for some reason the brass stayed with me... Pretty sure it was only fired one time...

Sure, I can always use brass.. Doesn't rot and I don't mind looking at it

Shoot me a PM of what you need Sheister!

There was a Pre 64, 300 H&H for sale on GunBroker that had been reamed to 300 Weatherby. It was on there for a long time.

About 6 years ago, they were bringing about $850-$900. Then after I bought mine, I saw a couple sell for about $1,200.00. Those even had aftermarket recoil pads installed. That is much less than an original H&H sells for, but still not bad for a rechamberd unoriginal pre 64.

There have also been some ridiculously priced at $2,000.00+ there. Don't expect those to sell for that kind of money. Especially if they have been monkeyed with a bunch, like having a totally unoriginal stock. As with all of these, sometimes you have to look at them as the sum of parts. If the sum of the parts doesn't add up, don't buy it. Pretty simple really..

Several years ago I handled a pre64 M70 in 257R that had been rechambered to 257WBY and the barrel cut to 20"

Now, that is a shame Jericho. Almost brings a tear to an eye. I have been eyeballing a rifle that used to be a 257 Roberts, here within 120 miles from me. I watched that one for almost a year. Talking to the shop owner, and told him the guy will sell it, if his price gets down to $600.00. It was rechambered for 25-284. It came with loading dies, brass, and other components. When I was buying my recent Winchester model 52 sporter for $700 there, the shop owner confirmed I was right. The guy finally sold it for $600.00.. I was almost a buyer at that price, but I didn't need it.

Ouch, twice.

A .257R Pre-64 reamed is one "ouch".

Cutting a .257 Wby to 20 is another "ouch".

DF

I have a 300 H&H that was punched out to a 300 weatherby also. Always wanted a model 70 300 weatherby. My elk hunting mentor had a push feed factory 300 weatherby and I always admired it growing up. When this one popped up I had to get it especially since it is a pre 64.

Great find as far as I am concerned. I pulled some rifles out of the safe today. Saw my pushfeed 300wby model 70 in the back. Thinking if I had to pick one over the other, I'd hang on to the pre 64 as well. The pushfeed is pretty dang nice though, with it's Pacific Research stock on it. The 300WBY is a hammer. Great cartridge. Ol Roy, knew what he was doing, when he designed that one.

Pretty well just catching up late with this Win-Wby conversation. Confirming my understanding a "conversation" along the lines of "Custom shop work", fifties era forward! Claims in volume alone 'if true' arising to needing a GM production line facility! I'm with the predominant "never happened" Clan!

Winchester was a "Gunmaker", not gunsmith! Their Custom Shop did proprietary work emphasized as "accommodating" in some areas of endeavor and eras. I don't believe in "modern eras" and for anyone less than a public figure, John Wayne or a sitting POTUS perhaps, they might have done some such 'special', where the real reward would be "advertising copy"! Teddy Roosevelt or Kermit, and I believe the Model 1895, for instance in those early times.

Declining to chamber competitors' cartridges for instance was for the same reason not to have production runs of such either. They were advertising and selling Winchester Ammo! A large and sustaining Corporate Division and substantial revenue source. To move into the realm of accommodating 'other chamberings', was to acknowledge if not in some contexts "indorse" such as viable competitors! Then there might have also been patent royalties as moving from 'one off' casual gunsmith work to what such as Weatherby might allege of a large Corporate rifle manufacturer as an "enterprise".

Seems to me just a lot of good reasons including not within the Win Business Model to engage in turning rechambering to dimension of "commerce". Such endeavor in the early fifties, would only serve to 'hype' Roy Weatherby's product which he'd likely have loved as a major American arms maker "validation". As real boost toward capturing marketshare! In latter fifties forward, he'd have wanted his pound of flesh in context as "exploiting" his presumable "intellectual property"!

Just another "wordy take!"

Best!
John