Nice, always room for another wrinkle on our brains, I bet you heard/saw it all there too. I do have a chit-ton of reloading work waiting on me out n the shop, I need to get on it.
I need to do a little loading and shooting. But, can’t stand (or sit straight-up) but for a little while. Screwed-up my back “royally” around Jan 1st, a little over 2 months doing nothing. Only in last 3 weeks doing a little....then recline and hurt for hours! MRI’s and Dr.’s see nothing, but...I’m feelin* something! We had big plans for the winter, a little lion hunting, coyote hunting, ice fishing, and work around the house. Well, at least I didn’t have to work around the house! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
Ok,,,,, Nice work, but I am curious though,,,,,, what is your "Free-Bore",,,,,, I would suspect it's in the .250 thou. range, and not the Wby. Factory@ .373 thou., I had my .375 Wby. H&H punched out in the late 90's by Bob West, in Eugene Or., and I always thought it was the Wby. Factory "Free-Bore",,,,, but going thru some old paper work the other day, I found Bob's Work Order, and Invoice,,,,, he used a Reamer from PT&G @ .250 thou. "Free-Bore",,,, and that kind of makes sense now that I think of it, as I always wondered why it shot the H&H rounds so Accurate,,,, as a Buddy of mine has a .375 Wby. Factory Gun, and it does not shoot quite as Accurate with the H&H rounds as mine does,,,,, so in asking and "Googling" a bit, the Standard H&H has about .80-.90 and some at .125 thou. +/- "Free-Bore",,,, anway, I'm assuming that the "Free-Bore" you have,,,,, is why you are able to work-up those HOT Loads, and not have any issues.
I need to do a little loading and shooting. But, can’t stand (or sit straight-up) but for a little while. Screwed-up my back “royally” around Jan 1st, a little over 2 months doing nothing. Only in last 3 weeks doing a little....then recline and hurt for hours! MRI’s and Dr.’s see nothing, but...I’m feelin* something! We had big plans for the winter, a little lion hunting, coyote hunting, ice fishing, and work around the house. Well, at least I didn’t have to work around the house! memtb
Damnit! memtb, I hate like hell to hurt my damn self, it simply takes too long to heal anymore, here's hoping you get righted and back in the saddle ASAP.
Ok,,,,, Nice work, but I am curious though,,,,,, what is your "Free-Bore",,,,,, I would suspect it's in the .250 thou. range, and not the Wby. Factory@ .373 thou., I had my .375 Wby. H&H punched out in the late 90's by Bob West, in Eugene Or., and I always thought it was the Wby. Factory "Free-Bore",,,,, but going thru some old paper work the other day, I found Bob's Work Order, and Invoice,,,,, he used a Reamer from PT&G @ .250 thou. "Free-Bore",,,, and that kind of makes sense now that I think of it, as I always wondered why it shot the H&H rounds so Accurate,,,, as a Buddy of mine has a .375 Wby. Factory Gun, and it does not shoot quite as Accurate with the H&H rounds as mine does,,,,, so in asking and "Googling" a bit, the Standard H&H has about .80-.90 and some at .125 thou. +/- "Free-Bore",,,, anway, I'm assuming that the "Free-Bore" you have,,,,, is why you are able to work-up those HOT Loads, and not have any issues.
LOL, same here AK375DGR, my 'smith got a reamer, cut a few threads and drilled it, I have no idea the freebore, I have loaded 300gr SAF's, 300gr Partitions and the 270gr TSX's to max mag box length of 3.600" in the magnum length M-70 action, all functioned and shot so well I didn't have/need to experiment with seating depths, did back all loads down to 3.585" for a little clearance insurance should a speedy reloading of the rifle need to happen, hope that helps.
Thanks gunner500, getting there....just very slowly! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
Curious how R16 will do. It loads close to R17 and may be slightly denser. I will bet I can get the 235s to 3,000 without a sweat with R16. A 270 at 3,000 is starting to get my attention recoil wise so not sure I want to go there. Oops just noticed we are talking 375 AI.
"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred." Niccolo Machiavelli
Rl17 maxed out in volume at 87 grains. Velocity is 2,953. I tried W760 and it looks good. Smaller groups and higher velocity.
Hope that WW 760 works out for you, did you not use/have a drop tube? but, if you're where you want to be, it doesn't really matter as far as killing goes anyway, I'm more than happy at 3K with 270gr TSX's, three into .7 at 100 with no wind is more than good enough for any big game hunting to 400 yards with that bullet.
I've read plenty of accounts of 375 H&H's blowing petals off, figure i'll have an expanded solid blasting out the offside of game leaving at 3K, all will be good, the damage done for that to happen will have to be extremely significant.
Dam Gunner I'm going the other way with my 375. Using 225gr pistol bullets at about 1900 FPS. You can hear it hit the target and it will flat thump a deer. BUT I just got two boxes of NAB and will have to try R17.
Good luck with the Rott pup, we had one for 13+years and she was a great dog.
LOL, i'll begin cutting the throttle back too someday GSP, this test was more about science than kill ability, and Thanks for the pup well wishes, i'll pass them on to the Wife.
I love the big stuff but there is a severe shortage of Buffalo and Jumbo's here in MI but there are tons of deer and the reduced loads for my 416 Taylor the 375 and 450/400 can turn them into nice deer rifles.
I love the big stuff but there is a severe shortage of Buffalo and Jumbo's here in MI but there are tons of deer and the reduced loads for my 416 Taylor the 375 and 450/400 can turn them into nice deer rifles.
You bet GSP, another reason why it's so hard for me to want to drive up to Montana for that Double Rifle Shoot, it would be loads of fun AND cool experience/camaraderie, but heck, I can walk out the back door right here and get the mortal chit kicked out of myself.
That would be fun but it's a long way to go for a day. How are the prairie dogs around you? I love shooting those little bastards, most fun a man can have with his pants on:)
I have read all of this with interest. I have a 375 H&H that has been reamed to .375 Wby. Has anybody got an idea of the different Weatherby freebore versions? My rifle appears to have well over 0.400" of freebore. Did the Wby come out with that much freebore ever, or has the 'smith got a reamer with a custom freebore design?
AussieSteve, iirc Weatherby's have a standard 3/8th's inch freebore in factory form, you could start at 83 grains of RL-17 under the 270gr TSX's, working up with a chronograph to see what yourself and your rifle like.
I am using the 270gn Hornady SP and have worked up to 95gns of Re22 with no signs of pressure. I have loaded a few more with a COL equal to the mag length,
I'll see how they go, loaded up to 97gns of Re22. I use Re17 with 225's, 94gn IIRC gave me very near 3200fps.
I do have a chit-ton of reloading work waiting on me out n the shop, I need to get on it.
memtb
