.300 Weatherby Magnum

Last updated
.300 Weatherby Magnum
300 Weatherby.jpg
.300 Weatherby cartridge
TypeRifle
Place of originUSA
Production history
DesignerRoy Weatherby
Designed1944
ManufacturerWeatherby
Produced1944–present
Specifications
Parent case .300 H&H Magnum
Case typeBelted, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.308 in (7.8 mm)
Neck diameter.336 in (8.5 mm)
Shoulder diameter.492 in (12.5 mm)
Base diameter.512 in (13.0 mm)
Rim diameter.531 in (13.5 mm)
Case length2.825 in (71.8 mm)
Overall length3.562 in (90.5 mm)
Rifling twist1-10
Primer typeLarge rifle magnum
Maximum pressure65,000 psi (450 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/typeVelocityEnergy
150 gr (10 g) SP3,540 ft/s (1,080 m/s)4,173 ft⋅lbf (5,658 J)
165 gr (11 g) SP3,390 ft/s (1,030 m/s)4,210 ft⋅lbf (5,710 J)
180 gr (12 g) BST3,250 ft/s (990 m/s)4,223 ft⋅lbf (5,726 J)
200 gr (13 g) Partition3,060 ft/s (930 m/s)4,158 ft⋅lbf (5,637 J)
220 gr (14 g) Rn-Ex2,845 ft/s (867 m/s)3,954 ft⋅lbf (5,361 J)
Test barrel length: 26
Source(s): Weatherby [1]

The .300 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber rifle cartridge created by Roy Weatherby in 1944 and produced by Weatherby. It has become the most popular of all the Weatherby cartridges. [1]

Contents

Background

Roy Weatherby already had experience with other custom cartridges such as his own .270 Weatherby Magnum when he created the .300 Weatherby. Like most of his other magnum cartridges, this is based on a blown-out .300 H&H Magnum case, using the signature Weatherby double-radius shoulder. The Weatherby was first introduced in 1944, and the .300 Winchester Magnum was introduced in 1963. [2]

In recent years, Remington, Winchester and Ruger have produced rifles in this caliber, and most major ammunition manufacturers now supply factory loads. [3]

Performance

Historically, Weatherby claimed that this is the most powerful .30 caliber magnum rifle commercially available, but the recently introduced .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, the .300 Norma Magnum and Weatherby's own .30-378 Weatherby Magnum are now more powerful. Of course there are quite a few very large .30 caliber wildcat cartridges.

When comparing the .300 RUM and the .300 Weatherby Magnum, however, there is a difference in factory loadings. Performance data is often listed on the side of the ammunition box for those who wish to do an in-store comparison. On average, Weatherby factory ammo is loaded to higher chamber pressures than Remington or Winchester magnum rounds. The Remington round can be handloaded to equal pressures, and as a consequence, surpass the .300 Weatherby in power.

The .300 Weatherby is commonly used by big-game hunters all over the world. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.460 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the .458-inch (11.6 mm) bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby. The .460 Weatherby Magnum was designed as an African dangerous game rifle cartridge for the hunting of heavy, thick skinned dangerous game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.25-06 Remington</span> US hunting rifle cartridge

Considered by many as the most balanced of the "quarter bores" for hunting medium-sized game, the .25-06 Remington remained in obscurity as a wildcat cartridge for nearly half a century before being standardized by Remington in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.257 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a .257 caliber (6.53 mm) belted bottlenecked cartridge. It is one of the original standard length magnums developed by shortening the .375 H&H Magnum case to approx. 2.5 in (64 mm). Of the cartridges developed by Roy Weatherby, the .257 Weatherby Magnum was known to have been his favorite, and the cartridge currently ranks third in Weatherby cartridge sales, after the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum and the .300 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.375 H&H Magnum</span> British rifle cartridge

The .375 H&H Magnum, also known as .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, is a medium-bore rifle cartridge introduced in 1912 by London based gunmaker Holland & Holland. The .375 H&H cartridge featured a belt to ensure the correct headspace, which otherwise might be unreliable, given the narrow shoulder of the cartridge case. The cartridge was designed to use cordite which was made in long strands – hence the tapered shape of the case, which, as a beneficial side effect also helped in smooth chambering and extraction from a rifle's breech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.300 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked Magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard rifle action. It is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which has been blown out, shortened, and necked down to accept a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .338 Winchester Magnum is a .338 in (8.6 mm) caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The .338 in (8.6 mm) is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are considered to begin. The .338 Winchester Magnum is the first choice among professional brown bear guides in Alaska to back up clients where a powerful stopping caliber is required on charging bears. It is also the most popular medium-bore cartridge in North America and has the most widely available choice in rifles among medium bore rifles. The action length is the same as a .30-06, and most major rifle manufacturers in the United States chamber rifles for the cartridge including the semi-automatic Browning BAR Mk II Safari, making it a very powerful combination against charging dangerous game. The cartridge was intended for larger North American big-game species and has found use as for the hunting of thin-skinned African plains-game species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.280 Remington</span> US rifle cartridge

The .280 Remington, also known as the 7mm-06 Remington and 7mm Express Remington, was introduced in 1957 for the Remington model 740, 760, 721, and 725 rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum. The original purpose of the belted magnum concept taken from the .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum, was to provide precise headspace control, since the sloping shoulders, while easing cartridge extraction, were unsuitable for this purpose. Improved cartridge extraction reliability is desirable while hunting dangerous game, in particular when a fast follow-up shot is required. The 7mm Remington Magnum is based on the commercial .264 Winchester Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, and .458 Winchester Magnum, which were based on the same belted .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum cases, trimmed to nearly the same length as the .270 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8mm Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 8mm Remington Magnum belted rifle cartridge was introduced by Remington Arms Company in 1978 as a new chambering for the model 700 BDL rifle. The 8mm Remington Magnum's parent case is the .375 H&H Magnum. It is a very long and powerful cartridge that cannot be used in standard length actions, such as those that accommodate the .30-06 Springfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.35 Whelen</span> US medium-bore rifle cartridge

The .35 Whelen is a powerful medium-bore rifle cartridge that does not require a magnum action or a magnum bolt-face. The parent of this cartridge is the .30-06 Springfield, which is necked-up to accept a bullet diameter of .358 in (9.1 mm). This cartridge is more powerful than its parent, especially in killing power on large game. However, with much wider availability, and the higher BC .30 caliber bullets of today, the power gap between the two cartridges has been decreased.

The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, also known as the .300 Ultra Mag, 7.62×72mm or .300 RUM, is a 7.62 mm rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 1999. The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is one of the largest commercially available .30 caliber magnums currently being produced. It is a beltless, rebated rim cartridge, capable of handling all large North American game, as well as long-range shooting. Among commercially produced .30-caliber rifle chamberings, the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is second only to the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum in cartridge-case capacity.

The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Except for the .244 H&H Magnum and .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge derived from the 2.85 in (72 mm) Holland & Holland belted magnum case. It was introduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum as one of a family of short-cased 2.5 in (64 mm) belted magnum cartridges developed by Winchester based on the .375 Holland & Holland parent case. It was officially introduced to the public by Winchester in 1959. After many years of dwindling use it began enjoying a mild resurgence in popularity in the mid-2000s among long range rifle enthusiasts and reloaders due to the high ballistic coefficient of the heavier 6.5mm bullets and increasing popularity of cartridges such as 6.5mm Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6.5 Grendel, benchrest and wildcat cartridges in 6.5mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338-06</span>

The .338-06 is a cartridge based on the .30-06. It allows heavier .338 caliber bullets to be used from the .30-06 non-belted case. This can be a suitable choice for heavy bodied game such as moose, elk, and brown bear. The number and variety of .338 caliber bullets increased after the introduction in the late 1950s of the .338 Winchester Magnum cartridge, frequently chambered in the Winchester Model 70 rifle. More recently the introduction of the .338 Lapua magnum has caused an increase in interest in the .338 caliber and their projectiles. The .338-06 maintains much of the benefits of the .338 Winchester Magnum cartridge but has substantially less recoil, makes more efficient use of powder, and allows use of widely available .30-06 commercial and military cases. It is similar in concept to the .333 OKH as well as the .35 Whelen, which also use the .30-06 brass case as a basis for the cartridge. Thanks to the large number of rifles based on the .30-06 family of cartridges, having a .338-06 made usually only requires a simple barrel change by a competent gun smith. A-Square adopted the caliber as the .338-06 A-Square in approximately 1998, and was approved by SAAMI as a standardized caliber. Weatherby offered factory rifles and ammunition, but has now dropped the rifles from its inventory. The .338-06 A-Square tends to have a velocity advantage over the .35 Whelen and uses bullets that retain velocity and resist wind drift better than similar weight bullets fired from the .35 Whelen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.257 Roberts</span> Rifle cartridge

The .257 Roberts, also known as .257 Bob, is a medium-powered .25 caliber rifle cartridge. It has been described as the best compromise between the low recoil and flat trajectory of smaller calibers such as the 5 mm and 6 mm, and has more energy, but is harder recoiling, similar to larger hunting calibers, such as the 7 mm and 7.62 mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.270 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .270 Weatherby Magnum was the first belted magnum based on the .300 H&H Magnum to be developed by Roy Weatherby in 1943. The cartridge is short enough to function in standard-length long actions with a brass length of 2.549" or 64.74mm and an overall length of about 3.295".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.416 Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .416 Remington Magnum is a .416 caliber (10.57 mm) cartridge of belted bottlenecked design. The cartridge was intended as a dangerous game hunting cartridge and released to the public in 1989. The cartridge uses the case of the 8 mm Remington Magnum as a parent cartridge. When the cartridge was released in 1988, author Frank C. Barnes considered the .416 Remington Magnum to be the "most outstanding factory cartridge introduced in decades".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.340 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .340 Weatherby Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced in 1962 by creator Roy Weatherby to fill the gap between the .300 Weatherby Magnum and the .378 Weatherby Magnum, and in response to the .338 Winchester Magnum released in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Remington Ultra Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .338 Remington Ultra Magnum is a .338 caliber rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.375 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .375 Weatherby Magnum (9.5×73mmB) is a medium-bore rifle cartridge. The cartridge is blown out, improved and provided with the Weatherby double radius shoulder – given the Weatherby treatment – version of the .375 H&H Magnum. Unlike other improved versions of the .375 H&H Magnum like the .375 Ackley Improved, the .375 Weatherby Magnum is not a wildcat and existed as a proprietary cartridge until the CIP published specifications for the cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 7mm Weatherby Magnum is a powerful 7mm rifle cartridge offered by the Weatherby firearms company in their Mark V rifles. The cartridge was one of the first cartridges offered by the Weatherby company.

References

  1. 1 2 .300 Weatherby Magnum page at Weatherby
  2. Bullets, Speer (2009). Speer Bullets Reloading Manual #14. Speer. p. 525. ISBN   978-0-9791860-0-4.
  3. Bullets, Speer (2009). Speer Bullets Reloading Manual #14. Speer. p. 540. ISBN   978-0-9791860-0-4.
  4. .300 Weatherby by Chuck Hawks (subscription required) (subscription required)