.240 Weatherby Magnum

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.240 Weatherby Magnum
Munit04.jpg
.240 Weatherby Magnum (1st from left)
TypeRifle
Place of originUSA
Production history
Designer Roy Weatherby
Designed1968
Manufacturer Weatherby
Specifications
Case typeBelted, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.243 in (6.2 mm)
Neck diameter.272 in (6.9 mm)
Shoulder diameter.429 in (10.9 mm)
Base diameter.453 in (11.5 mm)
Rim diameter.472 in (12.0 mm)
Case length2.496 in (63.4 mm)
Overall length3.100 in (78.7 mm)
Case capacity64  gr H2O (4.1 cm3)
Rifling twist1 in 10 in (250 mm)
Primer typeLarge rifle
Maximum pressure65,000 psi (450 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/typeVelocityEnergy
60 gr (3.9 g) HP3,817 ft/s (1,163 m/s)1,942 ft⋅lbf (2,633 J)
75 gr (4.9 g) HP3,555 ft/s (1,084 m/s)2,105 ft⋅lbf (2,854 J)
80 gr (5.2 g) SP3,514 ft/s (1,071 m/s)2,194 ft⋅lbf (2,975 J)
90 gr (5.8 g) SP3,394 ft/s (1,034 m/s)2,303 ft⋅lbf (3,122 J)
100 gr (6.5 g) HP3,202 ft/s (976 m/s)2,277 ft⋅lbf (3,087 J)
Source(s): Hodgdon [1]

The .240 Weatherby Magnum was developed in 1968 by Roy Weatherby. In the development of his own .240in/6 mm cartridge, Weatherby was significantly influenced by both the success and the limitations of the .244 H&H Magnum cartridge devised in England by his friend and colleague David Lloyd. It was the last cartridge to be designed by Roy Weatherby. [2]

Contents

Design

The .240 Weatherby Mag. is a proprietary cartridge used only in Weatherby rifles. This particular Weatherby case is unique: other than shape, it isn't physically based on other Weatherby cases, having the same rim diameter and a similar length to the .30-06. It utilizes the traditional Weatherby rounded double shoulder and a belted case with a length of 2.496in, significantly shorter than the 2.8in case of the .244 H&H Mag. [3]

Performance

In terms of velocity, the .240 Weatherby Magnum was once the fastest commercially produced 6 mm cartridge. There were several faster wildcat rounds available, but the .240 Wby. Mag. outclassed the 6 mm Remington and the newer .243 WSSM by about 150 ft/s (46 m/s). [4] However, the lightweight .243 WSSM 55gr Ballistic Silvertip now outpaces Weatherby's offerings according to some. [5] Loading data from Western Powders puts the .240 Wby. Mag. at over 4,000 ft/s (1,200 m/s) with a 62 grain Barnes bullet. [6]

While favoured by some varmint hunters, the .240 Wby. Mag. is not much liked by some reloaders because the case cannot be formed out of any other brass; one either has to buy Weatherby ammunition or reload used Weatherby cases which tend to be more expensive than those for more common cartridges. With heavier bullets the .240 Wby. Mag. makes for a good deer hunting cartridge, but it does tend to require a long (>23 inches (580 mm).) barrel in order to achieve peak performance.

Performance for 100 grain bullet from utilizing a factory 26" test barrel and a Nosler Partition bullet)
Muzzle100 yd200 yd300 yd400 yd500 yd
Trajectory2.83.50-8.4-22.9
Energy (ft·lbf)257621831844155012941073
Velocity (ft/s)340631362882264224152199
.240 Weatherby Performance Comparison
CartridgeBullet weightMuzzle velocityMuzzle energy
.240 Weatherby Magnum100 gr (6.5 g)3,406 ft/s (1,038 m/s)2,576 ft⋅lbf (3,493 J)
.240 Apex 100 gr (6.5 g)2,900 ft/s (880 m/s)1,865 ft⋅lbf (2,529 J)
.242 Rimless Nitro Express 100 gr (6.5 g)2,800 ft/s (850 m/s)1,740 ft⋅lbf (2,360 J)
.243 Winchester 100 gr (6.5 g)2,960 ft/s (900 m/s)1,945 ft⋅lbf (2,637 J)
.243 Winchester Super Short Magnum 100 gr (6.5 g)3,110 ft/s (950 m/s)2,147 ft⋅lbf (2,911 J)
.244 H&H Magnum 100 gr (6.5 g)3,500 ft/s (1,100 m/s)2,720 ft⋅lbf (3,690 J)
.246 Purdey 100 gr (6.5 g)2,950 ft/s (900 m/s)1,930 ft⋅lbf (2,620 J)
6 mm Lee Navy 100 gr (6.5 g)2,680 ft/s (820 m/s)1,595 ft⋅lbf (2,163 J)
6 mm Remington 100 gr (6.5 g)3,100 ft/s (940 m/s)2,133 ft⋅lbf (2,892 J)

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.

The .375 Remington Ultra Magnum, also known as the .375 RUM is a .375 rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 2000. The cartridge is intended for large and dangerous game.

<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">.243 Winchester Super Short Magnum</span> Cartridge

The 243 Winchester Super Short Magnum or 243 WSSM is a rifle cartridge introduced in 2003. It uses a .300 WSM case shortened and necked down to accept a .243in/6mm diameter bullet, and is a high velocity round based on ballistics design philosophies that are intended to produce a high level of efficiency. The correct name for the cartridge, as listed by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI), is 243 WSSM, without a decimal point. Winchester has discontinued the manufacture of 243 WSSM ammunition. As of the first half of 2016, Winchester/Olin did manufacture and release for sale some WSSM ammunition. The product is only manufactured periodically, often at inconsistent intervals.

<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">.30-378 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .30-378 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber, belted, bottle-necked rifle cartridge. The cartridge was developed in response to a US Army military contract in 1959. While still unreleased to the public, the cartridge went on to set world records for accuracy including the first ten 10X in 1,000 yards (910 m) benchrest shooting. It is currently the highest velocity .30 caliber factory ammunition available.

<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.

The .416 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked cartridge designed by Ed Weatherby and launched commercially in 1989. It is a dangerous-game cartridge intended for the hunting of heavy dangerous game such as elephant and African Cape buffalo. It is considered the most powerful commercial .416 cartridge, besting the Remington, Rigby and Ruger .416s by a velocity of 300 ft/s (91 m/s). Unlike earlier Weatherby cartridges which were designed by Roy Weatherby, this cartridge was designed by his son Ed Weatherby.

The .300 H&H Magnum cartridge was introduced by the British company Holland & Holland as the Super-Thirty in June, 1925. The case was belted like the .375 H&H Magnum, and is based on the same case, as also is the .244 H&H Magnum. The belt is for headspace as the cases' shoulders have a narrow slope rather than an actual shoulder. More modern magnums continue this practice, but headspacing on the belt is not necessary with their more sharply angled shoulders. The cartridge was used by American shooter Ben Comfort to win the 1000-yard Wimbledon Cup Match at Camp Perry in 1935, and it was used again to win the international 1,000 yard competition in 1937. Winchester chambered the Model 70 in .300 Holland & Holland Magnum in 1937.

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">.244 H&H Magnum</span>

The .244 Holland & Holland Magnum cartridge was created in 1955 in Great Britain by deerstalker and rifle-maker David Lloyd of Pipewell Hall, Northamptonshire and Glencassley in Sutherland, Scotland, and is not to be confused with the smaller-cased and much milder 6 mm Remington. Stalking on extremely steep deer forests such as his own at Glencassley, Lloyd was in search of a "canyon rifle" cartridge that would shoot exceptionally fast and with a very flat trajectory across deep valleys and over distances out to 300 yards (270 m) and more, to make range estimation less critical for accurate bullet placement, and to deliver a hard-hitting bullet weighing a minimum of 100 grains. The .244 H&H Magnum easily met these criteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.25 Winchester Super Short Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge designed by Winchester

The .25 Winchester Super Short Magnum is a third member of the Winchester Super Short Magnum (WSSM) cartridge family created by Winchester and Browning. It is the largest caliber of the WSSM line and is the most capable of handling large game such as deer and wild boar.

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

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.

<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".

The 270 Winchester Short Magnum or 270 WSM is a short magnum cartridge created by necking down the .300 Winchester Short Magnum and fitting it with a .277 caliber bullet. The correct name for the cartridge, as listed by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI), is 270 WSM, without a decimal point. It is a member of the Winchester Short Magnum family of cartridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.325 Winchester Short Magnum</span>

The .325 Winchester Short Magnum, commonly known as the 325 WSM, is an 8mm caliber rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum medium bore cartridge. The cartridge was introduced by Winchester Ammunition in 2005.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.30-06 Springfield wildcat cartridges</span> Non-standard rifle cartridge

.30-06 Springfield wildcat cartridges are cartridges developed from a 30-06 Springfield "parent cartridge" through narrowing or widening the cartridge neck to fit a smaller or larger bullet in an attempt to improve performance in specific areas. Such wildcat cartridges are not standardized with recognized small arms standardization bodies like the SAAMI and the CIP.

References

  1. ↑ "Hodgdon Online Reloading Data". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  2. ↑ The .240 Weatherby Magnum by Chuck Hawks
  3. ↑ The .240 Weatherby Magnum by Chuck Hawks (subscription required)
  4. ↑ Compared: The .243 WSSM and .240 Wby. Mag. by Chuck Hawks (subscription required)
  5. ↑ "SBST243SS". Olin Corporation 190 Carondelet Suite 1530 Clayton, MO 63105. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  6. ↑ "Western Powders" (PDF).
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