.338-378 Weatherby Magnum

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.338-378 Weatherby Magnum
338-378 Weatherby Headstamp. .jpg
338-378 Weatherby
TypeCenterfire/Rifle
Place of originUnited States
Production history
DesignerElmer Keith and Bob Thomson
Designed1963
ManufacturerWeatherby
Produced1998
Specifications
Parent case .378 Weatherby Magnum
Case type Belted, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.338 in (8.6 mm)
Neck diameter.361 in (9.2 mm)
Shoulder diameter.560 in (14.2 mm)
Base diameter.582 in (14.8 mm)
Rim diameter.579 in (14.7 mm)
Rim thickness.059 in (1.5 mm)
Case length2.905 in (73.8 mm)
Overall length3.65 in (93 mm)
Case capacity125  gr H2O (8.1 cm3)
Rifling twist1 in 10
Primer typeMagnum Rifle
Maximum pressure63,817 psi (440.00 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/typeVelocityEnergy
250 gr (16 g) Partition type3,060 ft/s (930 m/s)5,197 ft⋅lbf (7,046 J)
225 gr (15 g) Truncated solid3,180 ft/s (970 m/s)5,052 ft⋅lbf (6,850 J)
200 gr (13 g) Boat-tail soft point3,350 ft/s (1,020 m/s)4,983 ft⋅lbf (6,756 J)
Test barrel length: 28 in (71 cm)
Source(s): Weatherby [1]
338-378 Weatherby.jpg

The .338-378 Weatherby Magnum is based on the .338-378 KT, a wildcat cartridge created by Elmer Keith and R.W. "Bob" Thomson in 1966. [2] The KT is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum cartridge but is shorter by 1/4" and necked down to a .338 caliber bullet. [3] This design was chosen for elk hunting, using the powders available at the time, such as Hodgdon H-4831. [4] Due to the continued popularity of the KT, Weatherby introduced the .338-378 Weatherby Magnum in 1998 to its line of commercial ammunition, using a full-length 2.908" case. [5] Although based on the .338-378 KT, the .338-378 Weatherby Magnum and the KT have different load data and chamber sizes and are not interchangeable. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weatherby</span> American gun manufacturer

Weatherby, Inc. is an American gun manufacturer founded in 1945 by Roy Weatherby. The company is best known for its high-powered magnum cartridges, such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum. The company's headquarters is in Sheridan, Wyoming.

<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 .416 Rigby is a rifle cartridge designed in 1911 by London based gunmaker John Rigby & Company, for hunting dangerous game. It is the first cartridge to use a bullet of .416 inch diameter. The rifles, as built by John Rigby & Co., were initially made up on the Magnum Mauser 98 action, although in later years, some were made on standard length actions, a perfect example being the rifle used by legendary professional hunter Harry Selby. Other famous users of the cartridge were Commander David Enderby Blunt, John Taylor, and Jack O'Connor.

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

The .378 Weatherby Magnum was designed by Roy Weatherby in 1953. It was an original belted magnum design with no parent case, inspired by the .416 Rigby and headspacing of the belted .375 H&H Magnum. The 215 magnum rifle primer was developed by Federal specifically for this round. The cartridge can hold upwards of 7.13 g of powder. The 378 Weatherby Magnum cartridge also has the double radius shoulder design found on the first and smaller proprietary line of Weatherby magnum cartridges.

<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">Elmer Keith</span> American rancher and handgun developer (1899–1984)

Elmer Merrifield Keith was an American rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum (1935), as well as the later .44 Magnum (1956) and .41 Magnum (1964) cartridges, credited by Roy G. Jinks as "the father of big bore handgunning." Keith was born in Hardin, Missouri, and overcame serious injuries that he had sustained at age 12 in a fire when he was living in Missoula, Montana.

The Whisper family of firearm cartridges is a group of wildcat cartridges developed in the early 1990s by J.D. Jones of SSK Industries. The Whisper Family was developed as a line of accurate, multi-purpose cartridges using relatively heavy rifle bullets for a given caliber in subsonic loads. The intention was to create an extremely accurate cartridge family for military, police, competition and specialized hunting markets that could also be easily sound suppressed.

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 .300 Lapua Magnum (7.62×70mm) is a rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire cartridge developed for long-range rifles. The parent case of the .300 Lapua Magnum is the .338 Lapua Magnum necked down to a smaller caliber. The .338 cartridge case was selected to withstand high chamber pressures. Combining these high pressures with smaller, lighter bullets than its parent case, .300 Lapua Magnum loadings have high muzzle velocities.

<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">.22 caliber</span> Index of articles associated with the same name

.22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm).

<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.

The .465 H&H Magnum also known as .465 Holland & Holland Magnum, is a modern big bore firearms cartridge introduced by Holland & Holland in 2003 together with the .400 H&H Magnum. The .465 H&H Magnum is a .468 caliber, belted, bottleneck cartridge. The cartridge is a necked-up, shoulder-lowered tapered cartridge based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum case.

The .300 Norma Magnum, also known as .300 NM or 300 Norma, is a centerfire magnum rifle cartridge developed by Swedish ammunition manufacturer Norma Precision. The .300 Norma Magnum uses a .338 Norma Magnum parent case necked down to .30 caliber, named to differentiate it from the older .308 Norma Magnum designed in 1960, and has begun to gain popularity among long-range shooters. According to the official C.I.P. rulings, the .300 Norma Magnum can handle up to 440.00 MPa (63,817 psi) Pmax piezo pressure.

The .500 Whisper or .500 Whisper Short Belted is a subsonic rifle cartridge developed by SSK Industries for use in suppressed rifles. It is capable of firing a .51-caliber bullet weighing 750 gr (49 g) at roughly 1,050 ft/s (320 m/s).

References

  1. "Weatherby". Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  2. https://loaddata.com/Article/LabNotes/338-378-Weatherby-Magnum/621
  3. ".338-378 Weatherby Magnum".
  4. "338-378 KT | Cartridge Collector".
  5. ".338-378 Weatherby Magnum".
  6. ".338-378 Weatherby Magnum | Load Data Article".