.455_Hunter
Member
Yawn. Plenty of good .338 options all ready on the table.
Weatherby introduces the 338 WBY RPM
- Thread starter JJEH
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I have a number of various calibers, but could do all I'll ever need with a 22LR, 223, and 308 Winchester. I think we had all the calibers a person could possibly need 50 years ago, or maybe more. But it's all about sales and I feel any gun sales is good for the future. The more guns we have out there, the harder it would be for anyone to ever take them.
smithra_66
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Yep. I was just looking through a 1955 edition of Guns magazine and they had a section back then where they asked famous people what their "Favorite Guns" were. John Wayne and Clark Gable were featured that month and John said his favorite gun was his new Weatherby Mark V in 300 Weatherby Mag. It didn't get much bigger than that in 1955!
375hh1973
US Veteran
I always like to see new calibers, regardless if I have a need for them or not.
I currently have a .338win mag so I probably wont be in a hurry to buy a 338rpm
If I didn't have the 338win I would certainly look at this new round.
Yeah, we could all hunt with a 30/06 or a 270 but what fun would that be???
I have more calibers than I have available days to deer hunt.
My wife says I need help
I currently have a .338win mag so I probably wont be in a hurry to buy a 338rpm
If I didn't have the 338win I would certainly look at this new round.
Yeah, we could all hunt with a 30/06 or a 270 but what fun would that be???
I have more calibers than I have available days to deer hunt.
My wife says I need help
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
I'm definitely getting to be more of a puss as my age increases. I've shot plenty of the larger bores and mostly it convinces me I don't want one. A buddy has a .340 Weatherby and I find it punishing never mind his .375 H&H and .470 NE. Those days are simply behind me.
Lately I've added a 6.5 Grendel and a bolt-action .30-30 to the inventory even though I really always wanted a .300 H&H. I've a couple .264 Win Mags and my vintage Model 700 in '06 for the occasional elk hunt. I'm toning things down not up.
Lately I've added a 6.5 Grendel and a bolt-action .30-30 to the inventory even though I really always wanted a .300 H&H. I've a couple .264 Win Mags and my vintage Model 700 in '06 for the occasional elk hunt. I'm toning things down not up.
Heh heh heh....keep talking like that and you'd better start looking over your shoulderBTW you forgot about the .45-70
Yeah, and I forgot the 45 ACP and 9mm Parabellum too. Plus, I live in Weatherby’s home town, Sheridan. Hopefully I can hide under my pseudeonym.
OP
JJEH
Member
With myriad 338 choices currently chambered by WBY, i.e., 338-378, 340 WBY and 338 WM, I don't see much of a demand. Moreover, I haven't seen many WBY rifles and fewer WBY cartridges on shelves since pre-covid. If I were a bettin' man, I would say it'll end up next to the 338-06, 338 Fed and 338 Ruger on the list of silly, dead cartridges. I am far from being a WBY aficionado, but it seems the bloom has been off the WBY rose for quite awhile.
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Deer season will see me with a new custom rifle, my first using Black Walnut as a stock material. The gun will weigh in the 6lb range probably a bit less. It will be in the punishing caliber of 250 Savage. 
My Weatherby experience goes way back to the 1950-1970 era. I had several of his rifles and a Regency Over and Under. These were second to none in fit, finish, and accuracy. The rifles did kick a bit and were certainly something to be proud of. Roy Weatherby sent personally signed Christmas cards to all his customers every year in those days and it was wonderful to be part of that family. This new cartridge with a 225 grain bullet at 2800 fps in a 6.2 pound rifle will be a real challenge to shoot.
Echo40
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Personally, I wish that manufacturers in the firearms industry would make new guns for old cartridges rather than the other way around.
Honestly, I think that has a higher probability of success than making entirely new cartridges for the same old hunting/sporting rifles.
It's extremely unlikely that anyone will be convinced to buy another variation of an existing firearm just to try out the latest whiz-bang cartridge, but the market is always willing to buy new firearms for cartridges they already have a stockpile of or are setup to reload.
Honestly, I think that has a higher probability of success than making entirely new cartridges for the same old hunting/sporting rifles.
It's extremely unlikely that anyone will be convinced to buy another variation of an existing firearm just to try out the latest whiz-bang cartridge, but the market is always willing to buy new firearms for cartridges they already have a stockpile of or are setup to reload.
The new .338 looks a lot like my .338-06 AI, my only wild cat that comes close to the .338 Win Mag in ballistics.
Manufacturers continually try to reinvent the wheel. I admit to being a fan of the classics, there not broke quit trying to fix them. I like nice walnut not plastic for my stock material.
The 300 H&H was introduced in 1905 and has been called the most efficient of the 30 caliber magnums. The 300 WSM came out in 2001 and is essentially the same ballistic wise.
FWIW my Super 30 (the original designation for the 300 H&H) is a tricked out Ruger #1 action wrapped up in a nice piece of English walnut......classic
The 300 H&H was introduced in 1905 and has been called the most efficient of the 30 caliber magnums. The 300 WSM came out in 2001 and is essentially the same ballistic wise.
FWIW my Super 30 (the original designation for the 300 H&H) is a tricked out Ruger #1 action wrapped up in a nice piece of English walnut......classic
THE PILGRIM
Member
Had a Savage in 338 Win that kicked like a Mule.
I flinched on the bench so I usually shot it standing up over the hood of my truck.
I flinched on the bench so I usually shot it standing up over the hood of my truck.
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OP
JJEH
Member
I agree with you, and I'm pretty sure they could chamber in your desired round if you go through the custom shop. But I don't know for sure.
Adam Weatherby said their intend was to maximize the use of their standard 6-lug Mark V action. Makes sense since many probably don't want or need a Magnum load.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy American ingenuity and -manufacturing is alive and well, but I also think the cartridge market is oversaturated.
I have had Weatherby rifles since My first in 1957. Worked in a gas station and had 2 paper routes. Dad actually picked it up as I was 12 at the time. Had just about every cartridge They made. Down to one now and really enjoy it. A Mk V with exceptional wood in .300.
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DGNY
Member
To the OP, thanks for sharing that information and generating this discussion. might take us a little bit different. Although I have stopped hunting, I still have interest in hunting calibers, and think back to Emperor Elmer Keith, who sat atop the pile of big bore or at least mid bore advocates many years ago, and whom I read a great deal.
Based on that, this caliber/cartridge doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. I think it’s at least a three-quarter good idea! For at least 90 years, the ~333/338 family has been, for the US of A, a large bore and powerful cartridge. We recall the 333 OKH, for example. Frankly, as based on the 284 rebated rim case, expanded to .338, this makes me think of a 7.92x57 Mauser (I.e., a 200 Gr @2550 fps/24” bbl) on a moderate dose of steroids. Not a bad choice.
So, I think Weatherby is on to something, keeping the cartridge shorter than a full magnum, and less raucous than a full Loudenboomer magnum. Where I would part company is on the idea of a 6.2 pound rifle, unless it had, speaking facetiously, at least a 2 pound scope and a 1 pound recoil pad.
Based on that, this caliber/cartridge doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. I think it’s at least a three-quarter good idea! For at least 90 years, the ~333/338 family has been, for the US of A, a large bore and powerful cartridge. We recall the 333 OKH, for example. Frankly, as based on the 284 rebated rim case, expanded to .338, this makes me think of a 7.92x57 Mauser (I.e., a 200 Gr @2550 fps/24” bbl) on a moderate dose of steroids. Not a bad choice.
So, I think Weatherby is on to something, keeping the cartridge shorter than a full magnum, and less raucous than a full Loudenboomer magnum. Where I would part company is on the idea of a 6.2 pound rifle, unless it had, speaking facetiously, at least a 2 pound scope and a 1 pound recoil pad.
DGNY
Member
To the OP, thanks for sharing information and generating this discussion. To posters who decry the idea of such a Weatherby cartridge, if you don’t mind, I might take us a in little bit different direction…
Although I have stopped hunting, I still have interest in hunting calibers, and think back to Emperor Elmer Keith, who sat atop the pile of big bore or at least mid bore advocates many years ago, and whom I read a good deal.
Based on that, this caliber/cartridge doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. I think it’s at least a three-quarter good idea! For at least 90 years, the ~333/338 family has been, for the US of A, a large bore and powerful cartridge. We recall the 333 OKH, for example. Frankly, as based on the 284 rebated rim case, expanded to .338, this makes me think of a 7.92x57 Mauser (I.e., a 200 Gr @2550 fps/24” bbl) plus a moderate dose of steroids. Not a bad choice. (Plus, loaded down a bit, it might make a fine cast bullet package.)
So, I think Weatherby is on to something, keeping the cartridge shorter than a full magnum, and less raucous than a full Loudenboomer magnum, by virtue of its ~ 30 ‘06 powder capacity.
Where I would part company is on the idea of a 6.2 pound rifle, unless it had, speaking facetiously, at least a 2 pound scope and a 1 pound recoil pad.
Of course, YMMV.
Although I have stopped hunting, I still have interest in hunting calibers, and think back to Emperor Elmer Keith, who sat atop the pile of big bore or at least mid bore advocates many years ago, and whom I read a good deal.
Based on that, this caliber/cartridge doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. I think it’s at least a three-quarter good idea! For at least 90 years, the ~333/338 family has been, for the US of A, a large bore and powerful cartridge. We recall the 333 OKH, for example. Frankly, as based on the 284 rebated rim case, expanded to .338, this makes me think of a 7.92x57 Mauser (I.e., a 200 Gr @2550 fps/24” bbl) plus a moderate dose of steroids. Not a bad choice. (Plus, loaded down a bit, it might make a fine cast bullet package.)
So, I think Weatherby is on to something, keeping the cartridge shorter than a full magnum, and less raucous than a full Loudenboomer magnum, by virtue of its ~ 30 ‘06 powder capacity.
Where I would part company is on the idea of a 6.2 pound rifle, unless it had, speaking facetiously, at least a 2 pound scope and a 1 pound recoil pad.
Of course, YMMV.
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