340 Weatherby alive or DEAD?

[Bill]

Is the 340 old news with all the new hot rod ultras on the market? I bought a really clean rifle, but after lookig at the loading charts I think I should just sell it and keep going with my 300 RUM?

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[mjbskwim]

I believe the 340WBY carries a lot more energy down range than the 300RUM. The 300 RUM is very close to the 300WBY cartridge .
The 338 RUM would be very close to the 340 WBY
From what I remember,investigating this a few years ago,the 340 has the same trajectory,or close to,as the 300's only way more energy.
(of course this all depends on who's article you read)
The biggest caliber with a flat(ter) trajectory.Easily a 1000 yard gun in the right hands
Either caliber is pretty much a ticket puncher for most game with just an OK placed shot.

 

[jonn5335]

Actually I think it is just the opposite the rum's seem to be getting less and less popular and don't quote me on it but I think remington even discontinued them at least the 338rum and while the 340 may be considered a dinosaur by some people it has only one commercial loaded round that out performs it to my knowledge which is the 338-378 weatherby. There is a reason they still chamber rifles in 340 weatherby they work and they work damn well

 

[Velzey]

The 340 is the orginal hot rod ultra, and still very much a front runner..

 

[coosbaycreep]

The 340 is the orginal hot rod ultra, and still very much a front runner..

IIRC, .338 lapua is slightly faster than .340wby and is becoming more popular than either .340wby or .338RUM.

 

[DieselScout]

IIRC, .338 lapua is slightly faster than .340wby and is becoming more popular than either .340wby or .338RUM.

Curiosity just struck me, and it may not matter. But out this group, what's the cheapest to shoot?

Damn, just priced it out and ammunition ranges on all of them from $65 -> $120 for a box of 20! Guess you've got to pay to play.

 

[Velzey]

Oh well yah now we are talking Lapua......tis my all time favorite. If you really get into a 338 Lapua you will forget about everything else. I bought 200 rounds of brass and 1000 300gr SMK's and I about fell outta my chair....but its worth it!!

 

[jonn5335]

IIRC, .338 lapua is slightly faster than .340wby and is becoming more popular than either .340wby or .338RUM.

Where have you found published loading data confiriming this ? All the data I have shows the weatherby with the same velocity if not more than the LM I know the LM has more case capacity but the weatherby is more efficent. Fads (lapua mag) come and go Weatherbys seem to last forever

 

[Velzey]

Sierra book 5th edition has several loads using the same bullet (250gr and 300gr) in both, and the LM is a couple hundered fps faster...

 

[mjbskwim]

Curiosity just struck me, and it may not matter. But out this group, what's the cheapest to shoot?

Damn, just priced it out and ammunition ranges on all of them from $65 -> $120 for a box of 20! Guess you've got to pay to play.

Well your shoulder cuts down on rounds shot as much as your pocket book,so I'd imagine it's not too bad.
Heck if you do your part,what animal would need more than one shot from these?

 

[coosbaycreep]

Where have you found published loading data confiriming this ? All the data I have shows the weatherby with the same velocity if not more than the LM I know the LM has more case capacity but the weatherby is more efficent. Fads (lapua mag) come and go Weatherbys seem to last forever

Lapua isn't a fad. Remington, armalite, savage, sako, and others are now making rifles in that caliber. It's popular with military/police, and is probably the most popular high power long range caliber after .308, .300WM, and .50bmg.

RUM and .338wby are basically only made by remington, weatherby, and custom makers.

The last catalog I got from midwayusa showed factory lapua ammo with higher velocities than RUM or .338wby. (50-75fps faster IIRC).

Prvi partizan is making lapua brass now too.

All .338" cartridges are expensive to shoot, with .338winmag being by far the cheapest to shoot (but it's also a big step down from lapua/rum/wby).

 

[Bill]

Anyone interested in my Weatherby , I think I'll stick to the calibers I allready have.

 

[billt]

The .338-378 Weatherby bests the .338 Lapua by a couple of hundred feet per second with most any bullet combination, up to and including the 300 grain Sierra Matchking.