340 Weatherby woes

[PA farmboy]

Been messing with my new accumark, been trying 250gr nosler accubonds and 250gr Berger elite hunters. Powders used have been H4350, H4831sc, IMR 7828ssc. Only sub Moa load I have got was 78gr of 4831sc with a accubond, but its at a dismal 2682fps. IMR 7828ssc the gun absolutely does not agree with, 6-10" groups with every load I tried. Bergers I can't get any better than a 3" group.

Whats everyones favorite loads in their Weatherby? Any tricks to reloading for these? I am seating bullets to mag length. Im at the point of switching bullets, want something that will expand well out to extended ranges since I can shoot deer out to 800yds pretty easy. Yet want something tough enough that I won't have to switch bullets when I go elk hunting.

Thanks everyone

 

[DavidReed]

My all time favorite cartridge....

In factory guise its hard to get on or in the lands but do you know how far off of the lands are you running the Accubonds? In my experience Accubonds like to be greater that 0.050" off the lands.

Reloader 22 and Norma MRP are have been the best all around powders oil my experience with the .340 (I know, I know those two powders are non existent.). 7828 usually does pretty well too. I've been able to consistently get ~MOA with Re22 driving a 250 gr Accubond, 250 gr Partition, or 250 gr Scenar at 2,950 fps in factory Mark V's. A custom M70 I have in 340 with a Lilja barrel does much better than that. It may be worth getting a box or two of factory ammo would be worth a try to establish a benchmark for the rifle. Their ammo usually shoots very well in their rifles.

Have you gone through a pre flight check list with the rifle disassembled it, degreased the action screws and make sure they are the correct length and not binding? Is the mag box binding? Is the bedding acceptable? Strip the bolt and thoroughly clean the inside of the bolt with starting fluid. More than one Mark V I've had came from the factory with extra grit, gunk, and sludge inside the bolt body.

Which scope bases and rings are you running? Are the screws degreased and torqued correctly?

Which scope are you using? Is it a known reliable & proven scope that is up to the 340?

Lastly, what is your experience driving cartridges that are in the recoil class of the 340?

 

[Choupique]

Sounds like a rifle problem to me. I'm not a fan of picky rifles. I'd send it back if I was sure the scope/rings/base are all OK. More than 2" @ 100 yards is my "F this gun" line

 

[PA farmboy]

Have had it out of the stock once to lighten up the trigger, nothing seemed non acceptable and torqued it back down when put back together. Gun shop I bought it at had a box of 225gr interlock ammo I got when I brought it home, it shoots roughly 1". The 78gr load thats sub Moa for me is great, .281-.627", but 2682fps is just too darn slow. Scope is a nightforce shv 5-20x56, Weatherby rail, leuopld prw2 rings.

No clue how far from the lands I am at, I have been loading everything as load as the mag will allow, except I did try a few different loads with the bergers loaded out longer and single fed those but no marked improvement. Really the recoil is pretty tame, id put it as equivalent to my tikka 300wsm I have. I would really like 2900+ with a 250gr accubond and sub moa.

 

[A382DWDZQ]

I don't think your 4831SC load is all that far off on velocity, 20-60fps. What were your other loads and what speeds were you getting them. The 7828scc should be getting you another 100fps. Might want to give Ramshot Magum or N560 a try as well. Could be your barrel is just waiting to speed up.

 

[mainbeam pursuit2]

In my 340 I had decent luck with Re 22, it came to life with 7828. I haven't tried 7828SC, I have 8lbs. of MRP to try. I got the 225 NAB to shoot around 3/4" and left it at that. My groups flat based bullets slightly better. Hope you can find the combo your pleased with.

 

[cnelk]

My 340 WBY Mark V Alaskan likes 90gr of H4831 with a 225gr Hornady Interlok

I can get 3000fps with that recipe

 

[PA farmboy]

Yeah I seen I can get some 225gr accubonds locally so thats what I am gonna try next. Shame the bergers won't shoot worth a darn, love them in my 300wsm.

 

[SDHNTR]

Have you verified action screw torque, properly floated barrel, stock/recoil lug bedding, scope mounting hardware, and proper scope function first?

 

[cnelk]

Alaskan moose suffered the effects from the recipe I listed above.
300yds - hole in and hole out.
Died within feet of being hit.

 

[PA farmboy]

Have you verified action screw torque, properly floated barrel, stock/recoil lug bedding, scope mounting hardware, and proper scope function first?

Yep, all that has been verified to be correct. Boy I’d love to take it on a moose hunt some day! Hard to get anyone I know to go on a hunt like that or for elk, don’t want to spend the money.

 

[TaperPin]

Major bummer that the 250s don’t shoot well. The good news is you at least have found a few combinations that shoot well. In loads that have good velocity but don’t group well, you can always try seating deeper than a max length. Increased neck tension or crimping on a crimp grooved bullet has also been known to help some finicky rifles.

I had a 338 that wouldn’t shoot 250s but shot 210 and 200 gr bullets great.

A SAAMI Wby chamber has such a long freebore that it surprised me - I want to say in my 340 Wby, 250 partitions were 1/4” off the lands.

Hopefully you find a good combination. Of all the guns I’ve hunted with and sold, at the time my 340 just didn’t shoot anything well, but now I wish I had kept it, even if that ment a new barrel.

 

[PAHunter777]

I’ve had great luck with 4831 under both 200 sst and 230 eldx. Both perform very well on game in my experience.

 

[PA farmboy]

Yeah I know I loaded some bergers way out there and still didn’t come in contact with the lands. Guess I’ll try 225gr accubonds, I thought about maybe the 230gr eld-x but thought maybe they wouldn’t shoot well since they are sleeker in profile kinda like the bergers.

 

[Harvey_NW]

I thought about maybe the 230gr eld-x but thought maybe they wouldn’t shoot well since they are sleeker in profile kinda like the bergers.

I would hesitate to make that assumption and actually try them. They seem to be a pretty forgiving bullet.

 

[SDHNTR]

At the end of the day, how much is your time worth? Personally, I won’t tolerate a picky barrel. R & R and move on.

 

[PA farmboy]

I'll have to give them more consideration if these 225gr accubonds don't shoot well. If neither of them, then yes I will seriously consider having a new barrel spun on, racking up plenty of money in components trying to get it to shoot to my satisfaction. Probably be a brux barrel if I do, just had one put on a different rifle and very first group out of it was a hair over .3"

 

[SDHNTR]

I'll have to give them more consideration if these 225gr accubonds don't shoot well. If neither of them, then yes I will seriously consider having a new barrel spun on, racking up plenty of money in components trying to get it to shoot to my satisfaction. Probably be a brux barrel if I do, just had one put on a different rifle and very first group out of it was a hair over .3"

Brux is great. But it’s also hard to go wrong with most good cut rifled barrels these days. I’d get what you or your gunsmith has easiest access to.

 

[Choupique]

consider having a new barrel spun on,

I would, in a normal caliber with a normal chamber (338 win or 33 nosler). I've heard quite a few times that weatherby calibers are finicky because of the mile long leade.

 

[Pharmseller]

My shoulder hurts just reading this thread.




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