338-378 Weatherby Questions

[bearpaw]

Sportsman's Warehouse had some rifles marked down so I bought an Accumark 338-378. I also purchased two boxes of empty cases for handloading so I am wondering if anyone has developed a load for one of these rifles that they liked? I'm really curious what powder seems to work best for most people? THANKS for any info!

[bearpaw]

I've got a new VX-6, 3x18x50, that I could put on the rifle, but also thought about getting a Nightforce. The gun is still in the box, I don't know if it shoots well enough to justify a Nightforce?

[JimmyHoffa]

I find H-1000 to be best powder so far.  Retumbo has been fine too.

[bearpaw]

I find H-1000 to be best powder so far.  Retumbo has been fine too.

Are you getting the kind of accuracy you wanted? I know it's not a custom rifle but I'm hoping for pretty fair accuracy.

[kentrek]

We did some work on with 300 grain bergers, don't Remember exactly load details but it was 1/3 minute load

Next time I go make bullets il get you the details if you're interested in running the big bergers

[JimmyHoffa]

I find H-1000 to be best powder so far.  Retumbo has been fine too.

Are you getting the kind of accuracy you wanted? I know it's not a custom rifle but I'm hoping for pretty fair accuracy.

It does alright.  For out of the box with load 1 just under an inch at 100 yds and load 2 right at an inch.  Even with the fluting, it heats up fast so at the 5th shot it begins to open.
load 1-200 gr Hornady Interlock, 9 1/2 M primer, 105.0 gr H-1000 , 3.71" avg of 3050 fps
load 2-250 gr Hornady Interlock, 215GM primers, 112.0 gr Retumbo, 3.73"  I get avg of 3070 fps

and like always with internet load data, bounce it off credible sites.

[bearpaw]

We did some work on with 300 grain bergers, don't Remember exactly load details but it was 1/3 minute load

Next time I go make bullets il get you the details if you're interested in running the big bergers

I know a guy using 300 bergers in a 338 Edge with excellent results. I had planned on getting some to try.

[Come Get Some]

A buddy of mine has this gun, 300 Gr Berger ,I will check to see but I think he uses 50 BMG. Great groups . Shoots clays at 550 all day with no effort. I will get the load tomorrow. Lots of damage from the 300 Berger.. We were in New Mexico, he shot a mule deer at a little over 600 yds. I watched the round in the Leica's . Looked like a tracer. Smoked the deer. Wasnt even close to a game.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

Where? And how much for the rifle?

[Magnum_Willys]

110 gr RL 25 with 225gr tsx most accurate and can use the full case capacity.  Kicks less good to 1000 yards and works with short 26" barrel.  Like any big 338 - especially 300 gr - group sizes dont grow as much after 200 yards once bullet settles down.  i.e. 1" group at 100 might be 3" group at 500. 

The new accumarks may be different but the old ones usually needed a bedding job and timney trigger to get moa/sub moa groups.  I expect new accumarks triggers can be lightened enough to work ? 

I read that this stuff works great for 300gr pills:  http://gibrass.com/gunpowder.html  order: WC-872 and load to H-870 DATA - max 109 gr.

[Taco280AI]

How much did the rifle go for?

[Dan-o]

How much did the rifle go for?

Yeah, inquiring minds want to know!

[b23]

If you're interested I still have two brand new boxes of Nosler Custom 338-378 ammo loaded with 225gr Accubonds.

[bearpaw]

Thanks for all the info everyone!

110 gr RL 25 with 225gr tsx most accurate and can use the full case capacity.  Kicks less good to 1000 yards and works with short 26" barrel.  Like any big 338 - especially 300 gr - group sizes dont grow as much after 200 yards once bullet settles down.  i.e. 1" group at 100 might be 3" group at 500. 

The new accumarks may be different but the old ones usually needed a bedding job and timney trigger to get moa/sub moa groups.  I expect new accumarks triggers can be lightened enough to work ? 

I read that this stuff works great for 300gr pills:  http://gibrass.com/gunpowder.html  order: WC-872 and load to H-870 DATA - max 109 gr.

I've got some 225's and also some 160's and 185's I was going to test. The 160's were right at 3450 fps out of my 340, they should come out of the 338-378 like a varmint round. We've shot two bear and an elk with the 160's out of the 340, dropped them all, the elk was a little over 500 yds, bullet passed through all 3 animals. I'm not sure if the 338-378 will stabilize the 160's but plan to find out. There was very little recoil shooting them out of the 340, I would expect the same out of the 338-378 with such light bullets. I understand that if I'm shooting much farther than 500 I'll probably need to use heavier bullets. I'm hoping to shoot without the muzzle break but will probably have to use it for the heavier bullets. I'm really curious to see how much different these bullets shoot with and without the MB.

How much did the rifle go for?

Yeah, inquiring minds want to know!

Sportsmans Warehouse had Accumarks for $1695, I found this one in a Utah store when I was there hunting. That's the lowest price I've seen anywhere for a new 338-378 Accumark. I would imagine some of their other stores have the same deals.

If you're interested I still have two brand new boxes of Nosler Custom 338-378 ammo loaded with 225gr Accubonds.

Thanks for offering but I already have some weatherby brass and I want to use all the same brand of brass. Advertise it on here, I would think someone will want it.

[yorketransport]

I worked with one for a little while for a guy and had good luck with H1000 and Retumbo for pretty much every bullet weight. They're a little too slow for the super light Barnes bullets, but still work pretty well. I was never really happy with how that particular gun shot with bullets under 225gr. The big cases get a little finicky with light bullets and I had more consistent loads with heavy weights. I've never played with Reloader 33 but it my be worth checking out as well. The best advice though is to only use the Federal 215 primers if possible. Regular large rifle magnum primers seem to struggle when you try to ignite over 100 grains of powder and you end up with random velocity swings or odd pressure signs.

I've got a new VX-6, 3x18x50, that I could put on the rifle, but also thought about getting a Nightforce. The gun is still in the box, I don't know if it shoots well enough to justify a Nightforce?

I think the VX-6 is perfect for a hunting gun. Other than the Nightforce SHV, their scopes are all huge and make a mid weight rifle too top heavy for my liking. Plus I still think the NXS is over rated. I've had a few and none of them really impressed me. The ATACR is a different story though!