.30-378

[Con]

Hey ... in about 3 weeks I should have a Ruger M77 heavy barrelled 25/06 in my grubby little hands. Bought it just to fry the barrel to then fit a 6mm/284 barrel. Looking at the ballistics of both ... I'm now wondering why bother with the 6mm/284!
Cheers...
Con

[brad]

absolutley go the 25/06 !
do you reload cos that could be a big deciding factor ?
25/06 or 6.5x55 bothe great for your needs but not that much range in factory ammo and a bit pricey !

[Rinso]

Con,

A good question .. why bother the 25 will do the same job as the 6-284.

cheers
Rinso

[R.J.]

Yep, I will be reloading. With the price of everything going up and up, Im glad I learnt!

[CBM]

I think you should get the 30-378.
It is the most impressive cartridge i have ever used in the paddock.
I have had 243,25-06's etc and for knock down power there is a really big difference even on the critters you have mentioned.

Good luck,

Charlie

[GriMo]

Id say the 30-378 is massive overkill for your needs.


30-378 load data

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Ballistics Table in Yards
   180 gr., .475 B.C.	www.hornady.com
Range (yards)	Muzzle	50	100	200	300	400	500
Velocity (fps)	3613	3496	3383	3165	2957	2759	2570
Energy (ft.-lb.)	5217	4885	4573	4002	3495	3043	2640
Trajectory (100 yd. zero)	-1.5	-0.4	0.0	-1.5	-6.5	-15.5	-28.9
Come Up in MOA	-1.5	0.8	0.0	0.7	2.1	3.7	5.5

.243 load data

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75 gr., .330 B.C.	www.hornady.com
Range (yards)	Muzzle	50	100	200	300	400	500
Velocity (fps)	3500	3337	3181	2885	2607	2346	2100
Energy (ft.-lb.)	2040	1855	1685	1386	1132	916	734
Trajectory (100 yd. zero)	-1.5	-0.4	0.0	-1.9	-8.0	-19.2	-36.8
Come Up in MOA	-1.5	0.7	0.0	0.9	2.6	4.6	7.0

Long story short at 500 Yards the 30-378 has 600ft/lb more energy then if you somehow managed to stalk up to a goat with a 243, put the crown on its skull and pull the trigger. It may be fun to have a big boomer, but realistically you definitely don't need something that big for 300 metre shots unless you have very little faith in your accuracy and feel you will need something that big to drop it at 350 with a less then perfect shot.

[CBM]

Long story short,after you have used a 30-378 you will get a new perspective about what down range performance in the paddock is all about.

Also,
I have always seen the 25 06 and better still the 257 Weatherby magnum as a lot more impressive hunting cartridges with noticeably more knock down as compared to the 6mm's.

Good Luck

Charlie

[Stonewall]

"Long story short,after you have used a 30-378 you will get a new perspective about what down range performance in the paddock is all about."

A good friend bought a Weatherby Accumark .30-378 against my advise when they first came out . I told him to buy this rifle in .300 Weatherby.

When we fired this under a covered range the steel posts for the roof would vibrate for a short while after firing . I had never seen that before.

Shoot a .30-378 before spending all that money just to fire a box of cartridges.
Andy hunts sheep with an old L61 Sako Deluxe in .300 Win. and that .30-378 still sits in the safe......

A .240 Weatherby with at least a 26 inch barrel will shoot extremely flat and blow things up farther than you can hit them . The 25/06 is a less expensive way to do the same thing .

If possible go out with a few shooters and try different calibers in the field.

Glenn

[HiWall]

As the guys have said, .240 Wby, .25/06, .257 Wby will absolutely hammer goats and foxes at 350 yards, but so will the .30/378 Wby. So for practical purposes the smaller rounds will do the job - but if you want a .30/378 just get one - shooting nowdays is not about being practical and there sure as hell is no way any of us can guarantee that we will be allowed to continue hunting anyway.

So IMO, the way to go is get whatever rifle takes your fancy, enjoy shooting it responsibly and safely - and have a bit of fun before it is too late.....just remember the backstop, those .30 cal bullets fly a loooong way.

If you don't like your Accumark .30/378Wby, sell it to ME!