varmintH8R
Well-Known Member
I always shoot a fouler! Good advice.
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Getting weird flyers with Berger 300gr OTMs
- Thread starter varmintH8R
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idaho elk hunter
Well-Known Member
I know Broz another member of this forum does not agree with me on this and even thinks I am full of it, but if you have worked on as many of Weatherbys as I have you will come to the realization no bullet will be more accurate in a factory barrel Weatherby with its freebore as the Barnes. Bergers will shoot 1 to 1.5 inches at 100 which in my book is sub par.
Bergers have always given flyers in freebored rifles that have factory looser than normal throats. They can shoot somewhat accurate in a tight throat freebored rifle. And typically shoot very well in a tight throat barrel that the bullet is into the lands.
I have set the barrels back on many of Weatherbys and tightened up the necks to shoot the softer bullets like the Bergers with great success.
I would stick with the Barnes bullets if I was you. They are a deadly accurate as any you will find, they love Weatherbys freebore and I have yet to see one the jacket will rip off of or distort due to velocity. Lol they are solid!
Bergers have always given flyers in freebored rifles that have factory looser than normal throats. They can shoot somewhat accurate in a tight throat freebored rifle. And typically shoot very well in a tight throat barrel that the bullet is into the lands.
I have set the barrels back on many of Weatherbys and tightened up the necks to shoot the softer bullets like the Bergers with great success.
I would stick with the Barnes bullets if I was you. They are a deadly accurate as any you will find, they love Weatherbys freebore and I have yet to see one the jacket will rip off of or distort due to velocity. Lol they are solid!
Broz
Well-Known Member
I won't argue with the first line of this post.
But please realize the OP is working on a 338 Lapua Magnum. Not a freebore rifle. Also realize you are not the only one that knows Weatherby rifles well either. I shot them for years, collected them, loaded for them, hunted with them, built them and have even been a forum moderator on a Weatherby site for years. Your posting about them only capable of 1 to 1 1/2" groups with Bergers has been proven wrong by me as well as many many other members here. It's ok if you prefer solids, I have no problem with that. It is your posting of inaccuracies that I disagree with. I am sorry if you can't make a freebore rifle shoot better than 1" or 1 1/2" with a berger. You are missing out on a great long range bullet. But there are many many members here with RUM's and Wby's that know otherwise. It is a simple fact.Jeff
You are 100 % correct.. I also love my wby rifles ,,,26 at last count and growing.
Nothing is easier to load and perform in a weatherby rifle than barnes..
JEFF has great luck with bergers and has had great success with them and is ok
with playing with them until they work...I prefer to use barnes and not go threw all that trouble..I never had a wby. rifle with a wby. barrel that did not like barnes
bullets...and I can not say that in my case anyway with berger..I have used them in other rifles with success but not weatherby ..Just my friendly 2 cents Jeff ..
Broz
Well-Known Member
Extreme, no argument that the Barnes shoot good in Weatherby's from me. That was what I shot in my 30-378's before I switched to 210 Bergers. As for playing with them until they work, my standard was to seat them just under mag length. Usually 3.800" on a 378. I played with charge and powder some and that was usually it.
The differences I saw between the Barnes and Berger in these rifles, was at long range. The Barnes never grouped for me as good at 1000 even if they shot tight at 200. That and I prefer the terminal performance of the Bergers, especially at long range, is why I changed. Not for under 300 yard accuracy.
Jeff
The differences I saw between the Barnes and Berger in these rifles, was at long range. The Barnes never grouped for me as good at 1000 even if they shot tight at 200. That and I prefer the terminal performance of the Bergers, especially at long range, is why I changed. Not for under 300 yard accuracy.
Jeff
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
I don't know if my chest waders are high enough to wade into this BS!! Every Weatherby I've loaded for has shoot Berger very sub MOA, my personal WBY has never shot under an 1.5 inches with every Barnes bullet made for the 30 cal but within half a box of 210 Bergers it's humming!
I've dug dozens of Barnes bullets out of game that had no nose and just a bent stubby shank left that deflects and quits penetrating, I watched a poor guy shoot a nice bullet three times in the chest with a 300 WBY and 165 Barnes and every single bullet opened up and blew the tip of and stopped penetrating, thee only hole through the of side lung was from my 270 WSM with a 140 Berger.
Not to mention the Barnes will be in the dirt like a brick by the time the range starts getting interesting. I know of no single ELR shooting nut that shoot a Barnes bullet!!
I improved my ammo for my 338 Norma . I switched to sinclair vld chamfer and payed more attention to conceintric.They have to be under .003 or they go in my rock shooter section.Sinclair gauge, reads better than friends hornady type
highridge1
Well-Known Member
I have had 3 different Weatherby accumark 338-378's that shot the 300 gr SMK under 1/2 moa with 300 gr SMK seated at 3.8 mag box limit. The sierra's have shot better for me in several rifles compared to the bergers. The bergers shot well but I have almost always got tighter groups with the SMK. I really would have no need to look anywhere else because the sierras are just plain flattening game and shoot extremely well way out there past 1000
I never had a barnes bullet just bend ever or fail in the way you describe...I have never needed more than one shot on elk deer or any other animal...The big difference I see is how well bergers group at longer distance as Jeff stated,,, but
barnes kill animals just as fast as bergers at 1000 yards in my rifles anyway and have never let me down...In your case new waders are in order...Cabelas has them on sale right now..It is much easier to answer a post like jeff did or others
without being so cynical..have a great day.
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
You know your right, my attitude has degraded very badly and contributed nothing to this thread, apology to the OP!!
As a note, I used to cut wildgame for a living and have pulled many Barnes bullets out of animals that were stripped of the nose and petals and usually just a bent shank, I've had it happen when all I shot was Barnes.
varmintH8R
Well-Known Member
No apologies needed, I enjoy reading these responses and seeing the passion and real life experience people have had. And I learn some stuff. I am always wary of extreme statements on any topic: all Bergers do this, Barnes never do that, all xxx factory rifles shoot .001MOA, etc. Well, with the exception that I never pull a shot. That is FACT.
I will post results when I re-shoot the Bergers, and also how the SMKs fare in my rig. Then all you will have to wonder is if I am relatively competent and honest, or if I am shooting at 20 yds and pulling every third shot because I have a personal agenda against Berger.
Despite my occasional flyer, I am not yet open to trading my set-up and 200 Berger OTMs for a Weatherby and a like number of Barnes. YET...
