McWhorter Rifles 6.5 Wby Mag.!!

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I agree with fifty on this one. The 264 winchester, 7mm rem mag, 338 winchester, the old norma mags, the 257, 270 and 7mm wby, and several others are all the same case basically with a bit different shoulders. The 264 winchester would be the way to go. Why go to the expensive wby brass when a 264 winchester is the same thing. The 264 winchester is an excellent round and I love to shoot mine. I thought you were talking about the 6.5-300 wby wildcat and it would be an excellent choice if you want velocity. I have been doing those since the 70's and it is a great performer. When the 8mm rem mag case came out I started necking it to 264 and was the same thing on cheaper, easier to get brass. It is now called the STW after wildcatters had tremendous success with it for years. The 264 STW is one of my all time favorites for long range deer, antelope, caribou, etc. I have mine ready right now for caribou and antelope this year. The 130 grain swift scirroco at over 3500 fps with I think a .571 BC shoots very well at long range and is an excellent big game bullet. Also the 140 bergers with the high BC shoot very well. The 264 is an excellent caliber to work with.

I have had quite a bit of experience with all the calibers fifty mentioned except his proprietary ones. He is shooting straight with you and telling it like it is. Including the 257 hot tomale. 3800 fps would be closer than the 4100 in a safe pressure load.

 

[MachV]

The pixie dust may come in the form of a good tight chamber, the perfect lot of powder, and a bullet and barrel that play very well together? At any rate Fiftydriver makes a great point in that the Remington and Weatherby cases are so close it realy doesnt make a difference wich one you use....Especialy if you through them out after every use!!
Fifties example of the 7mag and R22 bring to mind my own experience with a Ruger 7 mag and R22. The lot of R22 that I got when I started reloading for the 7mag allowed far more powder than any book recamended. The more R22 I put in the better it shot...up to 76 grains if memory serves. That old Ruger shot unbelievably well till a new lot of R22 was needed..........Whole new powder and I learned to start at least 10% lower than book.
Kinda like useing N133 with lite bullets, a tight chamber and good brass in the 223. You can get some spectacular results but it comes with added preasure....

 

[jbroadnax]

Somewhere along the way, the whole point was missed. It's not about performance. It is all about ACCURACY. Tim is all about accurate rifles shooting the most accurate cartridges. Allan is saying that the 6.5 wby is proving to be incredibly consistent. Reamer is set "right" to eliminate the freebore. Every rifle built so far is a 1/4" inch shooter with little or no change powder charge.

 

[Tyler Kemp]

If they are 1/4 moa groups every time then they should be dominating every single long range match.

"Increased case capacity does not necessarily equal more performance."
Yes it does, that's physics.

"As far as the price of brass goes, many that buy a 4k dollar rifle are not concerned about an extra 75cents to a dollar a round."
I'm getting a rifle built that is quite expensive and I wouldn't be able to feed it rounds that cost 75 cents more, I'm a broke high school student that worked hard to get that rifle.

 

[jbroadnax]

Sorry. Increased case capacity does not equal more performance. I missed the physics class that dealt with case design and powder burn rates. I was probably out hunting that day because the rut was in full swing. Guess it was in full swing during Calculus 1,2,3,4, and differential equations too.

 

[Michael Eichele]

Somewhere along the way, the whole point was missed. It's not about performance. It is all about ACCURACY. Tim is all about accurate rifles shooting the most accurate cartridges. Allan is saying that the 6.5 wby is proving to be incredibly consistent. Reamer is set "right" to eliminate the freebore. Every rifle built so far is a 1/4" inch shooter with little or no change powder charge.

IF he can make the 6.5 wby shoot that good, I assure you hae could make a 264 winnie or a 7stw or a 300 RUM shoot that good.

There is nothing special about the 6.5 in question. Some cartridges may be more inherently accurate yes, but 80+% of it is in the barrel. All else being equal the accuracy AND velocity difference between the 6.5 wby and the 264 is nada. You are the one missing the point here.

Not trying to be a hard nose, just calling it how it is.

If the 6.5 wby just does it for you than my hats off to you. We all have our favoraites. Just be aware that there is no magic in any cartridge. All have their good points and downfalls. The 6.5 wby just isnt the next best thing since sliced bread. Come to think of it, there isnt a cartridge that is. Good smithing and good barrels make good rifles. Not pixie dust.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I agree with Michael to. I hope to be up your way soon chasing caribou. Hope you have a great season.

 

[jbroadnax]

All right. Starting over. I posted this to simply make people aware of this caliber that Tim developed. I never stated that it was the best thing since animal crackers. I never stated that is was far superior to any other caliber. All Smiths have their pets. The .257 - 7mm WBY cases just happen to be Tim's. He has his reamer right. Load development is a cinch. The cases feed well, etc.... I asked Tim many of the same questions that were brought up in this thread. I talked to him on Friday and asked "Why not the 264 win mag?" He said he has built many and they shoot well but not as well as many of the rifles he has built on the wby case. I have a McWhorter 300ultra, 300wsm, and 270wby. All of them shoot 1/4" groups if I do my part. If someone is in the market for a fast .264 they should consider it. That's all.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I have shot the 257, 270 and 7mm wby's for many years and they all shoot very well so I am sure the 264 would also shoot just as well. When I worked with the 264 wildcat off a wby case I did the 300 wby case so I wasn't duplicating the 264 winchester that I also have. If your looking for a fast and fun to shoot 264 off a wby case the 300 would be the one or off the STW case. Both are about the same. Very fast and my personal favorites for long range deer and antelope. When you get a .571 BC bullet over 3500 fps it is quite amazing shooting antelope on the windy prarie. That 264 STW is an extremely accurate long range rifle.

 

[Veritas]

many that buy a 4k dollar rifle are not concerned about an extra 75cents to a dollar a round.

And many that toss 4 G's in the wind are hung up on a name and a good marketer also.
Kind Regards

 

[flacracker]

If you read eough articles you'll fin out the case started as a .300 H&H.Shortened and changed neck angle.

 

[elkaholic]

Just to add to the debate, the 6.5 Sherman and 6.5 Sherman shortmag will both reach 3300' with a 140 in a 26" barrel with considerably less powder than all the mags you have listed. Both have proven very accurate. You can use Norma 280 brass for the LA version and 7 SAUM for the SA. I don't run them at 3300' because it is hard on brass, but you can run them well over 3200' all day long and get better barrel life than you ever will with the WM, Weatherby, etc........Rich