Ouch this gun hurts! Opinions??

And……a few shots "without" a brake, as in hunting conditions, will likely "not" permanently damage your shoulder! 😉 memtb
Agreed - but you won't practice with the rifle at all if you hate it.

If the recoil is too much and you don't want to use a brake, step down to a smaller cartridge that you can manage better. Plenty of other rounds to kill an elk with besides a 300 or 338 magnum. I'll be using an arrow in a couple of weeks.
 
Agreed - but you won't practice with the rifle at all if you hate it.

If the recoil is too much and you don't want to use a brake, step down to a smaller cartridge that you can manage better. Plenty of other rounds to kill an elk with besides a 300 or 338 magnum. I'll be using an arrow in a couple of weeks.

Very true. Though, as someone mentioned…….do all of the load development and practice with the brake, then remove and re zero for hunting. Plus, a great deal of the informal shooting can be done with a firearm that closely replicates the primary hunting rifle, without the recoil and expense of the Weatherby.

We went with 22 rimfires that have same LOP, very similar trigger pull, identical safety, and very similar weight as our hunting rifles. Though admittedly…..the bolt throw is a bit shorter than our long action hunting rifles.

There are several ways to "skin this cat"! 😉 memtb
 
I shoot several 300 Weatherby rifles. Mark Vs of various models and a few Vanguards too.

I would suggest a brake or, better yet, a suppressor. You can swap between suppressor and brake if you want.
My last range session I shot 4 different 300s with a suppressor then shot my 338-06 with a brake. As much as I love brakes for recoil it seemed obnoxious after shooting the other 4.

One of my 300s is a Vanguard in a Bell & Carlson stock and no brake. It's got recoil, and I can manage, but I can shoot the braked or suppressed rifles far more. I use double ear protection at the range with any rifle and have electronic hearing protection in the field.

Tomorrow I'll be shooting the 4 suppressed rifles again.
 
So I have a Vanguard in .300 WBY. Took it to the range today to get it ready for an elk hunt next year and let me tell you what. She HURTS!! 5 shots and I said that's enough. So looking for options. What can I do to this gun to make the recoil less? Should I just sell and buy an easier on the shoulder elk gun? What do you guys think?
Pachmayer Recoil Pad and a good Brake.
What is the range of your shot for an Ek?
What bullet grain are you shooting?
Everybody that I know that has a WBY Vanguard wants to sell them.
I am not knocking the WBY Vanguard - -Just what other owner told me. Especially the 7mm WBY Mag. They take it to the range and put it up after a few shots.

What are you attached to 7m. 3.0 cal, .338.
You can go with a 300 win mag
I personal go with a 6.5mm up to a .338LM for our rifles on large game.
Then a .243 for Deer
.20 - .223 for varmints predators.
6BR and 6 Dasher for steel
Want to go to .257 for both hunting and steel
Good luck with your next year hunt!
Just remember at the range you shoot several times-when hunting you only shoot once and you never feel recoil when shooting at a 6X6 Bull.
 
So I have a Vanguard in .300 WBY. Took it to the range today to get it ready for an elk hunt next year and let me tell you what. She HURTS!! 5 shots and I said that's enough. So looking for options. What can I do to this gun to make the recoil less? Should I just sell and buy an easier on the shoulder elk gun? What do you guys think?
I had a vanguard in 300 wby mag. I had it bedded in a hogue over molded stock with their recoil pad. I was loading a very stout load with 185 bergers and I thought it kicked less than a lot of 06's!
 
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