Question about 240 Wby

[ShoMeWhitetails]

Can 240 Wby be re-chambered to a 6mm-06? Anyone done did it, what were the results pro's and cons? The Wby is getting to expensive, have plenty of 25-06 brass, just a thought. Would be used for whitetails! Any loads would be deeply appreciated for 85 to 95 gr loads.

"Thanks in advance"

 

[Buffalobob]

I am not a gunsmith but I will give you some information. The belt of the 240Wby is larger than the 06 case diameter so you will have to cut the barrel off to the width of the belt. Now then I don't know what gun you have but I am assuming it is a Weatherby Mark V with a 24 inch barrel. A 240 Wby is not a mild cartridge and will eat up a throat. A 6-06 will also eat up a throat so the price of bullets is probably low compared to the cost of throat erosion. But if you have three of four hundred rounds down the barrel of the 240Wby you should probably have the barrel set back a couple of inches when rechambering to the new cartridge. Setting the barrel back on a 24 inch barrel for a 6-06 is somewhat like sharpening a knife with a hammer. You are going in the wrong direction. A 22 inch barrel 6-06 would give you a good fireworks show from all of the still burning powder flying out the end of the barrel and I expect you would get just about 243 Win performance out of it. So, to get 6-06 performance you would need a 26 inch or better barrel. Rebarreling to a new caliber with new dies will probalby run you $400-$500.

240 Wby brass is about $1.15 a piece. Shooting 85-95 grain bullets at reasonab1e pressures, you should get about 5 firing a case. So it would cost you $230- $345 to burn out a $240Wby barrel (1000-1500 rds).

I took my 240 Wby to Texas pig hunting and I get two firings per case because I really cram powder into it. I fired maybe 20 times so that would be 10 cases gone at $11.50. The trip cost me just over $2,000 dollars so if I had been shooting a 6-06 the trip would have cost me just over $2,000 and I could have stopped at Burger King one more time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif They have the best fish sandwiches.

Now then, my 240Wby with a 30 inch barrel will shoot all the way through two grown hogs at 550 yards and break bones as it goes and still exit. Perhaps if I had a 6-06 I could shoot through 3 hogs at once. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I just do not see that the conversion is going to save you any money nor kill any deer deader. If you want a 6-06 then by all means go and get one with a barrel that will give you a good burn on your powder. Cutting down a 240Wby barrel just ruins the 6-06 performance.

That is just my advice and maybe somebody else will give you better advice.

 

[ShoMeWhitetails]

Thanks buffalobob,

I understand what you are saying. When ask the question, never realize about barrel needed to be shorten maybe to 22 inches. Nor did realize the belt on 240 Wby was larger than 06 case. Thank You you have already made mind up for me. The rifle is a 700 action w/27" Lilja barrel # 5 contour, Timney trigger, HS Precision stock. The rifle is very accurate w/95 gr Ballistic Tip Weatherby factory ammo, I guess the real issue is the price for a box factory ammo. I loved to shoot the rifle. I guess had better take up reloading, once agin.......THANK YOU!

 

[Buffalobob]

Or sell me your once fired brass /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ShoMeWhitetails]

GOOD point will in touch!

 

[Buffalobob]

Just to be clear, I think a set back is about 2 inches so you would have a 25 inch barrel which is not too bad. But I do not think a 6-06 in a 25 inch barrel will outshoot a 240Wby in a 27 inch barrel.

However, your best bet to reduce costs is to relaod or to find some one like me who will dependably buy your cases.

 

[ShoMeWhitetails]

From learning from your post, what I thought might be good idea "wasn't"! Thanks for pointing it out. I promised you this if I don't start to reload I will sell you the brass.

 

[Mullet]

The above information is incorrect.The belt on a 240 Weatherby is no larger than the web of 30/06 or 6mm/06, and a 6mm/06 reamer will completely clean out a 240 chamber, with the exception of about 1/8 th of an inch in the shoulder region.
I would sugest that a setback of 1/4 of an inch for the barrel would be a good idea to get a bit of clear throat for the reamer to centre on, unless the barrel is worn worse than that.

 

[EddieHarren]

Mullet is 100% correct. The 240 Wby. is not based on the Standard Mag. case. It is almost like a belted 30-06 case, with the belt being .473". The OAL of the cases are very close.

 

[Buffalobob]

Mullet and Doc Ed

My reloading manuals show the Wby belt extends to a distance of O.225 inches from the base and it has the diameter of 0.473. Three of my manuals show the web of the 30-06 to be 0.470. This is why I felt that a gunsmith would move the chamber at least the belt width (0.225 inches) forward in order to clear the 0.003 oversize area.

 

[EddieHarren]

That is exactly why I agreed with Mullet. A setback of .250" should clean up the original chamber.

 

[Jerry M]

Isn't the body of a 240 Wby larger that a 06 case? Even if the rim diameter in the same, the shoulder angle is smaller on the 06. You would wind up with a blown out 06 case or worse if you did such a conversion.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[Buffalobob]

The body of the 240 Wby is smaller in diameter after the belt all the way to the shoulder than the '06 case by about 0.007 inches (more or less).