Questioning Weatherby build scenarios...

[bighitta12]

If your goal was to build a custom rifle chambered in .240wby mag, what be your process? I have a few routes I've come up with in my head, but I'd like to hear ideas that other more experienced shooters and builders have come up with.

I'd like to spend around $4,000 (barreled action, adjustable stock, optic)...the shooter it will be for has trouble getting comfortable with my mkv stock so an adjustable stock will be required. 105-110gr bullets will be fired so I'm needing a 1:7.5 barrel...some hiking may be done with this rifle, but lightweight isn't the main concern.

A suppressor will also be added, but I'm not including that in my $4,000 goal.

My initial thought was to just buy a mkv and replace the stock, since it has the barrel twist rate I want...but being as the .240 wbymag uses a 30-06 sized case, I was wondering if there would be a cheaper way using more common parts.

Buying the Vanguard chambered in .240wbymag would be cheaper initially, but then would require a rebarreling to get my twist rate, which I feel would be more expensive than just buying the mkv.

I'm sure I'm showing a ton of ignorance here, and if buying the mkv and tossing the stock is the easiest way to go about this, then so be it lol. Thanks for any info!

 

[wind gypsy]

What is the problem with the existing weatherby stocks that make them uncomfortable for the shooter? What aspects of a stock need to be adjustable?

Figuring out what stock will solve these issues may dictate the best way to approach it.

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

Interesting question. Just FYI, you might not find yourself overwhelmed with Wby love here on Rokslide. I personally like Weatherby as a long standing family owned US made rifle manufacturer, but they don't exactly embody the modern hunting rifle that the consensus here on RS prefers.

Can I ask why you've decided on 240?

Fast, heavy, high-BC 6mm bullets are popular, but you might find easier/better ammo and brass availability with something like 6cm or better performance with something like 6um.

As far as stock design, folks here appreciate being able to watch their own bullet impact through the scope. To do that, the butt pad needs to be inline or as close as possible to the bore to limit muzzle rise. The Mk5 stock has a nice negative comb as far as the cheekpiece is concerned, but then has a huge drop to the butt pad which exacerbates muzzle rise. This is what the Rokstock was created to solve.

So, to your question of how to build the best 240 Weatherby, the Rokslide version of the answer will be:

Tikka T3X Stainless rebarreled to 6UM in a Rokstock.

*ETA*
Which Mk5 are you looking at? Some of them like the Backcountry have a better stock profile than the classic Mk5 stock.

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

I will also say I wasn't aware Weatherby had sped up their 240 twist rate from 1:10 to 1:7.5. Good move.

 

[bighitta12]

What is the problem with the existing weatherby stocks that make them uncomfortable for the shooter? What aspects of a stock need to be adjustable?

Figuring out what stock will solve these issues may dictate the best way to approach it.

Shooter has complained about needing a higher cheek rest. Shooter is a female but she is 5'7" and LOP wise, a stock for an average sized adult should work for her...she says she feels like she has to hold her head up off the stock of mine to get a good sight picture...

I'm sure some of the different 'stock' stock configurations could work, but that's why I was curious if I could do it cheaper buying the base model and customizing it. We also don't live somewhere that we can go drive down to the store to shoulder different weapons and see what fits best so this will all be on a learning curve lol

 

[bighitta12]

Interesting question. Just FYI, you might not find yourself overwhelmed with Wby love here on Rokslide. I personally like Weatherby as a long standing family owned US made rifle manufacturer, but they don't exactly embody the modern hunting rifle that the consensus here on RS prefers.

Can I ask why you've decided on 240?

Fast, heavy, high-BC 6mm bullets are popular, but you might find easier/better ammo and brass availability with something like 6cm or better performance with something like 6um.

As far as stock design, folks here appreciate being able to watch their own bullet impact through the scope. To do that, the butt pad needs to be inline or as close as possible to the bore to limit muzzle rise. The Mk5 stock has a nice negative comb as far as the cheekpiece is concerned, but then has a huge drop to the butt pad which exacerbates muzzle rise. This is what the Rokstock was created to solve.

So, to your question of how to build the best 240 Weatherby, the Rokslide version of the answer will be:

Tikka T3X Stainless rebarreled to 6UM in a Rokstock.

*ETA*
Which Mk5 are you looking at? Some of them like the Backcountry have a better stock profile than the classic Mk5 stock.

I was just looking at the cheaper base models and seeing cost wise what it would be to customize to suit, as opposed to just buying one of the higher end models...

What's interesting is the vanguard .240 barrel is still listed as 1:10, while the mkv .240 barrel is listed as 1:7.5...typo maybe? Not sure why you'd restrict the performance of one vs another.

I just like bullets that go fast. I am a reloader so once I find brass I think I'll be OK on that front (ONCE I find brass lol)

I'm sure there are other awesome 6mm class rounds, I'm just not really up on my news. I just found out about the 7PRC a couple months ago when my step dad brought one home lol

I have been a weatherby fan since before they moved to my home state, but as I said earlier, I'm not really plugged into the latest info...can you explain what you mean by 'not embodying the modern hunting rifle...'?

100% clueless about industry gossip or whatever so I'm seriously curious, not being a smart ass

 

[AKredneck63]

Look at the weatherby mark v Camilla ultra light. It’s light and already threaded. It’s got a higher cheek swell, slightly shorter lop, and slightly thinner it’s made for women and youth shooter. It is a 1:10 twist but you could always shoot it never know the twist and barrel might like what you got going. If not then you got plenty left in budget for a rebarrel. If barrel works then even more money for scope and can then you planned.

 

[wind gypsy]

I’m of the opinion that a perfect cheek weld is overrated. That said, there’s lots of ways to raise the comb of a stock that’s a hell of a lot cheaper than building a custom. Triad tactical stock pack, Armageddon gear cheeky bastard, the beartooth one, stock doc custom risers, etc all work.

The Camilla stock design is awful. Lots of women might like it upon shouldering itt because there’s such a large drop at heel, they don’t need to bend their neck to bring their cheek down to the comb as much. The problem with that big ass drop at heel is the resistance to recoil at the butt pad is so far below the bore line it causes way more muzzle rise.

 

[bighitta12]

I’m of the opinion that a perfect cheek weld is overrated. That said, there’s lots of ways to raise the comb of a stock that’s a hell of a lot cheaper than building a custom. Triad tactical stock pack, Armageddon gear cheeky bastard, the beartooth one, stock doc custom risers, etc all work.

The Camilla stock design is awful. Lots of women might “like” it because there’s such a large drop at heel, they don’t need to bend their neck to bring their cheek down to the comb as much. The problem with that big ass drop at heel is the resistance to recoil at the butt pad is so far below the bore line it causes way more muzzle rise.

Yeah I feel the Camila would be too small of a rifle for this case. She gets a good sight picture from any of my rifles she's fired.

 

[wind gypsy]

240 weatherby is a laser, no denying that. it’s also just kind of a dumb case design. Basically a 6mm-06 (with the weird ‘bee shoulder) but they put a belt on it for some reason. The case didn’t need a belt at least back to 1903 with the 30-03 but for some reason weatherby needed to add one.

 

[bighitta12]

240 weatherby is a laser, no denying that. it’s also just kind of a dumb case design. Basically a 6mm-06 (with the weird ‘bee shoulder) but they put a belt on it for some reason. The case didn’t need a belt at least back to 1903 with the 30-03 but for some reason weatherby needed to add one.

I am seriously considering going the direction of the 6-06 just because donor actions and brass would both be easy to get ahold of for cheap

 

[sndmn11]

I am seriously considering going the direction of the 6-06 just because donor actions and brass would both be easy to get ahold of for cheap

My wife's shooting improved significantly when she decided to ditch the Camilla stock and put her action in a KRG Bravo.

We shoot Vanguards.

I think if you grabbed a LA standard bolt face Tikka and put a 6-06 barrel on it you'd be happy. There's plenty of stocks available, Bravos and Stockys probably cover all the bases. Alternatively, they do have a factory 25-06, or I suppose you could get a factory .243 then rechamber to 6-06 and change the bolt stop (but see @wind gypsy comment below about case taper ).

 

[wind gypsy]

My wife's shooting improved significantly when she decided to ditch the Camilla stock and put her action in a KRG Bravo.

We shoot Vanguards.

I think if you grabbed a LA standard bolt face Tikka and put a 6-06 barrel on it you'd be happy. There's plenty of stocks available, Bravos and Stockys probably cover all the bases. Alternatively, they do have a factory 25-06, or I suppose you could get a factory .243 then rechamber to 6-06 and change the bolt stop.

243 has less case taper than the ‘06 case IIRC so it might not work to rechamber an existing 243. 6-284 or 6-06 Improved (if taper is reduced enough on the improved chamber) would work in an existing 243 for sure though.

Personally 6-284 would be my choice in that scenario.

 

[Macintosh]

Ditto the others on that camilla stock. I saw one for the first time the other day, its the absolute worst stock design I have ever seen from a recoil perspective. Im sure the initial “in the store” fit and impression is noticeably better, but at the expense of recoil punching you in the face every shot much more so than it would with a higher-butt. Most women do need a higher comb in relation to the butt than men, but weatherby did this bassackwards, they took a mens stock and left the comb in place and dropped the butt, when they should have left the butt in place (or raised it) and raised the comb, with a recommended higher set of rings if needed.
The way to do this is get the rifle you want, choose a stock with a high butt to minimize recoil, then if needed raise the comb to achieve the natural head position needed, and then locate the scope with different height rings to get an easy and natural field of view.
You could do worse than a tikka with a rebarrel, and it could go in a factory stock with cheek riser, a stockys VG, either of the krg bravo or echo, a rockstok, a eh1tk, an adjustable bell and carlson, or others. There are also “finished” kydex or similar cheek risers that can be installed on any if these that will help and not be heavy. Edit: no idea about the wby actions, prob no reason not to do the same thing with a weatherby action.

 

[wind gypsy]

I am seriously considering going the direction of the 6-06 just because donor actions and brass would both be easy to get ahold of for cheap

You may know more about this but I wonder if the 240 bee wouldn’t feed just fine out of standard long action (30-06/270/25-06) mags since it’s basically an 06 case with a belt. Not sure if the belt would mess that up but there’s a fair chance it’d work fine.

(Edit: I looked, the following idea wouldn’t work. The bee is a skinny case for a “magnum”) A 240 bee rechamber might be an option in a 243 win tikka too. Would need to look into case taper on the bee.