greetings, hello everyone. first post.
this is an old thread but worth reviving, I was compelled to reply.
a few weeks ago I lucked into an early Weatherby-built FN Mauser, action stamped 1951, rifle built in 1952 (I asked Weatherby using serial ##) with a box of ammo.
price- a princely $400. no one wanted the gun, it was missing the buttplate, was d/t with mount bases, but no scope or rings.
a gun with no sights or buttplate, is like trying to sell a house with no front door, or a car with plastic taped over a side window. it will be a hard sell in today's nitpicky consumer market.
but I didn't care. being old school, I look for hidden potential, not curtain dressing and advertising glitz.
the action is butter smooth, the bore a mirror. receiver plainly marked "Weatherby South Gate, Ca"
it has an early 3 digit serial number. Weatherby used Mauser actions until he invented the Mark V in the late 1950's.
it is one of the first 1000 rifles Weatherby made, when he started the business after WWII.
the ammo box was handwritten pen marked "300 H&H Wildcat"- and basically it is chambered for 30-338.
back in the days before the 338 Win Mag was introduced, this round was first known as the "30 belted newton"
I also have an old Mauser custom barrel stamped and marked "30 H&H Newton" for the same round.
it later became known as the 30/338. The ammo I got for it is headstamped 300 H&H, obviously trimmed brass.
anyway, last night I loaded 20 more rounds of ammo for it. it was too easy.
all I did, was take once fired 338 Win Mag brass, and neck size it, in a universal 300 Magnum neck sizing die.
this die will neck size any belted 300 magnum, Weatherby-Winchester-Norma, or any of the mid-century "short magnums" that had a 2.5" case approx.
no need to full length resize. just get used or new 338 Win Mag brass, and neck size it.
FWIW, a 300 Win Mag won't chamber in this rifle- of course- because the shoulder it much higher, and the brass much longer
Neither will a 308 Norma Mag round chamber in the rifle, the shoulder is just a tad too high on the case. like .010" - if that- too high. it will go in, but bolt won't close downward.
if you did use 308 Norma brass, you would have to full length resize to push the shoulder back a bit.
but you don't have to FL resize 338 Win Mag brass. that brass is a drop in. Actually, you can take fired 338 brass, and chamber it in the gun.
once I was able to do that, realized 338 brass was the ticket for a 2.5" belted short mag 30 caliber, neck it down.
necking down is a lot easier than necking up 7mm Rem Mag brass.
it's also a lot easier than trimming a lot of 300 HH, 300 Weatherby, 300 Win Mag brass- trimming a lot of cases can be a PITA after a while
the 338 case is ready to go, just neck it down, and go.
the only downside is, the headstamp is 338 mag.
FWIW I used 300 Mashburn Short Magnum load data, from Ackley's Shooters/Reloaders book Vol. 1 (1962).
there were many of these early short mag wildcats from various makers, back in the 1930-40-50's.
the load data for all of them is interchangeable, providing it's approx. 2.5" to 2.560" case length and 30 cal.
I loaded 70 grains of 4831, with a 150 grain GameKing bullet. at 70 grains the necked down case was full, to the bottom of the neck,
perfect full case, with the neck space left open for the bullet to seat.
the Mashburn load data says 3350 fps for that load and bullet weight.
