Spike Camp
Weatherby Nation => Around the Campfire (General Discussion) => Topic started by: Keelebilly on November 21, 2025, 01:42:08 PM
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I recently purchased a Japanese made 378 weatherby mark V with a sporter style stock. It has a 26 inch barrel threaded for a muzzle break. The recoil without the break is manageable, but not pleasant. I really don’t enjoy muzzle breaks either. I’d like to shorten the barrel to 24 inches, add a falcon strike recoil pad and a couple of Edward’s recoil reducers. Two questions. Has anyone had any experience with these types of recoil reducers? How much velocity will I lose in a 378 by removing two inches of barrel? I appreciate any input or suggestion
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Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you would only lose around 50-55fps with a 24" barrel compared to a 26" barrel. No experience with recoil reducers. Anybody?
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A 300 Wby with a 24” barrel has a muzzle velocity 30 ft/sec slower than the same load in a 26” barrel. I think you can expect the same velocity change with 24” and 26” barrels on a 30-378 Wby.
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Texweatherby got it right. You can expect to lose about 20- 30 ft per sec for every inch you shorten the barrel. A muzzle break or suppressor will reduce the recoil about40 to 50% but a muzzle break is extremely loud especially to anyone on either side of one. I personally would seriously be thinking about getting a suppressor if you want to manage recoil.
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I have a mercury recoil reducer in the stock of my 358 STA. It helps a bit with recoil attenuation, but realize it adds weight.
Adding two to your stock will make it fairly buttstock heavy and it will impact the balance of your rifle. To counter that, you can add weight to the forend.
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The Edward recoil reducers weigh 5.5 ounces each and the falcon strike pad is about 6 ounces. So combined about one lb. Is that too much weight to add? I like suppressors on my deer rifle, but I don’t want the extra length on a buffalo gun.
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The 378 Weatherby is a hard recoiling rifle. I would try just one mercury tube and the Falcon Strike pad. I’ve never messed with that recoil pad, so I don’t know much about it.
You can always add a second mercury tube if necessary down the road. You likely will need to add around a pound to the forend to get it to balance correctly.
How much does the rifle weigh currently?
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Before I woud alter the rifle, I would try a slip on stock pad or use a shoulder pad to see if that helps. I hunt in some realy thick stuff so I am a fan of shorter barreled rifles. It keeps the barrel out of the palm fronds and pine trees. Muzzle brakes snag the same stuff. :)
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As modifications go, these are fairly minor and discrete. I think I would start with one mercury reducer and a recoil pad of your choosing.
I would let the gunsmith know that you want to leave the option for a second recoil reducer on the table. That impacts where he would install the mercury tube in the buttstock.
All these things will make the rifle heavier…no such thing as a free lunch.
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From their website:
Will one or two Edwards RECOIL REDUCER® be necessary?
Generally, unless there is a medical reason, we usually recommend a single installation in most shotguns.
This application will control greater than 75% of the felt recoil to the face and 50% to the shoulder.
Understandably, there are times when a double installation (one adjustable and one non-adjustable Recoil Reducer) will be recommended, based on arthritic problems, injuries to the upper body, or facial/head injuries that prevent the constant battering of the cheek.
For rifles, one unit is recommended for .30 caliber and less, unless the shooter is firing custom loads where recoil is greater or has a medical issue that requires reducing recoil. For caliber's greater than .30, two units are the norm.
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Why would somebody buy a rifle that has recoil that you can't handle? ;D
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Is that a serious question or just a troll?
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Serious question! A very simple question! :)
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Like I said in the OP, the recoil is manageable, but not pleasant. If there’s a way to make it more pleasant than why not try. To answer the question of why I’d like such a powerful caliber, I’d like a gun that I could use on plains game at 300 yards or a Cape buffalo at 50 yards or an elk at 500 yards. It’s pretty common to use a recoil pad, a mercury tube, or a muzzle break on a dangerous game rifle.
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Well…I suppose two mercury recoil reducers are better than one, but that will be quite a bit of weight in the buttstock that you will want to counterbalance. Your call…just depends how much you want your rifle to weigh.
A company that is now out of business, A-Square, used to use 3 mercury recoil reducers in the stock of their 577 T-Rex rifles.
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From my stand point the 378 Weatherby does not really fit for 2 out of your 3 wants.A 340 Weatherby would have been a much better choice for all three of your hunting scenarios.And would have been much better on your shoulder.
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From my stand point the 378 Weatherby does not really fit for 2 out of your 3 wants.A 340 Weatherby would have been a much better choice for all three of your hunting scenarios.And would have been much better on your shoulder.
The only problem there is that the .340 is not legal for cape buffalo.
As some of you know I'm a fan of big guns, heavy recoil while being unpleasant isn't a worry when one is hunting. I can tell you now that I have never felt the recoil from my .460 WBY when my crosshairs are settled on the shoulder of a big dangerous critter.
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Damn, what'd they do,make the law because Roy was killing them with the 257 Mag?
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Damn, what'd they do,make the law because Roy was killing them with the 257 Mag?
;D ;D ;D Good one! Like Tom, JT.