Pierrecham,

You have all the info you need in your post. BE VERY CAREFUL ON WHAT YOU READ ON THREADS.No offense to any posters.

Expensive ammo: Yes it is. I would take up reloading. I have a killer recipe for that gun. Yours might like it as well. A buddy of mine purchased one after a day at the range with me,same recipe works great in his gun. 101.2 Grains of RL 25 with a 200 Grain TSX. I purchased ammo for 1 year and then said 'to hell with this' and took up reloading. I have cases that I have got 6 firings out of and are still reloading them.

Barrel Life: Contact Weatherby for that answer. I put over 300 rounds through mine and was the second owner. Not sure how many the other guy put through it. It still hold an excellent group. 1.74" at 300 yds. Weatherby and only Weatherby should give you that answer. They know what they are doing and have engineers and a R&D program superior to most.

Noise: I use qb2's in the field. Yahoo search: "quiet band plugs". Lightweight and easy to use.

Recoil: Never shot it without the brake and don't think I want to. Thats why I have the plugs. As for my Weatherby, it is a gentle giant. I compare it to a hot .243.

Comment. I love mine and would buy it all over again. It is actually a 26" barrel with a 2" brake. Hope the info I gave you from my experience with a Weatherby Accumark 30-378 stainless/brakehelps.

BTW, I have a 4.5-14x40 with a boone and crockett reticle. Zero is 300.