ligonierbill
New member
How good is it? Compared to, say, Weatherby's well respected Vanguard. I have not fired either. A wise man once told me that you don't always get what you pay for, but you rarely get what you don't.
Weatherby Mark V
- Thread starter ligonierbill
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stagpanther
New member
Depends who you ask. I've shot a fair amount of Mark 5's and own a vanguard in 300 wby. You're not going to see a Weatherby show up at a match most likely--but their motto pretty much sums it up--"nothing shoots faster, flatter and hits harder" (or something close to that). Great appeal for hunters which has always been their primary market.
The vanguards are basically Howa 1500's with conventional 2 lug bolts, moving up to non-magnum Mark 5's you get Weatherby's famous radial in-line 6 lug bolt--and the 300 on up magnums get the massive radial in-line 9 lug bolt--a marvel of firearms engineering IMO.
Weatherby's "thing" is pushing bullets as hard as they reasonably can, and that comes at a price. In the bigger magnums they are going to let you know with respectable recoil. My personal opinion is that they easily wander off into over-bore territory in some of the magnums and you have to be aware that you can burn a barrel out very quickly if you're not careful. Other than that, I love them.
Weatherby guarantees their rifles to shoot 3 shots MOA or less at 100 yds and I've always found their rifles to easily meet that, even at longer ranges. They are generally not going to be bench rest shoot sub .5 all day and night long rifles (though I did once shoot a .2 group with a 270 wby mag at near 200 yds), never were intended to be. But for hunting, hard to think of better choices than a Weatherby IMO.
The vanguards are basically Howa 1500's with conventional 2 lug bolts, moving up to non-magnum Mark 5's you get Weatherby's famous radial in-line 6 lug bolt--and the 300 on up magnums get the massive radial in-line 9 lug bolt--a marvel of firearms engineering IMO.
Weatherby's "thing" is pushing bullets as hard as they reasonably can, and that comes at a price. In the bigger magnums they are going to let you know with respectable recoil. My personal opinion is that they easily wander off into over-bore territory in some of the magnums and you have to be aware that you can burn a barrel out very quickly if you're not careful. Other than that, I love them.
Weatherby guarantees their rifles to shoot 3 shots MOA or less at 100 yds and I've always found their rifles to easily meet that, even at longer ranges. They are generally not going to be bench rest shoot sub .5 all day and night long rifles (though I did once shoot a .2 group with a 270 wby mag at near 200 yds), never were intended to be. But for hunting, hard to think of better choices than a Weatherby IMO.
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stagpanther
New member
Why is that? Howa 1500's are excellent rifles in their own right, though I would agree that in the more powerful Weatherby magnums the Mark 5's are a better choice overall.
stagpanther
New member
I would agree that a vanguard is a plain old Howa 1500 dressed up--but that is hardly an inferior grade rifle.
Big fan of Bergara, so I'd opt for one of those over a Vanguard/Howa.
stagpanther
New member
Understood. I tend to only shoot Weatherby cartridges in Weatherby rifles, so my perspective is colored by that.
mikejonestkd
New member
I have a MKV SVM in 223 with the 6 lug bolt, its an excellent rifle.
I also have a vanguard S2 sporter in 243. Its also an excellent rifle.
The howa 1500/ Vanguard is a well made rifle in its price point, but it is not in the same class as the MKV action weatherbys
I also have a vanguard S2 sporter in 243. Its also an excellent rifle.
The howa 1500/ Vanguard is a well made rifle in its price point, but it is not in the same class as the MKV action weatherbys
I really like Weatherby's new line of shotguns. Basically an M2 clone with good fit and finish for half the $ of a Benelli. I picked up one in 20g and one of the kids on my Trap team is taking it to Nationals. He shoots it really well. That is only to say, if it has a Weatherby name on it, it is pretty good, so not knocking the Vanguards at all.
The Vanguard is a good rifle. I've had several as well as a couple of similar Howa rifles, all functioned correctly and were adequately accurate. But I just don't care for them.
The MKV is a better quality rifle, but I have no interest in any of the Weatherby magnum cartridges.
All of the Weatherby rifles are bigger, bulkier and heavier than I want in a rifle. But if that is what you want you could do a lot worse.
The MKV is a better quality rifle, but I have no interest in any of the Weatherby magnum cartridges.
All of the Weatherby rifles are bigger, bulkier and heavier than I want in a rifle. But if that is what you want you could do a lot worse.
ligonierbill
New member
OK, I'm convinced. The Vanguard is a good rifle, but I have a bunch of good rifles. I don't have a Weatherby. I started this thinking I would finish my collection of quarter bores with Roy's reported favorite, also his first, right? Now I'm not so sure. I like heavy hitters, too. Reading up for Africa - I'm taking my good 'ole Savage 338 Win Mag - many experienced people think the really big Weatherby rounds are just too fast. If your 416 bullet is breaking 2,400, you're good (assuming you shoot well). My PH loves the Win Mag for plains game, and tells me 200 m is the range to plan on. So, if it turns out to be 400, I'm still not undergunned. So, new question. Which one of the Weatherby rounds is really the greatest thing since sliced bread? Still the 257?
I sold my .340 Weatherby and .257 Weatherby. I just felt they were much more than was necessary for anything I was going to do with them. I do want another Weatherby at some point and I will likely try to find a Mark V in a .30-06 based caliber, shoot it out and slap the spare .338-06 Weatherby barrel on it that I bought at an auction for $90, factory new.
If I wanted a Weatherby Caliber in a Mark V, I'd probably get the .240 Weatherby.
If I wanted a Weatherby Caliber in a Mark V, I'd probably get the .240 Weatherby.
stagpanther
New member
The 300 Weatherby would be a great long range plains game cartridge, you'll have a huge point blank range (no fussing with turrets) and it will deliver a wallop when it gets there. It does hit hard so if you don't like recoil get one with an Accubrake.
To me, comparing the Vangard to the Mark V is akin to comparing a Malibu to a Masserati...
Not in the same league.
Make no mistake, the Weatherby cartridges are fast, and get the job done.
But if your looking for top velocities, they typically sit around #4.
Lazzeroni, Dakota, and RUM being faster.
But at the cost of more powder burnt, and shorter barrel life.
Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?
As for rifles, the Mark V and Vangard are worlds apart.
Not in the same league.
Make no mistake, the Weatherby cartridges are fast, and get the job done.
But if your looking for top velocities, they typically sit around #4.
Lazzeroni, Dakota, and RUM being faster.
But at the cost of more powder burnt, and shorter barrel life.
Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?
As for rifles, the Mark V and Vangard are worlds apart.
stagpanther
New member
ligonierbill
New member
OK, nobody doesn't like Mark V Weatherby's. But except for Stagpanther, I see a distinct lack of affection for Roy's rounds. My target will be a Mark V in 257 Weatherby. It will have to wait, though, until I can sort out my 250-3000 and work up loads for my new powder acquisitions. The 300 Weatherby is reported to be the most popular, but my 8mm Rem Mag runs close, and I'm a sucker for the oddball. So, the 257 "Roy" it is.
stagpanther
New member
You mentioned needing a secondary to your 338 for reaching out long on African plains non-dangerous game and the 300 wby mag excels in that role.