Weatherby Rifles

L

LineStretcher

New member
I love a pretty rifle. That said I think McMillan makes the best stock. I have a G30 Dynasty that shoots fantastic but its ugly when you put it alongside my two new Weatherby Mark V Deluxes. I bought a .257 WM Mark V Deluxe and it shoots every bit as well as the McMillan so I went back and bought the 6.5-300. Just got it yesterday but I expect equal results. So, I guess what I'm saying is that a rifle doesnt have to be ugly to shoot well, it just has to be built well in the first place.

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My Weatherby is one of the best shooting rifles I have ever seen. They do a great job in the accuracy and beauty both.
 
Whew, I have been so envious of you since the first time you showed that rifle. I have been studying .257 Weatherbys and trying to find one that is nice. I don't think I could find one that nice though. While studying some of these hot Weatherby rounds I come across people stating that you have to watch for early throat burn and the barrels burning out. Is there truly much to worry about here?
 
Never apologize for believing that aesthetic values are just as important as practical values. Never apologize.

We, as shooters, have apparently thrown all care about appearance out the window, choosing to believe that ugly is better.

That said, have any of you ever seen a ferrari with primer and broken headlights? How often has a corvette been made in plain old generic ford blue? You aren't going to find the new charger in turmeric color, in fact, you won't find any car painted that horrible shade of baby poop.

I want to look at my cabinet and have my heart skip a beat as I see all of the fine wood laid out there. I kind of wish that I could experience that with my car. When I go out to my car it feels more like two coworkers that don't know each other's names. A nod, a howdy, and off to the coffee pot. I'm not driving baby poop, white, black, silver. Beyond that, I'm not too concerned about the aesthetics of a car. No racing stripes or hood ornaments.
 
I own, reload for a couple of Weatherby rifles, 300WBY and 340WBY. First these chamberings are hunting rounds. They are capable of excellent accuracy, but if you use them as a range toy, they will not last very long. As a hunting implement these rifles will last a lifetime.

I also own Cooper rifles. They have a barrel replacement policy. Shoot out the barrel on a Cooper rifle and for $125 they will rebarrel your rifle. The new long range rifle and MDl 96 and 56 come in almost any over the top chamber you want, from 257WBY, 6.5-300, 300,340 338Lapua and many more. So if you wanted to use a WBY as a range toy this might work.

I own a MDL 22 6.5-284and it is a range toy, I know that I will shoot out this barrel and already have the fix. These rifles are in the same price catagory as a nice MK5. I love them both and am unredeemingly spoiled.
 
Some groups I would be proud to have shot!

My direction was different but has worked well. I found a Savage 06 with a Boyds Laminated Thumhole sotck (featherweight which is a/was a Savage OEM offering)

I put a stainless barrel on it, the stock while not "true" wood has good lines and appearance and its a composite though people don't think of Laminates as such.

I build up a couple others on Laminated stocks. I get the most compliments on the 06, but some like the Greenish stock or the Cinnamon one.

I just can't get into the Black platonic or fiber stocks. Probably some real high price CRFP out there.

I did pick up an Early Sako Finnbear in 06 for a range toy (back stuff that means no more hunting). I love the classic lines of it, trigger is wonderfully crisp. If its anything like the family 270 it will shoot a bit under 1 MOA - the scope is not good for more than maybe 5/8 MOA.
 
As was said, the Mark V Deluxe models are hunting rifles. You can certainly use them at the range but you must be careful to not overheat them. Weatherby makes a H-Bar Rifle with a #3 Heavy Barrel that is better suited for range use. The early B's used a #1 barrel and they were good for hundreds of rounds but not thousands like we'd want in a range gun. You can rebarrel them and Weatherby offers custom rifles with Krieger barrels. I think Lilja also makes barrels for them. Both my new .257 and the 6.5-300 have #2 barrels that are hand lapped and chromed so they will take a good amount of abuse.

Dont overlook the Vanguards, they have a H-Bar series too and they are affordable. A stock and trigger upgrade is all they need to shoot well.
 
Weatherby's generally shoot well. And I can appreciate a beautiful rifle with good wood. But I find the Weatherby styling to be garish. They don't appeal to me at all. But many do like that style.

That is a nice stick of wood. But I'd prefer it in a much different shape and with a more subdued finish without the endcap.

And no one ever said wood wouldn't shoot well. Wood tends to be every bit as accurate as the best synthetic stock. The difference is repeatability. As temperature, humidity, and altitude change the point of impact changes with wood.

Zero a rifle here in GA, then drive 1600 miles to CO and have a 50 degree temperature drop, gain 7000-9000' in elevation and see humidity drop from 80% to 20% and the wood stocked rifle will still be as accurate, but the POI could shift several inches in any direction. Synthetics, even cheap ones, will not shift zero under those conditions.
 
Weatherby usually shoots their factory ammo extremely accurate. In my experience, the Japanese Mark V were the best rifles WBY ever built. What I am seeing now is Vangard is more accurate than Mark V.
 
I own 3 weatherby vanguards, 2 wood and 1 synthetic all 3 shoot really well but I will admit, looks do count and I take out the wood stocked rifles more often..
 
A lot of folks dont understand the Mark V. The stocks are 1/4 sawn Walnut and once sealed are virtually impervious to change. Out of the box, the Vanguards do shoot better than the Mark V but a Matk V that's broken in properly will run circles around a Vanguard. I have 3 Vanguards with Hogue fully bedded stocks and none of them shoot as consistently as properly broken in with 3 rounds down the barrel 257 Mark V. No, the Mark V is not a range gun, it's a hunting rifle.

What is common knowledge in the Mark V circle is that they dont shoot great when they are clean or after about 20 rounds. When we have a clean gun and a hunt on the horizon we take it to the range and put 3 to 5 rounds down the barrel, clean the crown and go hunting. Typically, you need only 1 or 2 rounds during a hunt so the remaining 13-14 shots are plenty of reserve.
 
I bought a Weatherby Vanguard distributor exclusive in 6.5Creedmoor. It has a really nice laminate stock, free floated barrel from the factory, grey cerakote metal. It shoots very well, sub moa with everything its been fed. I really like the gun. Going on a muley buck hunt in a few weeks with it.
 
Out of the box, the Vanguards do shoot better than the Mark V but a Matk V that's broken in properly will run circles around a Vanguard. I have 3 Vanguards with Hogue fully bedded stocks and none of them shoot as consistently as properly broken in with 3 rounds down the barrel 257 Mark V. No, the Mark V is not a range gun, it's a hunting rifle.
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Barrel break in is a myth. If a barrel needs "broken in", then it's a crap barrel in the first place.
 
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