weatherby rifles?

L

LEAD POISON

New member
I own a rem 700 vssf and a savage 10fp and very happy with
Rem 700; I have not had a chance to shoot the Savage yet.
Back to my Weatherby question: Where do Watherby's fit in? I read a lot about the Rem and Savages, but see little info on the Weatherby. Accuracy? Prices? Strong points/weak points etc. Comparison to other rifles in these regards?
Thanks for your time.
L.P.
 
They're pretty and they cost a lot. If all you have to do is shoot "minute of bear" at 50 yards, and then wander back to the hunting cabin to find the guide to come skin it, they'll do just fine.

You can get decent triggers for the 700 and the Savage.

Weatherbys tend to have WAY too much freebore - Lets 'em use some serious barrel-burner cartridges, but sheesh - the rifle won't be too accurate.
 
To Lead poisen

I suggest you read the book "Roy Weatherby, The Man , The Gun and the Legend". You can purchase it or get it through your local library. It is well worth reading.

After reading it you then can make the decision as to wether you wish to own this design of weapon.

Weatherby rifles have been manufactured by several makers including Weatherby, J.P. Sauer, Miroku , and recently by a U.S. manufacturer of military weapons whose name eludes me at the moment.

The rifle has a action made of a casting and the barrel is freebored. Even so some of them shoot amazingly well even with the freebore which was done to increase velocity without raising pressures.

The Weatherby rifles unlike some other modern bolt guns that I will not mention does protect the shooter from escaping gases from a burst cartridge case. ( Be sure and read "Bolt Action Rifles" by Frank De Haas if you want to find out how good your favorite bolt guns design really is.)

The Weatherby extractor also is know for being very reliable.

Some of the newer Weatherby's can be had in standard calibers. I do not know if the standard calibers have the freebore like the original magnum calibers. As a guess I would speculate that they do not because it would not be necessary with standard rifle calibers such as the 30-06 etc.

The action is quite large and heavy compared to some other commercial weapons like the Remington 700 and Winchester Model 70. The action was made larger because of the magnum calibers it employed and also because the action was made of a casting which necessitated a thicker receiver wall.

Although collector value is high on the original American made Weatherby Mark 5's the book about Weatherby stated that he had a lot of trouble with the American made Mark 5's. The casting factory that made the actions for him had a 50 percent rejection rate because of imperfections in the cast recievers. This of course was eventually corrected.

Some people say that the German made Weatherby's were the best but others say that the Japanese made Weatherby's were also very every bit as good.

The company was moved serveral years ago back to the United States but they had teething problems with the first batch of American Weatherby's. I have read that the barrels were quite rough internally. I imagine that this has since been corrected since most factories that are set up to manufacture a weapon that they have had no previous experiece with often have initial start up problems.

Be sure you read the book as it is a fascinating book about a man who made his dream come true by never giving up in the face of sometimes overwhelming odds that were often against him.

Although the conservative classic style stock is now the "In Thing" I have always liked the looks and design of the origninal California style Weatherby stock. Also the workmanship of the Weatherby has always been very high in my opinion. I like the high gloss finish of the original Mark 5's as compared to the duller finish on some of the new models that are currently available but that is just my own personal taste. Some people like the duller finish models because they do not relflect sunlight like the high gloss models.

The design of his California rifle stock and his advanced new calibers were indeed "The gun of tomorrow that was available today" just as he stated in his advertisements of so long ago back in the 1950's. It is only recently that the other arms companies have caught up with his calibers and now have even surpased some of them in velocity.
 
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Somewhere back around 1970 I discovered Weatherby's "#2 Profile", 26" barrel in .30-'06 as an available option for the Mark V. Bought one. It's German made. Because of the size of the action, it carries five in the magazine and one in the chamber--just like a 1917 Enfield. :)

I did some tweaking with the forearm bedding, and later put in a Canjar trigger.

After some 4,000 rounds or so through it, it still shoots inside an inch, just as always. I regularly expect 3-shot, 3/4" groups, and have done as well as 1/2". Back when my eyes were better, I got five-shot groups inside 1" and ten-shot groups inside 1-1/4".

Of three groups at 500 yards, I got two four-shot four-inch groups, and eight shots inside six inches, with two called flyers in the ten-shot string.

Dunno 'bout the rest of the world, but that critter has been my pet for thirty years.

:), Art
 
Fantastic salesman/marketer. He put the Hollywood touch in his creations.

More than a while back I watched him test fire in his kitchen. House was also factory. The most amazing Rube Goldberg contraption occupied his laundry room. Twas a delight of cogs n thingys that you fed lead wire in one side and surplus copper tubing in the other. Out of the middle came jacketed bullets. Some of em actually looked right.:)

He did a good job of turning obscure wildcats into marketable packages.

Appearance, finish, fit n function: in that order.

Admired his gumption but never bought one.

Sam
 
The newer American made ones are made in the Saeco (not sure on the spelling) plant which is owned by Colt.

I have a (U.S. made) SLS in .257 Wby Mag.---the action is very big and strong--and my rifle can in no way be considered a lightweight--with scope and mounts--its pushing 10 pounds.

Using Weatherby factory 100 gn ammo----I can get all the shots to touch---all day---if I'm doing my part---all flyers from this rifle are the shooters fault and I can tell every time I pull one. We chrono-ed this load doing 3700 fps.

SLS=Stainless Laminated Sporter----In has a black/grey laminated stock--26 in barrel--the action and barrel are all stainless---with a black coating to give it the look of a blued rifle.

I had a primer blow a while back---there was no damage to the rifle or the shooter-----Weatherby sent me 2 new boxes of ammo and I sent them back the bad lot of ammo.

Weatherby's aren't cheap----the weight of my rifle is why it shoots so good-I feel. Its not good for carrying all day---but its great if you're sitting in a stand all day.

I haven't done any modifications to my rifle---other than mounting a scope------and it will tack drive all day.
 
Hi, guys,

Leej has about said it all. I do suggest also The Bolt Action by Stuart Otteson (two volumes-Weatherby is in the first) which goes into a lot of engineering detail; fascinating.

The Weatherby rifles were always reasonably decent rifles but no world beaters and had some defects. But Weatherby was, as said, a salesman, and he built up the idea that no one could be a "real" sportsman without a Weatherby rifle.

The reality was more velocity gained the usual way, with higher pressure. But people lined up for them. There were Weatherby clubs, gun shops maintained a "Weatherby Roll of Honor" for people who actually shot something live with a Weatherby, etc. All hype, but it worked. The rifles never did take any prizes for accuracy (though some shot well) but owners swore to .0000001 inch groups at 1000000 yards.

Of course they had to get some kind of good feeling out of paying almost a grand for a rifle when a Remingchester was under $150.

Jim
 
Retail on my Wby in 1970ish was $350; I got 10% off...I bought a Sako Forester the same year; gave just over $200.

Bought a like-new GI 1911 for $75.

But in the late 1940s, a Model 70 was $54, and a SuperGrade was $70-ish.

And no sales tax.

But in 1968 I was a registered professional engineer making $830 a month.

"It's all relative!" (Yeah. Mothers-in-law.)

:D, Art
 
If you have the dust for and like the looks of a Weatherby, by all means go for it. My only problem with their Mark V is that I thought it was too dolled up for serious duties afield. Every one of them I have shot-6 or so, have been 1 MOA or better, so the accuracy is certainly there, the action is hell for strong, and they seem to be built with pretty good attention to function and looks. The sporter is my visual favorite because it has none of the ebony forends and white line spacers. Just a pretty chunk of wood. I've also found the Weatherby's to be pretty comfortable to shoot as well, especially considering the cartridges they chamber.
 
"a cut above remmington 700s"

I'm not sure. As far as appearances go, yes, I agree completely. The Weatherbys, regarless of the model, are very attractive rifles and are very nicely finished. As for function, I disagree. I've owed a few Weatherbys and several Remingtons. The Weatherbys are good, reliable, fairly accurate rifles but my experience has been that the Remingtons are actually slightly more accurate on average.

Really, the Weatherbys are very nicely made but I think you are paying for the name to some degree.

My $0.02.
 
a lot of the weatherby charm is that they were trend setters

they popularized the california style: high severly raked monte carlo, rosewood foreend tip and pistol grip cap with contrasting spacers.

their stocks were high gloss claro walnut and their bluing was like glass

their claim to fame was the hyper velocity in magnum cases, with radiused shoulders, manufactuered by norma

they even had a safari club with meetings and awards for throphies taken by their rifle owners

the only model he designed that wasn't wildly sucessful was the .224 (belted magnum) which had a special downsized action

my favorite is the mark XXII....22lr semi auto...lots of style :cool:
 
The older Weatherbys were fine weapons, but they have gone downhill in recent years. It would NOT be my first choice in a Rifle, but I would own one if the price was right.

I am a firm believer in the Remington 700 action rifles, In my opinion you can't get a better Rifle for the money....lots of aftermarket parts makers also.
 
I owned a Mark V in .300 whtby back in the early 80's Japenese made. It was a complete nightmare. Busted the bolt stop/ sear which caused it to fire when I closed the bolt (previously mentioned on the site) scared the sheep I was going to shoot all the way away! Busted the Stock twice from recoil at the pistol grip. but besides that it was a fairly accurate gun about an 1" at 100.

Also owned a .257 wthby at one time no problems real friggin accurate. Sold it just couldn't get into it.

I picked up a new .300 Wthby ultra light rifle about 3 months ago with the intention of making it into a sheep gun. I've got to say that they have come a long way from the previous mark V's that I've owned. Factory it's grouping at about 7/8" at 100. I like the feel and the looks, nice stock shape and quality. The trigger SUCKS from the factory. (liability I presume). So I'm having the trigger done and some other stuff as we speak. As far as reliability I can't say let me kick it around the rockies or the Ak range for a couple of seasons and I'll let you know if I like it. It has all the makings to be a decent rifle but time will tell.

As far as price goes when you look at the ultra light weights and the accu marks I think that they are a fair deal for stuff your getting. it would cost you the same or more to equip your Rem or Win with the same stocks flutting ETC. And if you just want a Weatherby you can get one of the blued synthetics for about $700 + or -. Or you can spend some really stupid money on the lazer marks ETC. I'm not really a weatherby fan or a big mag fan but I'm giving them a second chance. And doing my part to stimulate the economy by buying American products that support the American way of life.

God bless America!!
 
I have had several of the German Weatherby's. They were dreams to shoot. I worked the bolt of a new one in a store the
other day, ragged bolt compaired to the old ones!
Dan
 
Weatherby is currently offering two distinct Mk V action sizes, one for the magnum actions, and a considerably smaller one for "standard" calibers. (E.G. 30-06) They also offer one of the widest ranges of model types in the industry, covering everything from vamints to pachyderms. The magnum rifles are fairly heavy, by current standards, although the Ultra Lightweights are quite light for 26" barreled mags, at 6.75 lb. The standard caliber rifles are lighter than average, at 6.5 lb. for standard sporter models (with 24" barrels, BTW), and very light in the Ultra lightweight series at 5.75 lb.

A good friend recently bought an Ultra Lightweight in .270 W'by mag., and it is quite accurate. Workmanship, fit , finish, etc. are every bit as nice as one would expect from a rifle listing at $1399.00. Not all models are as relativly expensive as they used to be, either. The cheapest models start at $779.00 list. While their styling is not to everyones taste (mine included) they are actually quite nice handling rifles, and altough I have never been a big fan in the past, the new lightweight models have actually got me thinking seriously about buying one.

They have an excellant website, with full specs, prices, pictures, etc. They will also send you a full line catalog, if you call, or request it online. Web address is: http://www.weatherby.com/
 
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