how accurate are factory wheatherbys

[robert6715]

Hey folks just wanting honest accuracy input on factory wheatherbys. Am thinking of buying mark v accumark in 338-378.

This is only forum I am member of,and truly respect opinion of castboolits members.I have read alot about weatherbys being a **** shoot.I will be reloading all ammo for this gun, and it seems others have either had no problem finding what gun likes, or have had guns that would not shoot good no matter what they loaded.

This will be my first multiple 1000 dollar purchase. I dont want to end up with a rifle I cant make shoot, and the maker wont do anything about. Seems that a name like weatherby should be accurate out of box. I am quite partial to the caliber. Is it possible that everything I have read is from folks that either expect too much, or simply cant reload?

[JJC]

I know a guy with a 257 he loves it. It's accurate, how much I don't know measurements?. It bounces around in the cab of his truck all year on the ranch. He kills coyotes and antelope pretty far out. He wants another in 240. Don't know it this helps much? John

[Lloyd Smale]

my 257 vangurard moa is very accurate for about 6 rounds then it copper fouls and accuracy goes to hell. It goes from under an inch to well over 3 inch by the time 12 rounds are through it. I sent it back to them and they about told me to clean it and that it was guaranteed to shoot 3 shots not 6 shots. Very poor customer service dept. They treat you like some idiot that must not know what your talking about if you have the nerve to bad mouth there wonderful gun.

[smoked turkey]

I have two Mark Vs. One is in 300 Weatherby and the other is in 375H&H. Both are synthetic stocks. No fancy wood here. I haven't had opportunity to talk to the factory for any problems so I can't speak to that. I will say that mine are not moa rifles, but they are 2moa usually. I do get some good groups with my stainless 300 when I do my part. They seem to be a little more finickey than most factory rifles. I mean by that that with their freebore they require some adjustment on their COL (length) for fine tuning accuracy. I fired mine several hundred rounds off shooting sticks before taking it to South Africa on a plains game hunt. I could count on it to deliver good results consistently with three different j word 165 gr. bullets. I took five animals with five shots. So I am pleased with my mark Vs. I particularily like the strong actions, the triggers are pretty good, and the bolts are very smooth on mine. I purchased mine used so I was able to get into them somewhat more reasonable than new. Some people only buy new stuff, so I can't speak to what you should do, but if it were me I would decide what caliber and type I wanted (synthetic and/or stainless, wood and/or blue) and then I'd make a diligent search for a good used one. These big thumpers are usually not shot out, so you can look them over and tell pretty much what you have. Hope this helps in your search.

[Pat I.]

I would think that with the long freebore used in Weatherby rifles they'd be just the ticket for cast bullets. If I remember right the freebore length on the 338-378 you mentioned is about 3/8 inch long. Meaure the freebore diameter, size the bullet to just under that by a thousandths or so and if the throats straight it should be good to go. A Loverin or LBT style bullet would probably help too.

[largom]

The Weatherby's I have encountered have all been decent shooter's but that was 10 yrs. ago. Can't say about new ones today but then again I am not overly impressed with any new factory guns. They most all take a bit of work to make accurate.

Larry

[BD]

I have a MK IV in .270 WBY that I've been hunting with for 15 years. It has "bang/flopped" a truckload of game.

It was a Euro-Mark with the skinny 24" #1 barrel. I had to pillar bed and float it to get it to stay under 1 moa when new. After about 2,000 rounds it was giving me fits again, (1" at 100, 5" at 200, 3" at 300 ?), so I sent it off to Douglas for a new SS #3 tube. Just got it back this week and tomorrow I'll know if I did the right thing. Speed kills! If I had it to do over in today's world, I'd be pretty tempted to go with the .270 WSM as it will very nearly keep up without the belt or the freebore.
BD

[rmcc]

Have had experience with a 257 Mark and a 243 Vanguard. Neither were MOA rifles. Both were good hunting rifles, the 257 was THE flattest shooting rifle I have ever owned ( should have kept it and re barreled it)! The Weatherby action is a good one IMO, probably the stongest out there, but put barrel, trigger, action all together and I think they will still come in behind Model 70, Model 700, or Savage 10 for accuracy. Again, this is just my opinion and the experience I have had with Weatherby rifles.

Rich

[MBTcustom]

Just buy a CZ and be done with it. They look nice and you actually get some accuracy for laying down your hard earned dollar. They are the only company I know of that is delivering a quality product. Weatherby is doing what every other U.S. gun manufacturer is doing, sacrificing quality for a quick buck and riding their name as long as they can. I believe Colt and Winchester are the first in a long list of companies that forgot that quality is paramount. I'm disgusted with them all, but I have found solace in the fact that for the moment, there is still a gun maker that knows what we want. I like a pretty gun just as much as the next guy, but if I'm going to drop 2k it better darn well shoot the flies off a donkey's butt at 200 yards!

[Lloyd Smale]

just got done shooting some loads in mine after i spent some time firelapping the barrel. What a differnce!! Groups were about cut in half and no more fouled barrel in 10 shots. As a matter of fact it shot a moa group with the barrel so hot you couldnt touch it.

[robert6715]

Is that rifle new? What was turn around time when you sent it back to whby?

[Lloyd Smale]

robert the gun didnt even make it to weatherby. they wont take a warantee gun back directly from you. You have to go through there autorized service centers. Mine was gander mountain. the guy at gander mountain was nice. He looked at the gun and agreed there was something wrong. He contacted weatherby and they told him that it was within there standards and if i wanted them to look at it i had to come up with a 100 dollar range fee that wasnt refundable even if they found a problem. After they had allready said it was within there limits for accuracy i figured it would be just throwing money away. Never heard of a company that demands money to just look to see if its a warantee issure. As it was the gun was gone for two months and cost me 60 bucks at gander mountain to ship it to there regional gunsmith and back. By all the weatherbys you guys want but do it with open eyes knowning if you arent happy there going to about spit at you.

[snowwolfe]

Hey folks just wanting honest accuracy input on factory wheatherbys. Am thinking of buying mark v accumark in 338-378.

This is only forum I am member of,and truly respect opinion of castboolits members.I have read alot about weatherbys being a **** shoot.I will be reloading all ammo for this gun, and it seems others have either had no problem finding what gun likes, or have had guns that would not shoot good no matter what they loaded.

This will be my first multiple 1000 dollar purchase. I dont want to end up with a rifle I cant make shoot, and the maker wont do anything about. Seems that a name like weatherby should be accurate out of box. I am quite partial to the caliber. Is it possible that everything I have read is from folks that either expect too much, or simply cant reload?

What are you expecting as far as accuracy? In my experience how accurately a rilfe will shoot is just as dependent on the shooters ability as it is the rifle/scope/ammo.

[robert6715]

I own multiple rifles that with the right hand loads shoot under 1 moa.

Thanks to all. This has made my decision easier.

[lavenatti]

I was looking at Weatherbys. After reading this I'm glad I picked up a .223 Savage and a .308 Marlin instead.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Mine is a MkV, it is very accurate, but it is a 1985 made 240Wby Magnum, lol. Not much bearing on the current stuff, but if anyone was going to throw in a red herring, I felt it may have well have been me,

[dk17hmr]

I'm no help with the expensive Weatherby rifles, but my stainless vanguard in 338 win is quickly becoming my favorite hunting style rifle in my safe. I replaced the terrible factory trigger with a Timney, switched the stock out for a Bell & Carlson, and mounted a Leupold scope in Leupold dovetail rings..I had it out to 500 yards last weekend and wasn't having about trouble ringing the 10" gong... not all that impressive but it has the potential to be very accurate based on my 200 yard testing, I'm waiting for more 225gr bullets to come in so I can finish load development and be ready for elk hunting.

The action is very smooth and I would consider using it for a custom rifle.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I'm no help with the expensive Weatherby rifles, but my stainless vanguard in 338 win is quickly becoming my favorite hunting style rifle in my safe. I replaced the terrible factory trigger with a Timney, switched the stock out for a Bell & Carlson, and mounted a Leupold scope in Leupold dovetail rings..I had it out to 500 yards last weekend and wasn't having about trouble ringing the 10" gong... not all that impressive but it has the potential to be very accurate based on my 200 yard testing, I'm waiting for more 225gr bullets to come in so I can finish load development and be ready for elk hunting.

The action is very smooth and I would consider using it for a custom rifle.

There is a stainless green hogue overmoulded stocked HOWA (essentially the same as the Weatherby at the local gunshop, it is calling to me like a mermaid on the rocks, Its sorta cheap as well!

[NickSS]

I have a Whetherby Vanguard in 308 win That shoots decently but far from the best I own. The most accurate hunting rifles I own are a very old (early 70s) M77 Ruger in 7X57 and a CZ 550 in 6.5X55. Both will consistently put 5 shots into much less than an inch usually in the 5/8ths to 3/4 inch size with good hunting bullets. My Tikka 30-06 comes in a close second at right about 1 inch give or take a 1/8th inch. Everything else I own shoots larger groups into the 1.5 inch range. If they do not shoot at least that well they go away the next time I am trading for a new rifle.

[giz189]

I don't know about Weatherby being the most expensive, but they are expensive. Most Savages will out shoot them. But no Wby caliber in a Savage. However, unless you just want a Mark V, you can buy a Weatherby Vanguard sub-moa, for around 500 bucks, the last time I looked at one, which has been a while. It is made by Howa and if you don't like the trigger, you can still drop another hundred for a Timney trigger and have a very nice rifle for under a grand. Just my 2 cents worth. Have a good un.