One of the local guys asked me to load some 300 Wby Mag shells for his Mark V as he was unhappy with the groups he was getting with factory Remington ammo. I told him I would need his rifle and he brought it over with a 2 boxes of Remington 180 grainers. The first thing I did was check to OAL.....SHOCK....eyes roll!!! The throat is the longest that I have ever seen on any rifle. Just to get the 180 grain Pro Hunters to fit the clip took 200 thousandths to the lands. The factory ammo must be jumping 1/4 inch into the lands and groves! I realize Weatherby has always been speed happy but this is almost ludicrous. I did manage to get some decent groups....1 1/2 inch with decent speed but it sure seems like a waste of IMR4350 to get little more than an '06 developes.....250'/sec! Luckly for me it had a factory brake so the kick wasn't bad. I also used ear plugs and my electronic ear muffs....what a monster. Question to the cybernetic domain.....Am I missing something here???? Regards, Rick.

Weatherby is known for having long throats. That jump is what allows them to get the speeds they advertise. One of the many reasons I don't want a Weatherby rifle.

Hi Rick,
 
      That's called "Free Bore" although it does not come free, they pay through the nose for it! I have yet to be impresed by any Weatherby that I have see or handled. To me they are a bit liuke BMW's vastly over rated and an idea sold by glib talking salemen. The quality is not up to the price that's for sure. But just like the suckers who pay through the nose for those BMW's they think that they are getting a status symbol. A little aside here, when I was driving that recovery truck BMW was the most common make we picked up that had broken down, the newer models mainly before the salesmen got to running the company. One had 1800 miles on it and was going back to the dealers for the 5th time for the same problem. The BMW dealers on the whole were rude arrogant and stuck up.
 
   Back to rifles, no if I want or think I need more erformance than a 30-06 I will get a .300 Wm, there are plenty of decent quality makes out thee who don't try to rip you off nor pull the wool over your eyes, probably be a darned sight more accurate and less wastefull on powder than a fool Weatherby too.

Gents,

Count me in.........!:D   Score so far....Good guys...3  Weatherby...0
 
Brithunter........best you stay with the '06, neighbor!  'nuff said!..
 
Ol' John...:)

Hi Hondo,
 
     Well I used to have a very nice Ruger No1B in .300 WM, the only reason I don't have it now is that I was just a little short on a trade, I was getting that Custom 30-30 bolt action by Medwell & Perritt and the 3x M93 Boer Mausers by DWM including the Plezier. So I traded the No1. In fact I still have some factory Lapua ammo for it with 200 grn Mega bullets. Some day I might build up a .300 WM on an old P-14 or maybe an old P-H 1100 that I can get really cheap, like £20 ($36) but for now I have the 30-06 and the 8x57! Oh of course the 9.3x57 if I need more bullet weight.

Rick,
The guys are right, all Wbys. have free bore because  they are loaded over bore capacity. I have owned two Mark V 300 Wbys. and still have one that was made in Germany. I have yet to take one hunting as I will not hunt with a rifle that will not group under one inch or less.

I shoot a 300 Win mag that will do 3/4" groups at 200 yds if I do my part.

:) Hey, I never ownd a weatherby rifle,  But one of my friends has one, now If I'm correct, Weatherby had a recall on the rifle bolts on some of their rifles.

Well, on the bright side of things, at least we can say the rifle met the 1 1/2" accuracy guarantee that WBY hoots and hollars about    .

Freebore's been a WBY thing for many years.  Being into the velocity end of things, I don't mind that.  Being heavier into the accuracy end of things, it is a detrement, indeed.  Less ya use long bullets and effectively turn the rifle into a single shot.  Accuracy guarantees are great, but I'd rather buy a rifle without the guarantee which I know will consistently achieve sub-MOA accuracy (and for a lot less expense ta-boot).
 
I think the funniest thing I've heard about the Mk 5's is the notion that they're as strong an action as you can get thanks to the 9 lugs.  Even if all 9 lugs were bearing, most conventional 2 and 3 lug locking systems have the same locking surfaces.  Considering all 9 mini-lugs are NEVER bearing completely anyway, and some none at all, this strength arguement goes out the window quick, much like the accuracy guarantee.  This leads to accuracy issues. again, that I do not like.  As deadeye said, if it don't shoot, it don't leave the safe.  And if it can't leave the safe, it isn't in the safe for very long.
 
It has never ceased to amaze me the following that WBY had though.  They're fans are some of the most rabidly loyal you'll ever find.  To each his own, I suppose.  Later.  >>  klallen

I have a Mark 5 Ultralight in 338-06 and did have trouble finding loads that stayed uder 2 inches but have several now that hover around the inch mark at 100 yards. More importantly stay in that 6 inch circle under field conditions. It was 300 yards and as I've learned to shoot this too light rifle it's gone to 400 under ideal conditions. Other things you haven't mentioned is that the sling swivel stud is on the bottom of the fore end and smacks you in the finger if you're not careful. The trigger has the bolt stop spring in it and must be overcome to fire the rifle.(I worked for hours to get another pound off the trigger pull which helped my offhand shhoting considerably) The bolt has 6 locking lugs (ultralights standard cartridges only) which all seem to bear to some extent but they lack the camming power to chamber anything but a full length sized case easily. The loading ramp needs work to get the last cartridge to chamber. I like it just the same. Most rifles I've had to suffer with to get to shoot I've liked most. The rifles that shot out of the box weren't as satisfying. It's a good thing I got this rifle at a good price or I'd felt badly. God bless and good shooting.
 
Mark

Hi All,

        Hmmmmmm this is telling, even those with Weatherby's don't really rate them and one won't hunt with it die to it's inaccuracy:eek: .
 
    Now the thing I don't understand is how come it's the free bore which gets all the blame for their poor accuracy. You see the Swedish Mausers have free bore to allow the chambering of those long 156-160 Grn Round nose bullets. with any other bullet there is considerable free bore, in my Swedish Mauser I shoot Speer 120Grn spitzers which of course means that it's impossible to get the bullets ogive anywhere near the leade. Yet it will shoot easily under the magic 1" groups and often around the 5/8" mark (providing I do my bit right that is) I have even shot this rifle using 77 Grn bulets and still get better accuracy tha I have ever seen with a Weatherby:eek: chambered for a Weatherby cartridge. Old Roy sure was a good used car saleman;)

:) They had a recall on Vanguard model,made from 1970-1993, serial numbers.

0001-03810
Voooo1-through- V80966
VX00001-thruorgh- VX4065
VS00001-through- VS23699
VL0001-through- VL46984
Wooo1-through_ W0099
NV0001-through- NV0099
 
It's a safty upgrade that will prevent misassembly of the bolt.
!-800-227-2018

I think it is a question of semantics - what is "poor" accuracy? Here, it seems to be anything over MOA, or about 1-inch. Others would say that it is a rifle that shoots over 2-inches, which is really adequate for most big game hunting. Just about every Weatherby I have ever seen shot or shot myself would do under the 1 1/2-inch that Weatherby guarantees, and most would shoot under an inch. Most manufacturers do not even guarantee that much, and if you send a rifle back to them because it is "inaccurate," they will send it right back to you, saying that it meets "their" standards - which are larger than 1 1/2-inches! Tikka and Sako are exceptions.  
 
Even Savage, which are some of the most accurate rifles out of the box, do not guarantee accuracy.
 
My Vanguard has not met their guarantee - I can't get it to shoot under 3 inches!   But it is a .270 WSM and does not have the freebore, so I can't blame it on that!
 
The Vanguards, by the way, are tested as a barreled action in a fixture, to meet the 1 1/2-inch standard.  The barreled actions are then sent here to Weatherby, who stocks them.   I found this out after I bought mine and have been trying ever since to match the test target that came with the rifle... it looks like I will have to re-stock it.

Hi There,
 
    The whole idea of the extra velocity was for a flatter trajectory and increased downrange killing power, however what ole Roy forgot and those who are fooled by his "snake-oil sales mans ship" is that unless the rifles are very accurate you have negated half you reason for having the extra speed and power. It don't matter how fast, nor how much power the bullet has if it misses! A near miss don't count.
 
   On another forum, I say some one state that weatherby's were the best rifles available or made ............. Duh? well that person has brought it hook line and sinker.
 
     It's a bit like when Ford brought Jaguar, their first thought was to close the Coventry plant and move production to the US ...................... that was until some one with a little brains pointed out that if they did that, They would lose half the sales appeal in the US ................... which was of course that the Jag was a premium IMPORTED car, being made in the US it just became another premium car, the fact that when they got control they re-jigged the XJ Jag to use as many common Ford components as possible lost them a lot of their market here as it's a glorrified Ford and not a Jaguar anymore. The newer S Types is basically a Scopio with a different body and badge! Status is all important to those suckered by the sales pitch. Rolex's don't keep very good time it seems but they sure sell a lot of them at stupidly high prices.
 
     If some one was to give me a Weatherby, well I would put it in the gunshop and sell it to the first sucker I could find, same goes for a BMW! I would not drive the BMW ( less chance of it breaking down) nor shoot the Weatherby, here in the UK it might take some while to sell the darned thing as let's face it I don't think that ole Roy's sale pitch works so well over here!

I don' think it is a "snake oil sales pitch" if it is the truth.   Weatherby's usually will shoot well below the 1 1/2-inch guarantee and will come close to the advertised velocity with their 26-inch barrels.   As I said, that is more than most manufacturers will do.   An 8 or 10-inch group at 400 yards is as good as most guys can shoot - that will put them in an elk's chest.   More than that is beyond the realm of the guy who is going to buy a mass-produced rifle and shoot it as-is.
 
Someone is as entitled to their opinion that they are the best as you are to your opinion that they are junk.   I think the fact of the matter is that they are no better or worse than any other mass-produced rifle...no matter whether is it Winchester, Remington or whoever's "snake oil sales pitch."

Hi Rick,
 
     Modern Remingtons ............... we won't go there ............ OK
 
     Quality, fit and finsih is one reason why I love classic rifles so. Properly cured wood carefully fitted and bedded that is what I love. One day I may get hold of a nice Remington Model 30 in on of it's guises ........ one day!