Weatherby Action?

[bryanthomas13]

Hey guys been lurking here a while and enjoy the info and opinions.

Heres my question I have a weatherby mark V in 300wby I would like to build either a 338rum or a 338 lapua, is it worth it to use my action or should I just start from scratch. What would need to be modified if I did use the mark V.

[alexkeyser]

My first question would be, how does the 300 weatherby shoot? If it shoots decent now, and has at least half barrel life left, then I would not touch it. Leave it alone as a back up. The reason I say this is that your not going to turn it into a 338 Laupa for pennies. Now I know that it may be cheaper than a whole new rig but for the extra money you'll have two guns instead of one. Also, I don't particularly care for the weatherby rifles myself, I just haven't had good luck with them. Just MHO, don't want to start a war with anyone here! The best thing to do would be to speak with one of the more knowlegable guys on the site to weigh the options out cost wise and go from there.

[screech]

not to slam weatherby lovers but i personall believe that the markv action is weatherbys greatest down fall.

[royinidaho]

I've shot several Mk V 240 Wbys and was impressed with both.

As alexkeyser said. if the 300 is shooting well and has at least half the barrel life left it doesn't make economical sense to rebarrel. Having said that, who really cares about economical sense.

I doubt you'll gain much with the 338 over the 300. A good shooting 300 wby will do what needs to be done, with the correct bullet, as far as the load can be shot. Same goes for the 338 RUM. The animal isn't going to know the difference.

Also you may wish to check out the APS 338 AX. The animal won't know the difference but you sure will.

[rocky_lange]

Easiest way to go to 338 would be to buy a new Weatherby bolt and barrel for the 338-378 Wthby. You would then need a small amount of machining on the action to let the longer bullets be extracted (unless you don't mind removing the bolt when you unchamber a loaded round). The 338-378 has slightly better velocities than the 338 Lapua if I am not mistaken, which I could very well be.

Rocky