Back in 1995 when stationed in Bremerton, I was looking for a new hunting rifle. The local WalMart had some Weatherby rifles in stock. Looked at the Vanguards I was not too impressed they did not fit me and the bolt was sloppy. Then I saw this Mark V. Hmmm shouldered it…great fit…bolt was firm and cycled without any excessive slop. I place it on layaway (can’t do much on an E-4 salary) and in a couple of months I picked it up. Put a Redfield Partner 3-9x40 on it. Total price was about 670 bucks.
This rifle has treated me well over the years. It could hold a 1MOA group for about 9 shots. The tenth shot, and the warm barrel would start to let the group grow. I have taken it to 500 and 700 yards (targets only) shooting 130gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. It worked well, with the 24” sporter barrel.
I had been kicking around the idea of something with some more snort to reach to possibly 1K as one of my buddies has a Sako in .338 Lapua.
Hmm hard decision on what caliber and make to use!!!
I was already familiar with the 270 Winchester, and after a brief stint working in Kalifornia I was able to procure a boatload of Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips from Walmart..it was on sale…some goofy new Kalifornia law about leaded ammunition..
Anyway, I already was outfitted to load for 270 WIN, and had a ton of ammunition for it…then I read the article on this website regarding “re-purposing” a 270 Winchester into a long range rig!!
Hmmmm well, the action could handle anything (it’s a 9 lug)..I could just go to 300Win Mag…but the idea of a one-off 270 Winchester Build just had a nice ring to it.
So I called Benchmark, decided to have them re-barrel it with a 27” 1-9 twist with brake…should kick like a 243!!!! Should outpace a 308….should be a hell of a lot of fun!!!
Ships out today!!! Optic and other stuff sitting in the safe ….just waiting
Specs:
Action: 9 lug Weatherby Mark V (US BUILT)
Chambering: 270 Winchester
Barrel: Benchmark 27”, 1-9 twist with 5R rifling.
Stock: coated OEM
Optic: Nightforce 3.5-15x50 FI (Super-Secret Squirrel Version Mil/Mil, MLR reticle)
Base : Warne 20MOA
Started putting things together last night. Snapped a few pics with my DumbPhone...not the best quality, but it at least gives an idea of the build.
Also checked possible max COAL...with bullets .020 off, they will not fit in the mag, nor will a live round eject when it's that long. So, I for the time being, I will just load to mag length. I do have the option to lengthen the bolt slot to allow the bolt to travel further back. I also have the optionto remove the magazine spacer to allow a longer cartrige to fit in the magazine.
Ran into another potential issue. The original barel had a feed ramp machined into it. This one does not and as such VLD bullets have a tendency to hit the lower part of the barrel and will not chamber. Factory Loads and Similarly loaded Nosler BT and AB loads can also hit, but the tendency is lower.
I have tweaked the mag spring slightly to put more pressure on the front of the mag follower and less on the back. This has helped some, but it looks like I will have to cut a feed ramp into the barrel in order to make it bullet proof.
Well, got it running!!! Lapped in and polished the feed area on the barrel also installed a new mag spring…loads all my dummy rounds without a hiccup!!!
Got it sighted in with some 130gr Winchester Ballistic Silvertips. Chrono’d them at anywhere from 3011 to 3049…the 3049 was an oddball…most were closer to the 3010 range…so will use that as a reference for these rounds.
Shown is how the 130gr Winchesters group @ 100 yards…shot from a bipod…good enough for gov’t work IMO.
Linear Mode
