i personally have never fired one but i know there isnt ever much talk on here about them. Is it due to not a ton of aftermarket support (im assuming that never really looked) and we all like messing with rifles lol. Are they just not a well built rifle for the price? Not accurate? Just wondering.
Why is there not much talk about Weatherby Rifles?
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I'm not a huge fan of the van gaurds not saying they're not a for the money good gun . But I really love the older German made fancy walnut stocked ones. But to answer your question the best I can honestly is probably due to the belt . Although ol man weatherby was in my opinion ahead of his times . If he'd had the bullets we do today not only would he have killed everything he did he'd killed whatever was standing behind it as well. More than I'm sure he did then by accident or not.
My dad hunted with a German made 300 for roughly 35 years . Up until he started shooting nosler ballistic tip everything he shot was bang flop.
The ballistic tips were not designed from what I've read to be pushed as hard as dad was pushing them under normal West Virginia hunting ranges most under 150 yards. The bullets made massive wounds and we never lost any animal hit by one but some did go a little ways before bleeding out.
with that being said though I personally seen him shoot completely through a sugar maple one evening right at the end of shooting light and kill the deer behind it . At that time the tree was roughly the size of a 3 pound coffee can and it ripped splinters roughly a foot above and below out on exit side . It looked like you'd shot the deer with a 2x4 with all the splinters it had . And that was with a ballistic tip
My dad hunted with a German made 300 for roughly 35 years . Up until he started shooting nosler ballistic tip everything he shot was bang flop.
The ballistic tips were not designed from what I've read to be pushed as hard as dad was pushing them under normal West Virginia hunting ranges most under 150 yards. The bullets made massive wounds and we never lost any animal hit by one but some did go a little ways before bleeding out.
with that being said though I personally seen him shoot completely through a sugar maple one evening right at the end of shooting light and kill the deer behind it . At that time the tree was roughly the size of a 3 pound coffee can and it ripped splinters roughly a foot above and below out on exit side . It looked like you'd shot the deer with a 2x4 with all the splinters it had . And that was with a ballistic tip
I'm a fan of the Vanguards myself. For the price I believe they are hard to beat. I've got a heavy barrel 308 and a 223. Decent triggers and both are threaded. Are they the best rifles I own? No. But if you want a decent rifle that you don't mind throwing in the truck and knocking around they're great.
Canhunter35
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Factory mark 5s are a little over priced imo.
Vanguards are pretty great rifle for the price, but the plastic stocks are junk and I replaced my trigger with a timney
Vanguards are pretty great rifle for the price, but the plastic stocks are junk and I replaced my trigger with a timney
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
Weatherby made its mark in the firearms world with the very strong Mark V action based rifles chambered for Weatherby's rather hot cartridges. There was certainly a lot of glitz and glitter to go along with those actions. Lots of great stock options for those who wanted a fancy sporting rifle. I personally got started with a LH Mark V in 7 WBY mag.
Two reasons that I believe prevent the Mark V's from being popular with the LR crowd:
1. Honing in 9 separate lugs to get them all to bear evenly is probably impossible
2. Aftermarket support was just never there for the Mark Vs. If they had the support enjoyed by the Rem 700s it would have made a huge difference.
Two reasons that I believe prevent the Mark V's from being popular with the LR crowd:
1. Honing in 9 separate lugs to get them all to bear evenly is probably impossible
2. Aftermarket support was just never there for the Mark Vs. If they had the support enjoyed by the Rem 700s it would have made a huge difference.
I agree with VarmitHunters two reasons. I have a Vanguard in 30-06, sporter weight barrel that has accounted for almost all of my deer and all four Deer shot by my daughter (fixed it!). I love it. Added a B&C stock for weather and I just couldn't cut the pressure point out of the original wood stock. Also added a timney trigger. In hindsight, I should have just adjusted the very crisp factory trigger down but wussed out...
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I have a small arsenal of MK V's. They are my favorite. Bought a 416 Wby last week. They have been around for many moons, and are not the hot ticket. Ammo is expensive, brass is high dollar, and that turns a lot of people away. All of mine are excellent shooters.
Dr. Vette
Well-Known Member
There are plenty of us here who are Weatherby shooters. If you're interested, you just have to ask.
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Deleted member 103481
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I personally think there's a decent amount of weatherby talk on here. Especially considering their market share is quite small.
Aoudad shooter1975
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I have one mark V today.. a LH 378 but have owned a number of Accumarks and one DGR in a 375 Weatherby all shot good..the one exception was a 30-378 I had..it shot 168s inside a dime--but just would not digest anything over 180 grains...don't know...
mwkelso
Well-Known Member
Edit (6/24)* - I asked the gunsmith to clarify, I misunderstood the comparison that I made below. I thought he said Weatherby, he said Winchester pre-1970, post 1964*
...the only reason I have my Remington is because all the custom work was already done to it (blue printing, trueing, rebarrel, timney elite, MDT chassis). Otherwise I would own purely Weatherby. There is a .300wby and a 6.5-300 both in accuguards that I have considered purchasing.
The most fancy platform (Vanguard)? No, but they are reliable. You're right though, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much after market support as there is for Remington, Savage, etc.
One advantage I do believe Remington has over Weatherby is their bolt design. My gunsmith explained the differences between the two, I don't recall the specifics. In short, he said that you are safer behind a Remington than you are a Weatherby if you experience a case failure. It boiled down to the differences of a safety breach (remington) versus a cone breach (weatherby). The safety breach has more obstacles for hot gas and molten brass to get by whereas a cone breach has minimal obstacles, allowing for hot gas and molten brass to reach the shooters face easier. Weatherby has vented the sides of their bolts to aide in gas redirect if this were to ever happen.
But if you're a safe reloader who doesn't push limits, or you shoot factory ammunition, what's the difference? Shoot what you like better.
...the only reason I have my Remington is because all the custom work was already done to it (blue printing, trueing, rebarrel, timney elite, MDT chassis). Otherwise I would own purely Weatherby. There is a .300wby and a 6.5-300 both in accuguards that I have considered purchasing.
The most fancy platform (Vanguard)? No, but they are reliable. You're right though, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much after market support as there is for Remington, Savage, etc.
One advantage I do believe Remington has over Weatherby is their bolt design. My gunsmith explained the differences between the two, I don't recall the specifics. In short, he said that you are safer behind a Remington than you are a Weatherby if you experience a case failure. It boiled down to the differences of a safety breach (remington) versus a cone breach (weatherby). The safety breach has more obstacles for hot gas and molten brass to get by whereas a cone breach has minimal obstacles, allowing for hot gas and molten brass to reach the shooters face easier. Weatherby has vented the sides of their bolts to aide in gas redirect if this were to ever happen.
But if you're a safe reloader who doesn't push limits, or you shoot factory ammunition, what's the difference? Shoot what you like better.
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