Weatherby 270 mag can't hit the broad side of a barn

[baydog]

Hi everyone. I'm trying to help a friend with his new Christmas present without hurting his feelings...But He got a used but in very good condition Wheatherby 270 mag Mark V Lazer Mark. Not sure how old the gun is but it's one that was made in Japan so maybe not to old?? Which are the better guns, the ones made in Japan or Germany??. Any way he has bought 2 boxes of weathery ammo 130gr bullets and 1 box of 100gr Norma ammo and I ain't trying to be funny but man this thing couldn't hit the broad side of a barn stand right beside the barn! Seriously we are having trouble hitting a pie plate at 100 yards. it came with a nice Leupold 3x9x40mm scope. I took the leupold off and put a $100 Tasco on there tonight just to see if that would make a change but it got dark tonight before we could get the scope on. We're going to give it a fresh go at it tomorrow. Plus I wanted to send my buddy home with a little bit of hope for tomorrow cause he ain't wearing his smiley face. The scope and mounts seem to be tight and I can't find anything going on there. I scrubbed and cleaned the barrel and looked good at the chamber and rifling and as far as I can tell they both look fine. I sent him home tonight and told him not to worry about it, it's a "Weatherby" **** good gun and we would figure out something tomorrow but honestly unless this $100 Tasco can come through with a miracle I don't really know what else to try with this fancy looking gun.. Anybody got any ideal on maybe what to try next? Or some trial and error things to do?? Thanks for your time and any help you can give me to help me get my buddy smiling again

 

[pyroducksx3]

Check scope mounts, make sure they are torqued. If they aren't good mounts get some of good quality. If you scrubbed ghe bore real well it may take a few shoots just to foul it. With oil in the bore it can make a gun group terrible.

 

[KYpatriot]

Check the action screws, about 65 inch lbs should be about right. Look at the crown, no burrs or dings or blemishes. Make sure the stock isn't contacting the barrel. You are already changing the scope so other than that I'd suspect a bad barrel if all those other things check out.

 

[pyroducksx3]

If it doesn't shoot it's not the end of the world, that's a good action and spinning a new barrel on from a good smith will make it a 1/2 MOA rifle.

 

[Dosh]

Baydog, I've had my .270 Wby Mag about 6 months. Changed the trigger, bedded the action, bought quality scope and mounts. It shot over the 1 1/2 guarantee before the changes. After changes now along with 150 gr Berger hand loads it's at 1/2 MOA at 200 yds. Buying a used rifle is a gamble and I think the Japan/Howa made Weatherbys are around 10-15 years old. If the Tasco doesn't do it, have a smith bore scope it. Check the torque specs for the rings and the action screws. Good luck

 

[baydog]

Thanks KYpatriot and pyroducksx3. I did check the action bolts but didn't torque them. And the bedding I'll try the old dollar bill trick tomorrow. The mounts look like good strong well built mounts. After cleaning the barrel we also ran about 6 dry patches before firing. The crown looks good as well as the rifling but I think something is going on with the barrel that I just can't see or that's what my gut is telling me. I hate to tell him about a new barrel but maybe I could break it to him in the lines of " Have you ever had a target barrel?"..lol...Or just maybe hint to just take it back to the dealer he bought it from.. I'm gonna give it one more chance and see what the other scope does too before I start hinting about a barrel..
Thanks again

 

[Deleted member 46119]

Stretch out the seating depths. The long throats seem to like some bullet bearing surface in the free bore.

Speed it up, they seem to like fast.

German made was long ago.
Japan made seems the most hit and miss.

Wait a long time between shots. 2 minutes minimum or more, much more is better. The barrels heat very fast.

 

[kimba]

Check scope mounts, make sure they are torqued. If they aren't good mounts get some of good quality. If you scrubbed ghe bore real well it may take a few shoots just to foul it. With oil in the bore it can make a gun group terrible.

weatherby designed to not free float in pencil barrels. just saying light barrels are not good to free float as a general rule, so stop spouting without learning - it leads others astray

 

[Deleted member 46119]

weatherby designed to not free float in pencil barrels. just saying light barrels are not good to free float as a general rule, so stop spouting without learning - it leads others astray

This is true. The thin profile barrels were not intended to be free floated. They heat fast and move when they heat.

 

[pyroducksx3]

weatherby designed to not free float in pencil barrels. just saying light barrels are not good to free float as a general rule, so stop spouting without learning - it leads others astray

What does checking scope mounts and ring torque/tightness have to do with free floating barrels? Maybe you quoted the wrong post? Maybe stop spouting off before you read and comprehend a post

 

[Dr. Vette]

Check the action screws, about 65 inch lbs should be about right.

DO NOT torque it to 65 in lb !!!

It's a Lazermark, which means it has a fancy wood stock. The torque spec is 35 in-lb per Weatherby:
FAQ | Weatherby.com

"Screws for wood stocks have a torque specification of 35 inch pounds. Please note, however, that you should tighten the rear screw first and then the front screw."

If it's like mine it is probably a 24 inch barrel which is a thinner-than-average #2 contour. It's not quite a #1 but close. In addition it have the pressure points in the stock as already noted in this thread.

If you have not cleaned the barrel at all please do so. You don't know how clean it was when purchased.

In addition to checking the scope rings/bases, I would remove it from the stock and see if there are any obvious rub spots or problems. Now torque it in place, tightening the rear screw first as per the Wby instructions.

When you shoot you will likely not be able to shoot more than one shot every 5 minutes if you are trying for accuracy. These barrels tend to heat quickly, and you're shooting a fair amount of powder through. I would also look at the heavier loads (130-150gr) and not lighter ones. No, the ammo isn't cheap to buy just to try but that's sort of the cost of owning one of these.

 

[kimba]

aye sorry pyro meant that other guy regarding the touching barrel thingy

 

[MudRunner2005]

If you can't get it shooting in 100 rounds, don't spend 6 years screwing with it like I did with my Accumark. I dropped several deer with it over the years, but I wasn't hunting over 200 yards. So, 1.5"-2" groups were ok for that. But no matter how much I tuned it and my loads, it never got any better and never was predictable. So I knew there was something wrong. After weighing all my options, it was cheaper to just trade it in for $1000 and use that towards a new rifle that I KNOW has a better chance of being accurate.

Since it was a gift, its hard to justify getting rid of it to your wife of GF, so, it would be his best option to go for a rebarrel with a thicker and better barrel (I would go 26" rem varmint contour), and bed the Lazermark stock and have the barrel channel opened up to accept the larger barrel, and free-float it. That way it still looks classy. Plus, I love the old school custom rifle look...bright stainless barrel, and a blued reciever. The nice LazerMark stock just adds a touch of class.

 

[pyroducksx3]

aye sorry pyro meant that other guy regarding the touching barrel thingy

I'm just cranky as hell because I have a 7 month old that hasn't let us sleep more than 3 hrs at a time for well over a week now