Weatherby rifles and cartridges

[ricka0]

How does Harley (oops) Weatherby get around the fact that for the BR croud, a tight throat is the holy grail. In the olden days when all you cared about was velocity, you had massive free bore. Even modern production rifles have far less freebore today than 50 years ago.

I won't say anything bad about Harleys, WeatherBeas or Tubed amplifers. If you want a bike that sounds cool, is unreliable, handles like a brick and accelerates like a terd - harley is your bike. Hey and the factory ships them running crappy - they make a cooler sound that way

Seems to me the RUMs made Weatherbeas obsolete. See my post on the ultimate economy deer/antelope rifle.

 

[texaskid]

Boys, Ya'll can spell Sako any way you want. I own three WBY rifles. (.257 WBY MAG - Outfitter Custom, .300 WBY MAG Deluxe, .340 WBY MAG Deluxe) ALL are guaranteed to shoot 1.5 MOA. This means that the rifle is guaranteed to shoot 6" groups @ 400 yds. Smaller than the vital area of any deer I've ever encountered. If it dosen't , send the **** thing back. This is the only AMERICAN rifle company to guarantee their accuracy. I stress AMERICAN, because I would rather buy an AMERICAN rifle that is guaranteed to shoot 1.5 MOA, that a Finnish rifle guaranteed to shoot 1 MOA. ALL of MY Weatherbys SHOOT BETTER THAN ADVERTISED. Granted, they are not cheap, nor inexpinsive, but mine shoot. For the one in a thousand hunters that can ethicaly shoot beyond 400 yds, buy whatever. For those of us content to remain anonymous in the journals of 400 yds+ shooting, the WBY is an outstanding choice.

 

[Guest]

I looked into a Weatherby some time ago. I've never shot one, so I won't comment on how they shoot.

I will say what made me NOT buy one....

First, I thought the Barrel was too thin. I would have to upgrade from the custom shop. Second, In I want the action trued, I have to pay extra!!!!

FOR THAT MONEY WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY MORE FOR A TRUED ACTION!!! YOUR GUNS ARE SO GREAT SELL IT WITH A TRUED ACTION!!!

Also, the barrel is not the regular krieger barrel. Its the "creiterion" or something like that. Call Krieger and ask them about it. The actually had a problem at one point with Weatherby calling them Krieger barrels and MADE Weatherby start calling them "Krieger Creiterion"

So, I went semi-custom with my 7 STW. Rem 700 Action, Krieger #5, Mcmillian rem hunter stock.....Love it!

 

[COBrad]

texaskid, Weatherby is not the only American rifle builder to guarantee accuracy. Cooper guarantees 1/2" three shot at 100 yds, so does HS Precision, and M. Forbes, at New Ultra Light Arms, told me to expect around 1/4". Okay, these are not your average production rifles, but neither is the Weatherby. An HS can be had for about 2K, the others are a bit more. The 'smith that built my custom .300 stated that the Weatherby action was far more difficult to make accurate with 9 lugs to work with. I still wanted one though, so when one of my gun-dealer clients got in several .257 MK V's, I asked for one. He test fired all 5 of them and sent them all back. None shot well. I have still never owned one.

 

[LWolken]

As previously mentioned these rifles are for the "weekend warrior" There are better options when it comes to cartridges as well. Buy a Remington and have it acurized. Savage could be another option. Every manufacturer puts out junk from time to time its just a matter of cost $700.00 or $1500.00 then what you paid to have it fixed or replaced. One thing is for sure Roy did get the magnum craze going that we all still seek today.

 

[Hired Gun]

My Mark V Deluxe 300Wby shoots real regular 3 shot groups like this one with Noslers. .261" It is rock stock. The factory 2 pound trigger has never been touched and it is one of the skinny barreled ones too. I was thinking of getting it accurized and rebarreled believing some of the crap I had read that you couldn't get nine lugs to mate and the guy a Kreiger told me that Weatherby's have the straightest factory actions and he said they have yet to find one that needed truing. He said he would gladly check it but he doubted it would need anything. The lugs on these are cut by some pretty precision equipment to begin with so they mate up pretty good right from the factory. I really doubt they could improve how this one shoots anyway.

I just got a new Accumark in 257Wby and I checked the lugs on it with some bluing compound and they were all very even. A couple turns on the externally adjustable trigger had it down to a crisp 12 ounces. I have no idea how low it will go as I stopped there. I worked it over with a rubber mallet and it proved to be safe. I then went over the bedding and found it to be dead stable as checked with a dial indicator. I will start shooting it as soon as my brass get here. Once I get it on paper I will post it here.

 

[ccsykes]

Look, it can be argued all day about what gun shoots more accurately. Take into consideration which gun is going to fit you better. An illfitting gun is not going to be comfortable to you and therefore it is going to be less accurate for you. Sure, comfort and fit are not the only things that produce an accurate rifle, but even the most customized rifle that is engineered to be the most accurate will not be consistant if the shooter is not comfortable with it. I own a weatherby accumark in 300WBY mag and absolutely love it. It shoots sub MOA at 100 yds and I am confident in it. It fits me well. I also had a friend shoot it and he could not get the same accuracy as me. Shoot a couple different rifles and find out for yourself which guns feels better. My dad has owned a weatherby for over 20 years and it still shoots well. So I am confident that Weatherby has a high quality product. What I want to say about the calibers is that all of my experiences with these calibers are positive. I would like to add that the 257 is a sweet load. I have shot a custom rifle in 257 and shot 3 rounds in a 1/2 group at 100 yds. Good luck.

 

[JWB]

Who makes the weatherby rifles now.
I know they have been made by several arms
manufactures around the world.
weatherby is a trade mark name not a manufacter of guns???? right or wrong????

 

[Lee Woiteshek]

Last I heard they were manufactured by Saco. Which is in the U.S. I own two Weatherby's and they are both MOA rifles with Federal and Winchester loads. I'm extremely satisfied with mine. Its only in the last decade or so that bullet design have caught up to the velocity that these cartridges deliver. They're are certainly nicer rifles out there both in the custom and semi-custom worlds. I wish I had the income, and the patience to afford a Jarrett, Mcmillian/Harris or custom rifle. I can't. So I simply bought the very best I could afford and that was Weatherby. No regrets.

 

[hogman]

i have owned 4 weatherbys. i now own one of the ultralights in 30-06. it shoots moa or less with 165 federal premium ballistic tips. the other three were finicky with what they shoot well and i got tired of looking for the magic bullet for each gun. browning a-bolts are the ticket for me now. got my kids a 243 for christmas and shooting walmart ammo could cover 5 shots with a quarter. and it was at least $600 less than the weatherbys

 

[Lee Woiteshek]

For me the secret for MOA was using the bullet weight the factory used in the test target with the rifle. Then you just find which brand and type of bullet the rifle liked best.

 

[victor]

Hi there Hired Gun,

Thats one hell of an impressive group!
Do you reload your own or is that factory ammo?
If you do reload, may I ask for your recipe please.

Also, what is the procedure for posting pics with your posts on this site.
Thanks,
Vic

 

[Hired Gun]

I published it here. http://www.loadyourown.com/loaddata/detailcaliber.asp?id=3743
Please work up to it slowly and be sure to only use real Weatherby brand brass. I have a very loose old German rifle so I don't know if you will need this much powder to get 3300 out of yours. I would stop at 3300 if you have a 26" barrel. Mine is only 23" and if you subtract th open chambered area under the magnaporting it really is only 21 1/2". To post a picture use brackets

with the www address to you hosted picture where the periods are. No spaces. You must go host your pictures somewhere like www.hunt101.com or http://www.imageshack.us/ Then just use the brackets to post them.

Here is that old sharpshooter. The guy I got it from could hardly keep it on the paper and sold it to me for $295. He said Weatherby's really aren't very accurate (freebore, skinny barrel yadda yadda) and went back to his 270. He thought it might be shot out too. All I did was mount a Leupold scope on it and loaded up some shells. He did finally admit he might have had a bit of a flinch shooting it. Now the truth comes out. The bore is smooth and the rifling in the throat is perfect. Looks like it's never been shot. It still is originally bedded on the naked wood stock just how it was made. Not even free floated. Factory 2 pound trigger hasn't been touched either. I originally planned to rebarrel it but I think it's just fine like it is now.

 

[Mike375]

7ultra,

If you are looking to...dollars out....accuracy in...forget Weatherbys.

I am not anti Weatherby. In fact I have just had a pair of 378 upgraded Deluxes arrive to the gunshop via the Weatherby agent and each of them cost $5250AUS = $4000US

But if I wanted the most accurate 378s possible then Weatherby Mark Vs would not have been ordered.

Over the years I have owned 18 Weatherbys and also at the same time I have had many bench style rifles on the Rem 700, mainly in 6mm/06, 270 and 300 Win as well as several rifles with medium heavy barrels, Jewell triggers etc.

The Weatherby is probably like buying a Chev Corvette and the Rem 700 based rifles are like buying a much cheaper car and then hotting it up. The result will beat the Corvette easiliy. But which would rather own? In many ways the answer to that question will depend on the stage of life you are at etc and etc.

Mike