Weatherby...your feelings

[Flametop7]

Hello all,

I am an owner of a Weatherby Accumark in 300 WBY. The rifle shoots awesome and I would like to say I'm a proud owner. After conducting some general research and participating in discussions I have found you either love or hate Weatherby's. So I would like to know why or why not you are a fan.

Thanks again
Flametop7

 

[Dr. Vette]

Based on the several in my gun cabinet, list me as a fan.

 

[REDHEAD]

I own 2 300's in Mark 5 ? The ultra lite I love , the ultimate varmint rifle. Standard's a bit heavy. They get my vote.

 

[elkstalker300]

I have one in my cabinet, its a 338-378, just now building loads for it but I have to say LOVE the weatherby action, I really like that short throw on the bolt

 

[Michael Eichele]

You're right. You either love them or hate them.

For me, I hate them. I have owned 2. I should have learned the first time. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Yes I was dumb enough to buy a second one.

Around my house, if something isnt usefull, it gets sold. I wasted a 2 whole springs and 2 whole summers (different years of course) trying to get them to shoot well. 2 of the most expensive factory rifles and neither of them ever made it to the field. I didnt dare leave success in the hands of a rifle that I had absolutely NO confidence in. They sure were pretty though.

Every time I sold one I bought a remmy 700 and had them dialed in with less than a day's effort.

Who knows, maybe I dont hold them right or something. Whatever the reason, I wont be wasting my money or time on another one. To be fair, I typically wont waste my time or money on any factory rifle anymore. Custom for this game is the ticket.

 

[winmag]

Are you refering to the Cartrige, or the rifle or both?
I own a Winchester Model-70 chambered in 300Weatherby.
I love my Winnies, and I love what the 300Wby is capable of, but Im still plodding along with my 24 inch barrel. I gotta say a 24inch barrel was a big mistake by Winchester especially in this case. I will never attain the Weatherby speeds no matter how hard I try.
I hope to have it re barreled in a 300 Rum for my allround, near or far rifle, or 338 Rum, or edge if Im feeling frisky, for my long range work, after I shoot out this barrel, and have the money to do it. But Ill pass on the 340wby cartrige. Just a personal preferance thing.
As for thier rifles, Mark 5, and Accumark, I love the ones Ive shot, They come up nice, balance well, and have a good feel, and theyre about as sexy as a rifle gets, but they do cost a bunch.
Few Vanguards have the sex appeal, of its siblings, but theyre a solid buildable action. Howa/Vanguard has produced some fine rifles.

Like all "factory" rifles there is always gonna be a few bad with the good, but thats with any manufacturer of factory firearms. Overall I like them, but the ones I realy like are out of my pricerange for what I get.
I dont know what to say to Michael Eichele. Thats truly a horrible experience. I belive Id be soured as well if I had that experience......twice......in a row....Wow.

I agree for the price range your starting into, a custom is a better choice, but I havent had his experiences with any Weatherby Ive ever used. Overall I like them, theyre just too rich (mk-5 & Acumrk) for my blood when there are other quality factory options for less money, around the Vanguard +or- price range.
In this day and age, we rarely leave a factory rifle factory anymore anyway, so I think Id go with the Vanguard and build it as I wished, or, like usual, choose my personal favorite that fills my gun cabnet. But If I had the money, and wanted a quality rifle with some serious sex appeal, Id be very tempted by the Mark-5, or Accumark.

 

[J E Custom]

Hello all,

I am an owner of a Weatherby Accumark in 300 WBY. The rifle shoots awesome and I would like to say I'm a proud owner. After conducting some general research and participating in discussions I have found you either love or hate Weatherby's. So I would like to know why or why not you are a fan.

Thanks again
Flametop7

Weatherbys have allways been marketed as a hunting rifle until recently so most of the
earlier rifles had very light barrels and this was most of the problem when it came to shooting
groups. Weatherby was interested in first shot repeatability not 3 or 5 shot groups.

Light barrels can give you lots of problems when trying to get groups. so when Weatherby
decided to increase the barrel size to a #4 or larger (They were normally #2s) accuracy was
the by product.

The Weatherby actions have always been one of the best factory actions produced and still
is and they make great donors if you can find one at a reasonable price.

The barrel quality is the problem with all factory rifles and sometime you buy one that is trash
and other times you may find a 1/4 MOA barrel.

I have seen good and bad actions in all makes but I have never seen a bad Weatherby MK5
action.

So I am one that loves them because of there track record.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Firecat]

My dad has a Weatherby MK5 in a 375 H&H Mag. That rifle is a solid Piece. He bought it to be an elk killer and that's exactly what it is. I've always heard good things about Weatherby's and from what I've seen with his I can understand why.

 

[Rhino Hunter]

My experience is severely limited to the one and only Weatherby that I've ever shot. It's a .257 Wby Mag Mark V w/ SS barrel with black flutes, camo composit stock, muzzle break w/ a Leupold VX-III 4-14 w a 30 mm tube. It has a great balance and feel to it and is one of the sexiest guns I've ever picked up. I shot it three times, using the owner's handloads, and put all three shots into one elongated hole at 100 yards (less than 1/4 MOA).

I then bought the gun on the spot.

My feelings...I love mine! So much that it's going with me to CO GMU #21 in four days.

Wish me luck!

Rhino Hunter

 

[dig]

Short bolt throw, tight lock up, factory accurate whats not to like; unless you are looking for lite weight then forget about it. Own two, for there intended use very happy with them, ergonimic, like the saftey. The calibers are classic and still hard to beat performance and effecientcy wise.

 

[REDHEAD]

Has anyone purchased an after market trigger? I am seriously considering a Timmney replacement- $ 152 + gunsmithing. I shot a full compliment of Tubb bullets through my SS ultra lite. Shoots better, but still room for accracy. Over all , I love my ultra lite. gun)

 

[BurlyCamo]

I own a couple of them. I even have a couple Rems in weatherby calibers. Dang the make good guns. Only reason i sold the other ones i had is i didn't need 2 or 3 in the same caliber. I am a fan of Weatherbys. I am also a fan of Remingtons. Have a few Winchesters i like. One or two Browning i think alot of (after a trip to the gunsmith). I guess you could say i am a gun fan.gun)

 

[Buano]

My experience is severely limited to the one and only Weatherby that I've ever shot. It's a .257 Wby Mag Mark V w/ SS barrel with black flutes, camo composit stock, muzzle break w/ a Leupold VX-III 4-14 w a 30 mm tube. It has a great balance and feel to it and is one of the sexiest guns I've ever picked up. I shot it three times, using the owner's handloads, and put all three shots into one elongated hole at 100 yards (less than 1/4 MOA).

I then bought the gun on the spot.

My feelings...I love mine! So much that it's going with me to CO GMU #21 in four days.

Wish me luck!

Rhino Hunter

Sounds like you have an AccuMark. Great rifle!

 

[Buano]

I am both fan & foe.

I'm a fan of Weatherby rifles (especially the AccuMark) & cartridges for what they were made for — long range hunting. They "reach out & touch something" as well as any factory rifle and better than most.

I also know what Weatherby rifles are not — quick pointing brush guns or ultralight mountain guns.

Although I drooled over the beauty of a LaserMark in my youth I would never own the "pretty" Weatherbies as I'm a hunter, not a connoisseur looking for something to show off at a dinner party. I take care of firearms but I HUNT hard.

Years ago I had a chance to hunt north-central Florida with a friend who owned the most beautiful Mark-5 I've ever seen. He gave me rough directions as to where he was headed & we parted company. Four hours later I easily found him sitting up in his tree stand as light rain was falling. He asked how I found him so easily & I pointed out how he was sitting in his stand wiping the moisture off his gorgeous rifle with a silicone rag. I smelled the silicone rag 300 yards downwind! For me a hunting rifle is something you hunt with & take care of later.

I have seen some of the older light-barrelled Weatherbies that didn't shoot well. One produced 2.5"+ groups at 100 yards! (I didn't get to see if I could make it shoot better.) While this may be good for a Winchester lever-action 30-30, it's not acceptable for long-range hunting. I've never seen one of the modern Weatherbies that didn't shoot well & I've never seen an AccuMark that didn't shoot VERY well. Putting this in perspective, I've also seen too many Win Model 70 & Remington Model 700 rifles that wouldn't hold a group until they had been "worked on".