i'm looking to buy a new rifle for big game hunting, and i'm attracted to the weatherby's.
but what to choose:

Vanguard 530$
Mark V Fibermark 920$
Mark V Accumark 1190$

the accumark is a bit over my budget, but if it is superior to the others, i might give it a thought.

are the fibermark/accumark worth the extra cash?
what would you choose for allround european/north american big game hunting, and why?

I would recomend you pick a cartridges 1st.
Of the rifles you mention, You should know that the acumark is quite heavy.
Both the Acumark and the fiber mark, are built on the MK5 weatherby action.
The vanguard is built by Howa in japan.
In many instances the Howa is a supurbly acurate rifle. Often out shooting the Mk 5s.
I think If I were to be getting a weatherby for open country deer hunting, A .257 weatherby would be prety hard to beat.
But if you are going for an Elk rifle, I think , a 340 weatherby on the MK 5 would be as good as anything on the planet for the purpose.
If you want a Dual purpose Then I might opt for a 300 weatherby.
The .257 and the 300 are both available in the vanguard, and For the 500.00 or so saved you could get one hell of a nice scope,
And be ready to hunt...tj3006

First you need to know what you're going to be hunting and select the appropriate caliber(s) options. Like .338WM for moose, bears etc...

Then buy something that fits and don't get hung up on the brand. The animals you are hunting won't care if your rifle is a Tikka, Ruger etc...

the caliber will be .30-06, i'll maybe rechamber to .300WbyMag if the twist rate allow it.

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Then buy something that fits and don't get hung up on the brand. The animals you are hunting won't care if your rifle is a Tikka, Ruger etc...

i feel that all of the 3 rifles fit me, and the accumark and tikka is in the same price range.
and i really like that sexy stainless fluted barrel on the accumark

Buy the Accumark chambered in .300 Weatherby and don't look back.

have you looked at the ultra light mark V?

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Originally posted by Buliwyf:
Buy the Accumark chambered in .300 Weatherby and don't look back.

I agree with Buliwyf; don't buy a .30-06 and then rechamber. Just buy the .300Wby. As for which model of Weatherby I have no idea; never really looked at Weatherby rifles.

I have a Vanguard VGX Deluxe chambered for 300Wby. and I really like this rifle. Beware that the 24" barrel on the Vanguard does increase muzzle blast a bit; so keep that in mind. My Vanguard, as mentioned earlier, is quite accurate with almost every form of ammo I have used in it. The Vanguard is one of the best bargains if my example of one is telling of anything at all.

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I agree with Buliwyf; don't buy a .30-06 and then rechamber. Just buy the .300Wby. As for which model of Weatherby I have no idea; never really looked at Weatherby rifles.

life isn't that easy, we don't have a weatherby dealer, but there is a store who import some models once in a while.
so my only options are .30-06 and .308 in Vanguard, Mk V Fibermark and Mk V Accumark.

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have you looked at the ultra light mark V?

if i could pick freely from the weatherby models i would go for the Mark V DeLuxe.
but given my options, i'm leaning towards the Accumark.

why do i even consider weatherby's when i have so limited options?
because since i've got my hunter's license seven years ago, i'd always wanted one.
and when xxl finally imported som Mark V's, and i actually can afford a new rifle, i'm thinking i can't let this chance slip away.

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Originally posted by Buliwyf:
Buy the Accumark chambered in .300 Weatherby and don't look back.

Buy a 300 WBY from Weatherby. The free bore must be cut very precisely.....

I am not that familiar with the weatherby Mk-5 action. But I do not think an 06 to 300 weatherby is doable. A 30,06 to 300 win is but the 300 Weatherby is a longer action.
If you want an 06 I would get the vanguard, no need to spend the Xtra money on th MK 5.
Personanly I would go for a new Ruger hawkey, but thats just a personal tyhing...tj3006

As the previous posters indicate, get the 300 Weatherby Accumark and don't look back. Fantastic rifle and caliber. Solidly in my opinion, YES it is worth the price differrence. NEVER let money stand in the way of.............well you know.

Rugers do not compare to Weatherbys. Never did and never will. Weatherbys will outshoot Rugers...hands down. Weatherby fit and finish...much better. I've had and have plenty of Rugers of many calibers and my Weatherbys are much better. Steffen, its too bad you don't have access to a selection of the Weatherby rifles so you can try them for fit and handling, as there is a bit of difference between the Accumark and the Vanguards. The Ultra-Lightweight in either the 300 Win. mag or the 300 Weatherby mag would fill the bill quite nicely, but if you don't mind the extra weight the Accumark in the same calibers would be great too. They are very accurate and problem free...and well worth the money. They also hold their value. The cats ass is the 338-06 in the Ultra-Lightweight at 6 lbs. and a 24" fluted bbl. for just about any game you mentioned. Handloaded, it comes very close to the 338 Win. Mag. There is nothing wrong with wanting a Weatherby..go for it.

Why not just get the weatherby rifle you prefer in 30-06 and go hunting? Are you going to hunt deer and moose? If so, the 06 will easily handle those tasks, and less recoil, less muzzle blast, and far less expensive ammo will be the benefits. ymmv

To your question.....Vanguard!

I would go with the cheapest one. Its the only one that would come close to being worth the money. I had a Mark Five and it was the biggest POC I ever owned NEVER AGAIN.

i'd look for an older 24" mkV sporter in 257.

Now that you have have said that you can only have the 30-06 available to you, I would definitely go with the Vanguard in 30-06 and not feel unprepared in the least. A Vanguard 30-06 will make a fine workhorse rifle.

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Why not just get the weatherby rifle you prefer in 30-06 and go hunting? Are you going to hunt deer and moose? If so, the 06 will easily handle those tasks, and less recoil, less muzzle blast, and far less expensive ammo will be the benefits. ymmv

it will be mostly used on moose, and someday i hope to take it to North America for a blackbear hunt.
but i would prefer a magnum cartridge with flat trajectory on sealhunting, since distance judging is difficult at sea.

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i'd look for an older 24" mkV sporter in 257.

the .257WbyMag is not legal for moosehunting, so it's out of the question

i have just e-mailed som shops that have claimed to have Weatherby's, if i'm lucky they are Mark V's in .300WbyMag.
if not i know of one who are selling 2 used Mark V's in the right caliber(.300WbyMag)

we'll se what tomorrow brings...

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Originally posted by Steffen-9.3:
the .257WbyMag is not legal for moosehunting, so it's out of the question

really?
i had no idea.
6.5's are fine?

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really?
i had no idea.
6.5's are fine?

6.5 are fine.
the problem is that the law requires minimum 138.9 grain bullets, which is quite heavy for 243's and .257's.
everything less than a 6.5x55 is pr.def. not legal moose-cartridges.
but i've heard of people that got permission, but you have to do velocity and penetrationtests, and get them signed by a number of required witnesses.
and then you can apply, it's papermill not worth going through.

it seems like they decided that the 6.5x55 was the minimum, and then made a law around it.

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Originally posted by Woodrow S:
... The Ultra-Lightweight in either the 300 Win. mag or the 300 Weatherby mag would fill the bill quite nicely, (or) the 338-06 in the Ultra-Lightweight at 6 lbs. and a 24" fluted bbl. for just about any game you mentioned. Handloaded, it comes very close to the 338 Win. Mag. There is nothing wrong with wanting a Weatherby..go for it.

All excellent choices, especially if you Reload.

If you only use Factory Ammo, then that same Wby U-Lt in a 30-06 would do quite well. You can get Standard ammo for it as well as the High Intensity Factory Ammo and it shoots plenty flat.

Reloading enhances the pleasure of shooting, and it really helps with the Magnums. Especially if you are not conditioned to their recoil level. Reloading allows you to start Low(30-30 or 308Win levels) and work right on up to what ever level your Magnum is designed for.

And the Wby U-Lts, that Woodrow and I favor, will let you experience the recoil moreso than the heavier rifles.

Best of luck to you an what ever you choose. I'm also quite partial to the excellent Remingtons.

Sorry woodrow but my experence has been the opisate ,for the most part.
The 2 Rugers in my safe are great shooters.
Although I have never owned a weatherby , I have been around a lot of them, and some are quite good, but most were avarage in the acuracy dept, and I would rather have 2 Rugers than 1 weatherby.
I must admit One of the most impressive range experences in my memory was asking a guy why his target had 8 holes in a almost perfect vertical line each spaceed about a half inch above the one below it.
I had never seen a group like that.
He responded that he was trying a new powder and each hole was a half grain of more powder.
His was an acumark in 300 weatherby he had a winchester Boss unit attached buy someone.
Clearly though .if I wanted a 300 weatherby, I would get a MK5. But in an 06 it seems like a waste of money to me...tj3006

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
Buy the Accumark chambered in .300 Weatherby and don't look back.

As noted here and by other posters, an Accumark in 300 Wby is an excellent choice... The Accumarks are heavier so keep that in mind... Mine is a 338-378 Wby that I will be using for elk and hopefully in the near future some bear hunting with an old friend in Alaska... Nothing like 5000 lbs plus at the muzzle .. Yeah, it might be a bit much for elk at the ranges we hunt here in Arizona near the Grand Canyon but what the heck, it's alot of fun to shoot....

If an Accumark hurts the budget more then you want there is nothing wrong with the Vanguard Sub MOA rifles in 300 Wby... It's basically the Accumark stock, except pillar bedded, with the Howa action and a 24 inch barrel...

Ken....

Our own, Norwegian Weatherby-forum:

http://weatherbyrifler.com/forum/index.php

The guy that runs it is very good, and knows a lot about Weatherby!

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As noted here and by other posters, an Accumark in 300 Wby is an excellent choice... The Accumarks are heavier so keep that in mind... Mine is a 338-378 Wby that I will be using for elk and hopefully in the near future some bear hunting with an old friend in Alaska... Nothing like 5000 lbs plus at the muzzle .. Yeah, it might be a bit much for elk at the ranges we hunt here in Arizona near the Grand Canyon but what the heck, it's alot of fun to shoot....

is it difficult to reload the .338-378?

and remember, overkill is a word invented by those who cant handle recoil.
i've hunted pidgeon-sized birds with a single shot 9.3x74R, and they died just as efficient as with my .222Rem

I haven't collected enough brass to begin reloading yet... I checked with a Weathery forum that I belong to and asked the same question... Basically, as I am gathering, it's no harder to reload then anything else... They are a pretty good sized cartridge so a press with good leverage helps but otherwise, it's another bottleneck cartridge... One thing to keep in mind with the 378 based cartridges is the price of brass or factory ammo... It's not cheap....

By the way, the Weatherby forum is http://www.weatherby.dk... It's a fairly new forum but has some good information on it...

Ken....

Fibermark would be my pick. Excellent handling and balance. I personally have had one. You get a lighter rifle because of the smaller action for the standard calibers. As to accuracy they are just like the rest of them. You either get a good one or you don't.

If I were to buy a Weatherby, I would probably go with a Vanguard Sporter (or Sub MOA) in .300 Wby. Save some money for a good scope.

thanks for all your advises, i have made my choice.
i has ordered a used Mark V in .300 Wby Mag(dont know which, but the salesman has given me a good description on the phone),it has a good stockfinish, good blueing, and was relatively new.

i just cant wait to unwrap it , and to see, touch and shoot it.
i think we will become good friends.

I'm not sure how "Ruger" got into this but I've owned three Mk5's, two Howas and three rugers. I still have the Weatherbys and one Howa and no Rugers. There is no comparison.My opinion is that Weatherby's are just better guns. As for rifle type and caliber I would also go with a Vanguard if you're sold on the 30-06 ( a great all around NA caliber) but if you decide on a magnum then I would either go with the 270Wby or 300wby in the MK 5 action. Pick whichever model fits you best. Of the models you listed I would choose the Fibermark.

Congratualtions on the new addition to the family Good to see that you got what you really wanted!

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Congratualtions on the new addition to the family Good to see that you got what you really wanted!

thank you, but now is the hardest part, i'll have to wait 5-10days on my new family member.

when i was searching for the Mark V, i found the christmas present i shall buy for myself

a Weatherby(of course) vanguard sub-moa matte in .257 to use on big varmints.