Anyone out there experiencing accuracy problems with Weatherby rifles? I have a SBGM in .300 WBY Mag and I'm getting 6" groups from 100 yards with handloads. I can do that with my bow at 50 yards. I'm sending it back to their service center next week, but I'm not sure what they'll be able to do because I modified the stock to try and improve accuracy by free-floating the barrel - big no-no. Anyway, I'm a little frustrated after forking out that kind of $$ for a gun that shoots so badly. BTW, I can shoot very tight groups with my .270 so I don't think it's just me. That gun just seems to shoot all over the place.

Anyone else had similar experiences?

Jason

Nope, all wbys I have shoot fine, I have Jap MKV's, american MKV's, vangards they all shoot good. Some have barrell pressure some are floated. I'd check and make sure everything is tight, changes scopes, make sure the barrell is not copper fowled and shoot it again, but you may have done all that. Stick some business cards in the forearm and see if the groups change. I'd make sure I had my bases covered before I sent it back.

The guys that work at Carter Country in Houston Sell a ton of Wbys and say are accurate and have few problems.

[ 08-10-2003, 18:51: Message edited by: Gringo Cazador ]

My favorite rifle my 300 wtby that is over 20 years old and still shoots perfectly. Never made any changes to the factory stuff and would not trade it for anything.

Doug

Good luck-Once you modified the stock you probably threw away the accuracy guarantee.I owned two weatherby mark 5's and I was not happy with the accuracy but they did group within the 1-1/2" that weatherby guarantees.I just expected more considering the high price.6" is ridiculous.How did the gun do with factory loads?

A couple of weeks ago a guy I know That shoots large magnums alot from a bench was telling me about the problems he was haveing with a weatherby accumark 338-378. The rifle will put 2 shots close together and then the 3rd always a couple of inches away.He lets the barrel cool all the way between shots, he's cleaned between shots, he tried shooting a few fowling shots and then shooting groups and allways the same results.
He has tried every combination of components you could think of and still no good. He beded the action and floated the barrel and still the gun wont shoot. Thursday I was telling a gunsmith about this and he showed me a picture of one he rebarreld last mounth for the same reasons.
Good luck Jamie

At the price people are paying for weatherby rifles I am surprised that they are not sending them back to weatherby to sort out as part of the accuracy guarantee.Has anyone here tried to have weatherby fix the problem and what were the results?

[ 08-10-2003, 22:36: Message edited by: stubblejumper ]

Keep us posted on what you find out. I ruined a sako barrel by trying to keep it too clean. Just a thought.

I am with Stubble on this--

First off for the money-IMO they should shoot under 1" with no problem. The realty of it is that there are a ton of rifles out there that will kick the Wby rifles buns in terms of accuracy.

Take your typical off the shelf Savage, do a bit of trigger work, and Wby will spend about forever trying to get into the game with it!

I've worked with something like 6 of their rifles-two of the 6 would shoot under an inch after quite a bit of tuning and quite a bit of effort.

They would shoot to their 1.5" guarantee--I mean come on boys and girls there was probably a day that guaranteee meant something but it sure as heck doesn't do a thing for me......

Tikka guarantees 1", and at about half the cost or less than that.

I do like their (Wby) rounds and have several 700's and 70's chambered for their rounds without the free-bore. They are 300's and 340's and all will shoot under and inch without even trying.

If you like their round, then I'd advise you take a look at going with a 70 or a 700 action and wrap a African walnut (fiberglass) stock around it and put a good tube on it-have it cut without the freebore and let er rip!

One last thing I do not like about their rifles is the weight of their actions-54 oz. I want the weight in the tube not in the action.

Just my thoughts-have a superb week.

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

I have a Vanguard in 7mm rem, and when I first got it, it didn't shoot as well as I thought it should. By experimenting with hand loads I got it to consistently shoot .5 MOA. My pet load for it, is about 2gr over the max in the manual of RL22, and a 175 bullet. It seems the hotter and faster I loaded it the better it shot. Just what worked for me.

DGK

Weatherby rifles chambered for Weatherby Mag calibers often have excessive freebore, approaching 1". This is how they are able to achieve their velocity claims, but it quite frequently impacts the accuracy potential of the rifle. That much freebore also serves to magnify any action/barrel/stock/fit problems. I've seen alot of Weatherby rifles that were 3-4" guns, period. I've never seen a 6" gun before, though. I would change the bases, rings, and try a different scope. That's all I can imagine would cause performance that poor.

Wasn't your SBGM already floated? So, would it be like a double negative making a positive? If you free float a free floated barrel, does that make it not free floated anymore

I don't know but I don't think that the SBGM is free floated.. I don't understand why you would spend the money on the accuracy improvements without first sending it back to them?? I know that's what I'd do first. Also to the gentleman who said his friend had accuracy problems with his 338-378 and had it free floated..It is already free floated in an accumark. I'd like to know more details on this situation if possible. You wby bashers come out like clockwork.. I guess at least its something I can count on..

Check the scope and bases. If nothing changes, look for something touching the barrel, like a too long screw. All this done with no improvement, throw that barrel to the river!. Usually these things happen when a straightened one appears, that is a previously bent barrel which has been straightened. After some heating these tend to walk the following shots. It happens again and again.
Good luck

I had a ultra-lightweight in 280 that from the factory shot 4 inch groups. After the authorised WBY gunsmith worked on it ,it would shoot under an inch with some factory loads .It however ,would not shoot barnes x-bullets so I sold it . Free floating the barrel was a big NO-NO.You are probably stuck with it now.Good Luck.

AZOnecam,

You know you never did state how the rifle shot with Weatherby loads? Did you ever try their recommended loads? The ones they list in their warrantee information. Sounds like a lesson to be learned here. Before messing with a product that has a written warrantee you should have tried it their way. If the rifle shot to meet their specifications then maybe it was your loads and not the rifle. All my Weatherby’s shoot better than the 1.5” guarantee, most under 1”. Lawdog

I went through the same frustration last summer. Bought a wby257 UL..wanted the SBGM, but dealer said would have to wait a few months..so I got the UL..same money for both..so I know the feeling of paying a few extra dollars for nothing.
I tried a lot of different bullets, loads..etc. Found that the forearm was touching barrel in a couple places and sanded that loose. Still shot terrible..as a last resort I took scope off and lapped rings...that was the main problem..still not as accurate as my old Winchester model 70 270, but shoots under 1" @ 100yds.

BOUGHT A used Mark V in .340 and then put it in a glass stock and bedded properly, had it muzzle braked and and THEN took it out to wring it out.

Shoots 1/2-3/4" groups out of the glass stock. Don't know what it would have shot in the factory stock because I never tried it. Average 8-9" at 1000 if I have avoided the caffine.

Wby is capable of making some very accurate rifles. Did you check the bedding while doing everything else?
quick recoiling rifles must be bedded properly and things happen so fast you may not notice a little give if not fit correctly.

edited for accuracy because I was more tired then I thought when I posted.

[ 08-18-2003, 22:25: Message edited by: LAWCOP ]

Some really good input here. As for factory loads, I did not decide to spend $32+ per box just to see if they shot better. The load I'm using is the recommended load by Nosler, in terms of accuracy. While I'll be happy to admit that factory loads might be more accurate than handloads, my accuracy concerns are not of the nit-picky type. I'm not to the point of trying to get ultimate accuracy - I just want to shoot some sub-paper-plate at 200 yards to start out with.

I'm sure I caused some problems for myself by modifying the stock and will be stuck replacing the stock at a minimum. However, the accuracy was really bad to begin with, or I would never have resorted to pulling out the dremel sander. It could be my scope rings but I have removed and reinstalled them without any results. I'm using the heavy Leupold dual dove-tail mounts as recommended by Cabelas.

Anyway, I've been talking with Weatherby's customer service and they are sending me out a box that will accomodate the rifle with the scope on - which I thought was pretty nice of them. I'll let you know how things go. They've been very helpful so far, and I think I'll end up with some resolution.

I'll state for the record that I am a Weatherby nut and have a safe full of them. They will all shoot at least 1 MOA with at least one handload. I've never used factory loads, as most of them have been for non-Weatherby cartridges. You are paying for a well-built rifle, with a good stock, nice trigger, and certain features no one else has, especially in the lightweight models.

Having said that, I've had a few turkeys along the way. Last fall I bought an SBGM in .270 Winchester. It would not do better than 3 MOA with any load and fouled horribly. When I took it out of the box, the barrel was caked with fouling, both powder and copper, and looked like it had been shot at least 30 times. After removing it, I observed a 1/8" long gouge into the rifling just below the crown of the muzzle. The rifle should have never left the factory. Whoever was testing it probably shot the hell out of it while fiddling with the bedding, and finally got a 3-round group to make the accuracy standard, after inadvertantly filling that gouge up with fouling after 30 rounds.

At any rate, I sent the rifle back. They sent me an entire new rifle. This one shot 1/2 MOA. Unfortunately, it would not colimate with three different sets of Weatherby/Talley bases/rings. The top of the receiver flats must have been off. A Leupold base/ring set worked perfectly.

So go figure. At least they make good on any perceived flaws. Most of which are just that, perceptions.

A friend of mine bought a Mark V Sporter in .270 Wby. Wood stock. He said it shot like crap, about 2 MOA. Never tried a factory load. Sent it back to a Weatherby Service Center. They put a new stock on it and returned it with a test target of about 1-1/4 MOA. My friend shot it some more and couldn't get less than 2 MOA. He did horrible things to the barrel channel to try to get it to shoot - - shimming, routing, glass bedding, etc. It shoot worse. So I bought it from him for a song. Then I went a bought a Weatherby Fibermark stock for it. It shot 3/4 MOA all day long.

I think most of these perceived Weatherby problems are with the shooter. My .270 Winchester Stainless Synthetic shoots 1/4 MOA. My ULW .338-06 shoots 3/4 MOA. My Stainless Synthetic .338 Win Mag shoots 1 MOA. My SPM .223 Rem shoots 3/4 MOA. Etc, etc.

The lightweight and Ultralightweight models are difficult to shoot well - - more recoil, and less steady on the bench and in field positions. You need good technique and a firm hold on the weapon. They're hunting rifles, not target guns, and designed to shoot a magaazine full at most and then sit down with your kill. In that role, they are superb. Yet in some of my more impatient moments I've fired 20-30 rounds through a few of them in the space of 45 minutes or so, and POI doesn't change. I'm very satisfied.

Don't overlook the bases/rings as a weak link. I was shooting a Stainless Synthetic in .338 Win Mag and all of sudden the group opened up to 8". Now that's a clue. The front ring of the ultra-crap Leupold QR system came loose, and it raised the scope a good 1/16th of an inch.

[ 08-20-2003, 05:39: Message edited by: KuduKing ]

KuduKing: your "ultra-crap" comments on the Leupold rings gave me pause for concern. Can you expand on this please? The reason I ask, is that in the past, I've heard nothing but good things about the Leupold QD rings and I am planning to install a set on a 416 Rem Model 70. BTW, gents, just got back from the range and my 340 Accumark shot two 1" 3 shot groups exactly on top of eah other.... at 200 yards. I'm a happy camper and hopefully, a dead bear in about 3 weeks. jorge

I'm curious whether you rigidly adhered to the torque recommendations on the SBGM? The action screws on mine -- a .257 WBY Mag -- must be tightened to exactly the specs WBY gives or their accuracy guarantee is void.

Mine by the way shoots under MOA out of the box with factory ammo.

1B

Sounds to me like you did a lot of fiddlin without reading the correct music.Remember-when all else fails read the directions--or try it our way before you try it your way. Have a number of wby's. with no trouble in bettering the factory targets and warranty.

Best of luck, and i hope you find the grail.

Two canoes - you hit the nail on the head. When I started taking the stock down, I just kept thinking, "I probably shouldn't be doing this." Duh - not the smartest move. Oddly, I didn't recieve any instructions with my rifle, although it was new in the box, so the first I ever heard about the torque specs was when I called Weatherby's service center. We'll see how forgiving the good folks at Wby are for my indiscressions, and I promise NEVER to tinker under the hood again.

Jason

I shot a weatherby Ultralight in 280 rem this weekend. The reason for shooting it was to establish its potential for accuracy as the owner of the rifle was not able to shoot better than 4" groups at fifty yards with it.
I proceded to shoot several different flavors of factory ammunition as well as a few selected hand loads, the smallest groups I was able to obtain from this rifle at 100m were in the 4-6' range, really so large that I didn't bother to accurately measure them. This is a rifle that has not been touched as far as any alterations or removing the barreled action from the stock, it came off the store shelf last week, and most definetly does not meet the 1.5 moa standard.

VERY DISSAPOINTING

I had a Mark 5 in 22/250, years ago, and it was the sorriest 22/250 I had ever seen, it patterned, not grouped, with every thing I fed it.
Glassed it, Free floated it,sold it,nothing worked. That was my first and last Weatherby.
In the early Speer manuals, they have a section on advertised velocity versus actual and most of the Weatherby cartridges came up short, some by a lot.
I think the freebore is most of Weatherby's accuracy problem, a bullet can't jump an inch and be accurate, at least thats my thoughts on the subject.
That was a beautiful rifle, excellent bluing, better than average wood,and I tried every thing I knew, short of rebarraling and still had nothing.
And I know old Roy didn't become a wealthy man turning out junk, but this left a bad taste in my mouth.
Stepchild

Jason, I have seen problems in a couple of ULW standard caliber Weatherbys that shot just like yours did. I also attacked the problem like you did, on my gun, with a file! But that did not solve my problem either. That gun shoots right today, but it does have a new barrel in a properly bedded stock. I bought the rifle used and I knew how it shot before the trade, I thought I could get it to shoot but could not. In hind sight I wish I had taken it to a gunsmith and had it bedded properly to begin with, I believe that was the root of most of that guns problems. Since then my friends have had 3 different Weatherbys with similar problems glass bedded and all improved significantly at the range. By the way, those guns had been run through the factory gunsmith with no improvement. Good luck, Shayne

Weatherby now has the rifle and I'll be calling tomorrow to see if they've had any luck. I'll let you all know what I find out.

Weatherby is not known for using top quality barrels on their rifles. If you have eliminated bedding and scope/bases/rings as possible causes, I would next consider a barrel problem.

I had two ultra lights. One had been rechambered to 284 Winchester and shoots very good, under an inch. The other was a25-06 that would shoot in 1.5 inches, but that's not what I wanted, so it was sold. I found that I had to seat the bullets way out to get the 284 to shoot.

Bob257

500 grains.

I'm not saying you are wrong about Weatherby barrels in general because I have not had braod experience with Weatherbys.

But the SBGMs are made by a subsidary of Krieger, a custonm barrel maker that is near top-of-the- line. (Weatehrby's decision to link with Krieger might suggest that they recognize a weakness in past barrel offerings.)

My SBGM barrel has been the fastest in break-n time and the easiest to clean of all my factory rifles. and it shoots under MOA groups. In all areas, it compares favorably to the one Kreiger custonm barreled rifle I own.

1B

The barrels used by weatherby are criterion barrels which are made by a company owned by kreiger.They are not the top knotch cut rifled barrels kreiger is famous for.

Stepchild 2

My father bought me a Mk V Varmintmaster in 22/250 when I was still in high school. Man what a shooter, 3 shots in less than 1/2 inch. Never touched by a gunsmith except that I lightened the trigger myself. Mine was of Jap manugfacture but I understand that the later US ones were even better but maybe not so many are woood stocked these days. Mine has spectacular wood. Has not shifted point of impact in 25 years.

So its the usual story of factory rifles I think. Luck of the draw. But fundamentally nothing wrong with their action, barrels or bedding process.

These days though they are overpriced. Mine was purchased new but on a huge special at the gunshop. Cheaper than a Rem 700 at the time.

I've bought three duds in a row from weatherby so won't go back.

But catch this....what would you do if you sent a gun back and when you received it back it still shot pooly?...you send it back again and receive it back again and the groups have actually gotten worse.

You pick up the phone and ask what load they're testing it with and they can't tell you!!! You ask what their standard of accuracy is and you're now informed that that hi priced varmint gun you bought has a standard of accuracy of 1 1/2" at 50 yards. A VARMINT rifle!!!!.....called a Ruger #1

I have two .257 Wthby. Mags. (MK V's) both of these rifles shoot to the same POI with the same load. One of is SS and the other Blue. Both of these rifles shoot one raged hole with 5 to 10 rounds. I have B&L Elite scopes on these with Leupold rings and bases. I am handloading all of my rounds and have never used factory ammo. I cannot complain about either of these rifles.

I am shooting 100gr Nosler BT out of these rifles and using IMR 4831. I have tried Reloader 22 but I get the best accuracy out of the IMR.

[ 09-03-2003, 19:57: Message edited by: JLK ]

Well, no real surpizes. They put a different stock on it and shot a .75 and a 1.3 inch group with it. They're "suggesting" that I buy a new stock ($200 ouch). Its about all I can do I suppose. For what it's worth, I'll be selling the rifle when I get it back if anyone is interested. I think it's just more gun than I am comfortable shooting. At least it will have had its accuracy verified by the good folks in Atascadero. Pleny of reloading goodies as well.

Jason

I've never been a fan of the Westherby's until I traded into one a few years ago. Mine is a .280 Rem Ultra Lt Weight. One of THE most accurate out of the box rifles I have EVER owned, and I've had a lot of them.

I can get under an inch three shot groups at 200 yds with Federal Premium 150 NP's. Microscopically under; .990", .975" etc, but STILL; under an inch. I shot a few 3 1/2" groups at 400 yds as well. Again three shots but with a lt wt rifle 3 is all I generally shoot for groups. Good enough for big old elk lungs.

FN in MT

[ 09-08-2003, 20:46: Message edited by: Frank Nowakowski ]