What is the view/opinion of Weatherby rifle/calibres outside the US.

I have a fair idea of the US opinion and of course the Australian scene, but how are Weatherby rifles and calibres seen in other parts of the world.

Mike

It seems that most people either really love 'em, or just can't stand 'em.

I am not partial to the traditional weatherby stock designs, nor do I like the esthetics of the double radius shoulder. Otherwise, they're just like anything else to me.

Canuck

I don't know anyone that owns one. I like the looks of their wood stock models. They are very expensive in Canada. So expensive I don't think I would ever buy one. I would be just as happy with a Ruger or spend a bit more and have a rifle custom built. Not enough bang for the buck IMO.

You'll find the bulk of the people who P&M about Weatherbys,have never seen nor shot one.

I'd buy a Weatherby Mark V Sporter before I'd buy a Remington 700.

Brian.

I've got (2) of them, one a std Accumark and the other an Ultralight Accumark; I love the Ultralight in .270 Wby, the std. Accumark is a little heavy, but very accurate. I don't think I know enough about the details of guns and shooting to dislike them!!! Seriously!

Craig

I have owned two mark 5's ,a 257 and a 300wby.The 300 would not shoot better than 1-1/4" reguardless of the load.The 257 shot around 1".I sold both rifles and will not own another weatherby as I just don't feel they offer enough value for the money.On average my factory 700's shot better for much less money.I now own only custom rifles that cost a little more than the weatherbies but shoot much better and are finished much better as well.Weatherbies are actually pretty rare where I live because as someone said earlier they are very expensive in canada.

[ 04-01-2003, 08:17: Message edited by: stubblejumper ]

Gentlemen

I own a 300 wby and loves the cartridge. I think the Weaterby cartridges are more attractive than the rifles. All weatherby cartridges have long necks and that allows good bullet seating and often very accurate. I think the 270, 300 and 340 are the best cartridges from Weatherby.

Ohh, my rifle is a Ed Brown 702. I don't like the stock on the weatherby rifles.
/ JOHAN

I think I can tell you what the African PH's think of any Weatherby:

They would much rather you brought something else.

Weatherby cartridges haven't made much appearance in Finland, since we are mostly short-range shooters when hunting whitetails and moose. That is due to the thick vegetation and the method of driven-hunts that are very common.

Weatherby rifles aren't popular or common either. People seem to prefer mostly Sakos and Tikkas.

/

The love-hate relation with Weatherbys continues. In support of Terry's view, my PH John Sharp didn't exactly love them, but as long as you used premium bullets he liked the extra range of the 300 Weatherby. As to the Remington/Weatherby comparison, sorry but I have to laugh. Granted the Rems cost much less and if I accept the fact that Remingtons are more accurate ( which I don't for one minute accept that "accurate out of the box" myth created by Remington) accuracy is but one aspect of what makes a good HUNTING rifle. Sorry but between that hideous safety, brazed on bolt handle and declining quality Remingtons aren't even in the same league. jorge

ALF

I have owned over a dozen Wbys and have probably been directly involved with another 20 or so. I would put their overall quality at about the Sako level. The wood is usually much more attractive than Sako, at least the Sakos I have seen over the years in Australia. A let down on Wbys given the price is the alloy trigger guard assembly.

Wbys tend to be very reliable feeders and probably because they do it all with the magazine box. But they scratch up the case real bad as the botto row of lugs drags across the belt.

Although they don't hold as many shots, out of the box I would bet on the 378, 416 or 460 being a more reliable feeder than any staggered magazine feed.

One thing I have found with Wbys and I guess this would apply to other actions with the 60* bolt lift...they are at the best if 60* bolt lift actions are all you own. I woudl say if you are very use to handling Wbys then they are quitea bit quicker to work than 90* bolt lift actions. However if someone was unfamiliar with a Wby and unfamiliar with a 90* bolt action then that person would work the 90* bolt easier.

One big plus the Wby has (or minus depending on your point of view ) is the ease of changing calibres that are big changes in head size because only the magazine box is involved in the feeding. The rails only hold the front and rear receiver rings together.

Mike

[ 04-01-2003, 17:58: Message edited by: Mike375 ]

jorge

And in addition a high percenatge of Rem 700s and Model 70s turned out in recent times have the barrel so misaligned to the receiver that it won't be long before the barrels and actions resemble a T Piece

Mike

I've never experienced where a PH didn't like a wthby. Or at least a smart one would not say it to your face if your holding one. There is a general misconception around by PH's that the extra velocity of the wthby makes it more prone to deflection by brush. I just can't buy that the difference in velocity in a .300win and .300wthby is going to make one deflect leaps and bounds more then the other. I think quite a few of the misconceptions of the wthby being bad for Africa has been perpetuated by "The Perfect Shot". I got the high velocity speech once, but that was quickly put to rest when all animals, with the exception of a Zebra that went 100yds, dropped in their tracks.

I can't speak for all wthby's but I've owned 3 .300wthby's over the last 5 years, a Mark V synthetic stainless, Accumark and now an HS chambered for .300wthby. See any trend? I'll take the .300wthby over any other round to kill any animal in the world any day of the week.

I had a (made in Japan) MK V Europa in 7x64. From the start it failed to feed the second round and I had to have the magazine feed lips reshaped. Also it never shot better than 1.5 MOA, despite glass bedding and barrel floating in between. I then rebarrelled in .300 Win Mag with a Delcour match quality bbl. and it shot fine after that. I took it along after Red stag in the Scottish Highlands and it performed fine. Finally, having 3 .300 Win on hand, I sold the Weatherby. I won't buy another one.

BTW, I had the same experience with a Win 70 in .338 Win which didn't behave until it got a new Lothar Walther bbl.

I have never owned a Weatherby and quite frankly don't intend to either. I don't feel the need for the extra speed they offer, instead prefering to either go with a bigger "hole" up front or a heavier bullet or both if something with more clout is needed. If i wanted a "cheap" accurate reliable workhorse I would go with a CZ550 or Tikka...if i wanted something more "upmarket" (but probably no more functional!), I would try a Sauer 202 or similar.

And I really do hate those old Weatherby Hi gloss stocks...if the balistics don't make you flinch, they surely would!

Andre,

Weatherby guarantees it too shoot 1.5 inches. So if yours wouldn't do that why wouldn't you send it back? Just curious

In the part of Sweden there I live the 300WbyMag has a bad reputation for meat damage. But even the 7mmRemMag and 300WinMag has the reputation of being hard on the meat! I suppose the problem is that most mooses here are shoot at short ranges and the bullet speed is to fast then!

I think the 300Wby is the most popular of the Wby calibers in Sweden. The 257 and 270 calibers have never been popular in Sweden, they are to close to our good old 6.5x55.

So if I show up with a $20,000 double rifle or custom bolt gun,I'm ok....................but if I show up with a $1200 Weatherby,I have more money than brains?

That makes a lot of sense.

Brian.

Boman, few W'bys are sold here, so local representation is minimal. Warranty work means a send back to either Germany (?) or maybe the U.S. (lots of paperwork and delays). And BTW, 3/1.5 MOA is not enough for me as all my rifles (the ones I kept) are at least 5/1 MOA, caliber notwithstanding.

/

One of the things that has always puzzled me is how the 375 H&H with a 300 grain bullet at between 2450 and 2550 (most loads) is the bees knees but a 460 Wby with a 500 grain bullet at between 2450 and 2550 (most loads and higher SD) is a failure If one was to extend this logic back the other way then a 50 grain bullet at 2500 in the 22 Hornet should be the best of all

Sometimes I think the most common animal in Africa might be the sacred cow

Mike

Mike,

Perhaps it could be that most hunters can shoot a .375H&H in a reasonable fashion given a little coaching whilst very few could said to be proficient with the .460 Wby because of the recoil. Another factor could be that before premium grade bullets became widely available, the .460 Wby extra velocity might have caused somewhat mixed bullet performance?

Pete

Pete,

Yes, but the view is still held today and the velocity is listed as the culprit, not a lack of a shooting ability.

Another good one is that the 416 Rigby is a wonder calibre and the 416 Wby is way too fast. If these forums are at all representative then I would say about 99.99% of 416 Rigby/Wby shooters are using reloaded ammo.

One of my favourites is the 416 Rigby/Remington and the 375 RUM/H&H. The 416 Rigby is wonderful because it does the 2400 f/s with 400 grain bullets at much lower pressure. However, the realtionship between the Rigby/Remington is virtually identical to the relationship between the RUM/H&H, even including in both pairings the smaller case being belted. If we went one step further we could probably do 375 H&H ballistics in a 378 Wby while using black powder

Mike

A golf professional upon observing a man practicing at the range was questioned rather extensively by the man about the various types and styles of clubs on the market. The man went on and on quoting the idiosycracies of the various clubs while ocaaisonally hitting a practice ball. At the conclusion of his observations, he asked the Professional what his opinion was. The Professional answered, "It's not the clubs". I have seen guys with custom guns that couldn't close the deal at 50 yards, guys with battered 30.06 that were Hunters deadly to 400 and vice versa. I think it depends on what you have confidence in and shoot well. I do happen to own a Weatherby .300, with a fiberglass stock that I am approximately 38 for 39 with, having missed a javelina with a couple of years ago and yes I hunted in Africa with it,..nobody laughed.

This has nothing to do with Weatherbys, but it shows the mindset of some individuals. I have a friend that shot a Muley with a 300 Win Mag, using a 150 Gr.(not sure of wt.) Ballistic Tip. The bullet exploded on the skin, and the deer got away. This was after much expense and work to get the shot. Several people, myself included told him to use bullets designed for the job such as heavier bullets, Partitions, Swift, etc. He instead bought a 300 Rem Ultramag because the 300 Win was not powerful enough.

I think some of the Weatherby cartidges are great, however I'm not a big fan of the rifles. One thing that always strikes me is that if Weatherby rifles are so great how come few, if any, custom rifle builders use their actions? I've had excellent performance with stock (except for trigger work) Remingtons, Winchesters, and CZs. I don't have a problem with Weatherby rifles per se..I just don't feel that their price tags are justified. I'd rather buy a Remington or Winchester- shoot it, and if necessary have some custom work done that will still leave me at or below the price of a new Weatherby. As was said before- I think most folks either love or hate them (much like Corvettes)...I wouldn't put my self in either category. IMO whatever works for YOU is what you should hunt with- I won't tell you what woman to marry and I won't tell you what rifle to carry.

[ 04-04-2003, 21:05: Message edited by: Woodhits ]

I've had a hankering for a 300 Wby for a while now, just don't like any of the rifles that it comes in. Could a CZ 550 Medium Magnum be rebarrelled to 300Wby without much trouble?

Custom gunsmiths don't use Weatherby actions often because their customers don't ask for them.

Both Charlie Sisk and David Miller have made lots of rifles on the Mark V action,as has Kenney Jarrett.

As for all this "expensive" Weatherby talk-I can get a NIB Weatherby Mark V Sporter for $600-$700.Last time I checked,that's about going rate for a Remington 700 BDL or Winchester Model 70 Classic,and about $100 cheaper than a new Browning A-Bolt.

Brian.

Brian,

I have had no experience with either the Sporter or the Synthetic.

I wonder if the quality control on them is the same as Deluxe and Accumark? The reason I ask this is that I have had a lot do with the older Remington 78 Sportsman and Winchester Model 670. In the case of those two actions if you took the best 10 from a batch of a 100 and the best 10 from a batch of 100 Model 70s or Rem 700s, they would be the same. But if you took the worse 25 from a batch of 100, then the Remington 78 and M670 will not be as good.

I remember reading sometime ago (don't know if it is true?) that while the same company might make the hard disk for the brand name computer and the el cheapo, in the case of the el cheapo the "reject box" did not have as many hard disks.

Mike

Mike,
The Sporter and Synthetic are just the regular Mark V barreled action matte blued.The only thing different from a Mark V Deluxe is the blueing and stock.

Have spoken with several who own Sporters and Synthetics.All are tickled pink and are getting fantastic accuracy (sub-MOA),which I have come to expect from an out of the box Weatherby.

Of course,I happen to have wonderful luck with getting extremely accurate,out of the box rifles,so maybe I shouldn't talk for fear of offening some here who think you have to put 20 hours into a gun before it will shoot.

Brian.

[ 04-05-2003, 09:36: Message edited by: Brian M ]

/

The two most accurate rifles that I own are Weatherbys. A .300 and a .270. I own Remingtons and Winchesters also, plus one Savage. If I had to buy rifles in the future just based on which of my already owned rifles shot the best, all future purchases would be Weatherbys. My Weatherbys are not the fancy ones. They are both Mark V stainless, synthetics. They shoot great though. I do own a Remington 700 in .220 Swift that is a real tack driver also.

Like most rifles,Wby's have some good points and some bad ones.One of the things I don't care for is their flashy stocks so both of my Mk 5's have sythenic stocks .One is blued and one is stainless. The blued rifle is a 7mm Wby & the other is a 340. When you hang around the wet bush in northern Manitoba in late Sept & early Oct looking for moose there aren't many rifles better suited than that stainless 340! Both rifles will shoot 3 shot groups around an inch at 200 yds with handloads,not all rifles will do that. I disagree with one comment that they are VERY expensive in Canada.I picked up the 7mm for less than Win 70 or Rem 700 sell for. As for not working in cold weather?? I've hunted elk @ -40 with no problem. I guess if someone over oiled a bolt enough in cold weather you could likely make any rifle misfire.As for the wby calibres I have 4 other wby cals in rifles of non Wby make. Yes loaded ammo is a little expensive. If someone goes all the way to Africa and doesn't take any ammo I would say they deserve to pay the going rate. I wonder what a box of some of the 45 and 50 cal wildcat calibres would cost?? I handload all my ammunition and the Wby cals don't cost any more than Winchester's or Remingtons do.Matter of fact the only cases my 375 Wby have ever seen are 375 H&H. Wby's may not be for everyone but they are still dam fine rifles!

My dad owned a Fibermark .340 for several years then got drawn on to a great elk area in AZ and got a guide for the hunt. He tried for two weeks to get his Weatherby to shoot under 2 inches at 100yards. It wouldn't. In the end he borrowed a .300 Win and got his elk. His gunsmith later found out that the barrel and the action weren't true and there was slop.

After that he'll never own another Weatherby again.

Me, I just buy Winchesters and get the triggers fixed.

I TOOK my .340 Wby caribou hunting for the first time this past December. I was invited to join 6 Canadian hunters along with the US hunter who took me for the hunt.

When I arrived at camp, everyone said was way overgunned for caribou, which I agree if you are talking about what it takes to put down a caribou, BUT, with all the frozen lakes and long range I felt the Wby gave options most other rifles just don't.

I also shoot....alot, and I know that this gun and load will print subMOA groups at 1000yds.

Rifle is a MkV which I took out of the wood and put into a glass stock, custom bedded and tweaked with a McArthur brake and topped with a Shepherd 310P1 scope.The load is a Sierra 250gr Gameking loaded to match the Shepherd scope.

Last day of the hunt, I still had an open tag when I finally saw the 'bou I wanted. It was walking across a frozen lake, about 400 yds out in a string of 20 other animals. The wind was crossing at 20-30mph. I sat down, held onto the animal, which was still walking and pulled the trigger and it went down. My hunting partner got it all on video tape.

There just aren't lots of calibers out there where I would have felt comfortable making that kind of shot.

When back at camp, the other guys after seeing the tape and hearing about the shot, simply agreed that the good old .270, 30'06, or .308 just would not have been up to what the .340 could accomplish. Seemed to think quite highly of the gun/caliber after that.