Weatherby Mark V question

[Bas]

Bought a Japanese era 300 Weatherby in the Mark V flavor. Have never fired the gun. Recently got a borescope and decided it needs a barrel replacement. Since the gun will eventually be sold I realize there is a great many calibers to chose from and would like readers to help me pick which one they would do if they were faced with the same situation. Any H&H bolt would work including the 470 Capstick . Suggestions please ?

 

[meigsbucks]

IMO, since it will be resold, just rebarrel to the .300 Wby. If you want to hunt DG with it before you sell it, the .416 Rem mag would be my choice.
The reason for those choices is that they are fairly popular rounds. The .470 Capstick is a nich round and would have a more limited set of potential purchasers.

 

[colorado]

Why rebarrel it if you're going to sell it? I bought a very used Japanese Mark V in 270 Weatherby several years ago. I used WipeOut to get the copper fouling out. It shoots .5 MOA out to 800 yards now. BTW I bought mine for $800.

 

[Bas]

IMO, since it will be resold, just rebarrel to the .300 Wby. If you want to hunt DG with it before you sell it, the .416 Rem mag would be my choice.
The reason for those choices is that they are fairly popular rounds. The .470 Capstick is a nich round and would have a more limited set of potential purchasers.

I agree. But 470 Capstick is usually a very expensive rifle . The barrel for one costs the same as a 300 Weatherby. I know the platform isn't favored for dangerous game but if someone thinks they would like to try one, this one could be had for probably around $1800.

Why rebarrel it if you're going to sell it? I bought a very used Japanese Mark V in 270 Weatherby several years ago. I used WipeOut to get the copper fouling out. It shoots .5 MOA out to 800 yards now. BTW I bought mine for $800.

I should probably shoot it to see how it behaves but the pitting I saw would make my conscious feel guilty . The barrel is 26" and is Magnaported and initially I thought it was a great find. It had a rough stock but I have done enough work on it to make it presentable. Bluing was not in great condition but I will finish it with Gunkote when the time comes. Have a couple other guns to sell besides this one then my safe will be pretty much depleted. Doing it so the wife won't have to when I'm gone. Nobody in the family will want them, so the sales will go on.

 

[RR 314]

I don’t think you would ever get your money back out of it by rebarreling it. When you are said and done with it, you have a push feed, large magnum rifle that is entirely too light for what it is. Shoot it, see how it does, and provide the targets to any potential buyer. Disclose what you found, or let them look through the borescope, but it may shoot just fine.

 

[PARA45]

Why do you believe it needs a new barrel? The problem with Weatherby cartridges is that shooters do not clean them properly. What you saw could be bad fouling, and. Most of them are not shot a lot due to recoil and cost of Weatherby ammo. What caliber is it??

 

[dgr416]

I have a mark v 6 lug that was a 257 Weatherby that was remarried into my favorite 416 rem mag .The guy put a Douglas barrel and a McMillian stock on it .I sm about to but either a muzzkebreak or see if I can get a ec tuner made for it .The only thing I don't like on Weatherby v is the safety. I LIKE TO be able to take a round out of the chamber with the safety on .I used two Weatherby accumarks in Alaska 12 year through some of the toughest conditions on earth snd they came out shinning .
A friend has a $5000 custom 470 chapstick in a model 70 Winchester. IT busted 3 stocks and had broken every scope put on it so far .I fired it twice and rhats the worse kicking gun I ever shot .The 416 rem mag was my tent gun in Alaska and going after bear gun .Its the most versatile big bore you will ever find .I would put a faster twist barrel for the new vld long range brakes and get a barrel tuner for it .

 

[Bas]

Why do you believe it needs a new barrel? The problem with Weatherby cartridges is that shooters do not clean them properly. What you saw could be bad fouling, and. Most of them are not shot a lot due to recoil and cost of Weatherby ammo. What caliber is it??

Hi para45,
Been a few years since we communicated, always enjoyed your posts. It's in 300 but I could have have it rebarreled to any H&H caliber up to 470 Capstick. Using a borescope and seeing the pitting is what caused me to consider a new barrel.

 

[Bas]

I don’t think you would ever get your money back out of it by rebarreling it. When you are said and done with it, you have a push feed, large magnum rifle that is entirely too light for what it is. Shoot it, see how it does, and provide the targets to any potential buyer. Disclose what you found, or let them look through the borescope, but it may shoot just fine.

If getting a new barrel, one could get a heavier contour than normal.

 

[Bas]

I have a mark v 6 lug that was a 257 Weatherby that was remarried into my favorite 416 rem mag .The guy put a Douglas barrel and a McMillian stock on it .I sm about to but either a muzzkebreak or see if I can get a ec tuner made for it .The only thing I don't like on Weatherby v is the safety. I LIKE TO be able to take a round out of the chamber with the safety on .I used two Weatherby accumarks in Alaska 12 year through some of the toughest conditions on earth snd they came out shinning .
A friend has a $5000 custom 470 chapstick in a model 70 Winchester. IT busted 3 stocks and had broken every scope put on it so far .I fired it twice and rhats the worse kicking gun I ever shot .The 416 rem mag was my tent gun in Alaska and going after bear gun .Its the most versatile big bore you will ever find .I would put a faster twist barrel for the new vld long range brakes and get a barrel tuner for it .

Not sure what the tuner is that you mentioned. Did your friend have 2 recoil lugs on his barrel ? Are you the gentleman who told me he hunted in Alaska with a 338 378 rifle before Weatherby started making them ? Lots of people on this site abhore muzzlebrakes . Aside from bystanders feeling shock waves assocciated with brakes, hearing protection is always necessary and if not used, then that's on them. Don't know about the scope damage on your friends gun but there should always be all-thread glass bedded in 3-4 spots across the stock inletting. Had a 460 strip the threads on the receiver and after changing to #8-40 threads all was well. I learned over the years to always lap your scope rings, clean all the oil off all the threads when mounting a scope, use blue Loctite, and observe all torque values when tightening things down. Weatherby claims 35 inch lbs. for wood stocks receiver bolts.

 

[BourbonTrail]

If re-barrel is in order, my list for a Mark V would be:

- 340 Weatherby (basically within 100fps of a Lapua)
-375 Weatherby (Improved H&H that can shoot H&H ammo in a pinch)
- 416 Rem (doable but a little weird for a Mark V)
- 458 Lott (if you want a true hammer without going niche)

 

[PARA45]

Hi para45,
Been a few years since we communicated, always enjoyed your posts. It's in 300 but I could have have it rebarreled to any H&H caliber up to 470 Capstick. Using a borescope and seeing the pitting is what caused me to consider a new barrel.

Good day sir. Yes, it has been a while. Hope you are well.

I would shoot the rifle and see if accuracy has been affected. I doubt that rifle was shot too much, and if accuracy is fine, I'd leave it like that. Unless you do want to change calibers. If it was my rifle and I had no choice but to re-barrel, I would go with a 375 Weatherby, for the same reasons @BourbonTrail stated. Good luck!

How about posting a picture of this rifle. Japanese Mark Vs have deep bluing, and usually the wood stocks are beautiful, I have a couple and they are beautiful rifles.

 

[colorado]

I have a Rem XCR II (weighs 7.5 lbs with a Leupold 2-7x firedot scope) I had rechambered from 375 H&H to 375 Weatherby. It came new from the factory with a rough chamber and other QC issues. It's a wonderful rifle now, Kevin Weaver did a great job on it. Shoots 300g A-Frames at 2750 fps and recoil is not bad at all. Gets rid of the need for those pesky 338 Magnums .... lol