Questions about Weatherby Mark V - I am 100% new to it

elker

elker

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I have read and been told my others that Mark V is a good action. A member (id Track) even claims that Mark V is the only true Weatherby. I am asking the following questions as I am going to order or buy one rifle for a newbie (notwithstanding his age) who has some money to spend. This person will hunt under my wings for long time, so I plan to choose a gun which I like. No 30-06 in Sako. I have helped WSS and Cabelas selling too many of this model to my friends. Not any more.

(1) Is Mark V a control round feed? It was designed based on M98, rights? But as I looked at the photos of Mark V, it appears to be a push feed. I will ignore any push feed, but I am not that stubborn.

(2) What caliber in Weatherby Mark V is best suited for a person who do not feel much recoil in 9.3x62?

(3) Which dealer would you recommend. I have found Irunguns has some models. But I would choose our forum sponsors if they have them.

Thank for helping my friend with his first purchase. I will be the major user of it, which I am pretty sure. :d
 
1) push feed, not 98 based
2) my personal choice of mark v's are based on the 6 lug non-magnum action. Offered in multiple rounds from 25-06 - 338-06
3) my first stop would be prophet river.

Many people don't like the mark v because of the 9 lugs, contact can be hit or miss and they don't have as good a accuracy guarantee as the vanguard which is a fraction of the price. They are expensive in my opinion for what you get, which is why I personally would only buy one used. That said of the 3 I have had (2 were 6 lug actions) all shot well and two were extremely accurate. I really like the action, and it's features including the 54 degree bolt lift, and the way the stock design fits me (as ugly as they are).
 
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270 and 7mm Weatherby are pretty nice cartridges if you can find ammo.
257 has a terrifically flat trajectory ,but its not my idea of the perfect moose gun.
Trade Ex has some glass stocked MkV's but I think they are in bigger cals.
 
Fantastic rifles. The stock design (and overall weight) mitigates a lot of the recoil of the bigger calibers. That being said - what are you hunting? Going heavy on a caliber isn't fun if you want to do some range work. Heavier recoil means less practice in the long run. As noted above, the .270 and 7mm Wby mags are fantastic. If I were to only have one, I'd go with the .270 Wby. And yes, I have one. Pick the right bullet and you can take almost anything hunted in Canada, plus you can get some decent range time in without needing a new shoulder. If there are a lot of moose etc in the future, then bump up to the 300.

Lots of dealers carry them, including the big ones you mentioned, but I'd suggest Prophet River as well. They can get you what you want, while many others won't special order.

As for accuracy guarantees, I've found they can be as accurate as anything else I've owned, given the right load and the shooter doing his part. And seriously, unless you're shooting squirrels (which you probably aren't with a Mk V), even 2 inch groups at 100 yds is fine for most hunting. And I'm sure your rifle will beat that easy.
 
I have owned both Vanguards, and Mark Vs , and I much prefer the Vanguards. The Vanguards have produced superior accuracy for me, at less than half the price.

So how did you decide on a Mark V, if you obviously know so little about them?
 
I have a 300 Weatherby in Lazermark. It shoots .75MOA at 100 meters consistently with 190 gr burgers and RE22 powder with CCI 250 large rifle primers, powder charge escapes me at the moment. It is not a Mauser action which I feel is irrelevant as I have both and have not figured out yet which is better or worse. I kind of like the throw the round in the breach and push the bolt home without having to feed the round into the mag first as U would have to do with a Mauser action. I am not hunting rhino, hippo or elephant hanging upside down in a tree so feed method is not an issue with me and I could care less. Many of us get so tied up in the tech aspects of a rifle we forget that the hunten and the shooten is the important thing and not how the weapon functions just so long as it goes bang. As far as getting technical with lug bearing and such that is a total non issue as far as I am concerned. The rifles action is very very strong and even if it were bearing on just two lugs it would hold. I have never ever heard of a bolt blowing back into someones face while shooting a Roy any Roy.
 
Beautiful action, in either 6 or 9 lug. As stated, incredibly strong. Second only to an FN Commercial 98 action in my favorite list.

Their stock design also feels good to me, never an issue getting your teeth rattled. It just works.

However long throats and the funny looking double radius brass with WBY cartridges turns me off a little.
 
I love my MK V, it's a .460 Wby mag, a little on the heavy side, but with the ported barrel and good peeps it shoots better than I do.
 
The MK-Vs are a departure from what was at the time typical bolt action design, the multiple lugs allow a strong locking system that does not exceed the diameter of the bolt, which is a neat idea. Almost out of the gate, the criticism was that it was very difficult to get equal bearing on each lug, and even good quality two lug factory bolts commonly have more contact on one lug than the other, so 9 lugs or even 6 is seen as a disadvantage by some. But modern CNC machining has for the most part silenced this complaint, but the complaint that the MK-V lacks the camming power of a 2 lug bolt continues. There have been stories of MK-V rifles locking up solid while on African Safaris, but I suspect that has more to do with the ammunition the rifle was fed under exceedingly hot conditions, than with any design flaw that can be related to the action. Anytime one of my 2 lug rifles has locked up like that, it has been due to the ammunition I've fed it. Another complaint is more general in nature and relates to the stylishly swept back bolt handle. It is possible, if your shooting hand is the right size, that the bolt handle might bump your hand when the rifle is in recoil, and if that rifle has enthusiastic recoil, it could be painful.

The MK-V action tends to be very smooth, and the bolt lift from un-cocked is generally lighter than it is with typical 2 lug bolts, this means that cycling the rifle at the shoulder takes less effort. The Weatherby Dangerous Game Rifle, due to it's smooth action and straight line feeding from a single stack magazine, is perhaps the slickest feeding, mass produced rifle the world has ever seen. The primary disadvantage of the DGR is it's limited magazine capacity compared to rifles with staggered, drop belly magazines.

The accuracy complaints towards the MK-V have more to do with the light barrel contour than to a problem that can be related to the action. Consider a MK-V chambered in .300 Weatherby with a #2 contour barrel; why would you assume it would shoot 5 round groups as well as a rifle with a heavy sporter barrel? Weatherby addressed the complaints surrounding the companies 1.5 MOA accuracy guarantee by bringing out their Range Certified Rifles, which guarantee 1 MOA or better. The MK-V rifle is a hunting rifle, not a target rifle, thus it was designed to be easily carried under difficult conditions, like mountain hunting. If the first 2 rounds hit point of aim, at an unknown range, the rifle has then filled the needs of the big game hunter. Accuracy guarantees have more to do with marketing than with shooting.

Now don't take any of this to mean that I'm a MK-V enthusiast. I'm not, but neither am I blind to the MK-V's benefits.
 
Years ago I worked on a Mk.V that had been brought to Baffin Island for a polar bear hunt. It was brought to me because it was seized up solid, could not be opened. Turns out the hunter had thoroughly degreased it prior to arriving in the Arctic. Once lubed, it was OK. Quite a complicated action design.

The Vanguards are a Weatherby branded Howa. Howas have also been marketed under Mossberg, S&W brands as well as Howa. Good rifles, sort of Sako based.
 
Don't overlook the Vanguard S2. The savings can lend to buying better glass or an aftermarket stock (I have a Boyd's Classic on my S1). You didn't say what he will be hunting, so presuming elk, .270 Win, .30-06, or 7mm Mag, .300 Win Mag for long action / 7mm-08, .308 Win for short action. I'm not sure if they come chambered for the WSM cartridges. You can buy them at Canadian Tire. The guaranteed MOA version comes with a Bell and Carlson stock and costs approx $300 more. Keep us posted :)
 
Thanks, guys. I really appreciate your input. There are a few mark v at Elwood in 308, which is easy with ammo availability. No reloading needed. However, my heart is for 257 weatherby. If I can persuade him for this caliber, I have to load every cartridge for him.
My second question is where to buy reloading components or ammo? It will be exciting to shoot a unique cartridge while those funds play with 30-06
 
Get the new Mark V if you can. They are all have the new LXX trigger and are all guaranteed Sub MOA. I would go .270 Win or 30-06 myself but to each their own. Being in Vancouver, Reliable or WSS is your best bet for reloading supplies.
 
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