257 weatherby mark V options

[Leaky Waders]

Any Mark V owners out there?

I'm definately getting a 257 weatherby chambered rifle within the next year - I already own 6 boxes of ammo and a set of relaoding dies...so i'm commited to shooting and reloading this particular caliber.

I know remington and howa have actions chambered in the 257 weatherby, but I prefer the mark v action for strength and short bolt throw.

So, now i just have to decide upon which oen to get. I was thinking the mark v deluxe.

So my questions are (for Mark V owners/previous owners):

1) Which version of the mark v do you prefer and why? Did you purchase one style and regret not getting another style?

2) Did you float your barrel or leave it stock? If you did float it, did you notice any difference in shooting?

3) This will be my first true 'magnum' rifle - many people infer that you can handload for mild rounds to near factory rounds. But I don't find any reloading info on reduced rounds - where would someone find info for that?

4) Are there any specific options that you wished your mark v had on it? Like iron sites or something? (Since my purchase is delayed until after a middle east tour I might be able to line something up through weatherby's custom site if needed.)

OK that's it for now.

LW

 

[LoonWulf]

I cant help with the rifle aspect as ive never owned a MkV. As for loading lite loads; what i do is take the fastest powder listed for the bullet you want to load, and load the minimum charge. Usually you are a few hundred fps off the top loads and 10-15 grains lighter on charge weight. Accuracy isn't usually as good as with a heavier charge, but a couple of rifles i own dont seem to care one way or the other. I have at times ended up using a non-magnum primer, as well as bringing the charge up a bit to get better accuracy.

 

[coug]

I have a mark v in the 240 its a tack drver no complaints on the rifle. I also have the 257 but its a custom remington . you can't go wrong with the mark v .

 

[coug]

I would stay away from reduced loads especially in a wetherby round and non magnum rifle primers as I don't ever load anything but compresed loads. there was a lot of actions blown up like that. I havee never had it hapen but Mr. Ackly adressed this with a long chapter in his book.

 

[Geno]

Regarding the Mark V action rifles, I have owned several of the Deluxe and Fibermark rifles, in .257 Wea Mag, .270 Wea Mag and .300 Wea Mag. The Fibermark is far and away the best of all worlds, and no, I did not free float the barrels.

Regarding downloading a .257 Wea Mag, I can only ask, "Are you nuts?!" What the Hades for?! If you want Weatherby Magnum performance, you will have to go for performance. The .257 Wea Mag recoil is like a .270 Win. If you can't tolerate the .257 Wea Mag, go with what you can.

Geno

 

[coug]

I agree with geno ifyou want a weatherby shoot a weatherby if not buy a 25-06. toying around down at the bottom end of a mag is more of a danger than the top end of the load.

 

[Leaky Waders]

"Toying around down at the bottom end of a mag is more of a danger than the top end of the load."

Why is that?

I was thinking that the 257 weatherby was kind of like a 45/70...large cavernous case that could be loaded in different 'tiers'...modest levels would indeed decrease recoil but more importantly it would decrease barrel heating resulting in extended shooting instead of waiting for barrel cooldown. So I was looking for load info on a bulky case filling powder that would do something like that.

Regardless I hadnt read about anybody free floating the barrel on one. I guess it is mainly shot as if hunting...three shots from a cold barrel.

I had read that the mark v was a very strong action and some people had done some pretty crazy things as regard to reloading for it.

 

[Geno]

If you go too low in power, it can actually blow-up instead of burn the powder.

Geno

 

[zeke]

Have a older synthetic stocked 257 wby. Free floated the barrel so could sight it in, without changing the POI after the barrel warmed up. It didn't take many shots to have the POI shifting significantly.

Should have shortened the stock and used setback rings to get scope better suited for lenght of arms and heavy hunting jacket. For larger type people, this shouldn't be a problem.

Great deer rifle from a stand.

 

[Otony]

"I know remington and howa have actions chambered in the 257 weatherby, but I prefer the mark v action for strength and short bolt throw"

I rather like the Mark V action myself, but your comment about short bolt throw is rather odd. How does a Mark V have a shorter throw than a 700 or a Howa? That just does not compute......

As to lower powered loads causing explosions, it can be true. Building lower pressure loads in large cases can be problematic.

 

[Leaky Waders]

Zeke did floating the barrel fix the shifting poi?

Otony, the model 700 and howa have a 90 degree bolt throw, the mark v is less than 60.

 

[Otony]

Ah, you are correct, in a way. When I read bolt throw I assumed (uh-oh) it was in regards to the length of the throw, not the shorter bolt lift.

 

[coug]

well I understand what you are saying, but you just don't go out and shoot a bunch of rounds out of one of these. if you want a good compresed load that is toned downyou will probly need to find a load with RL25 or retumbo . I would lean to retumbo, its a little smaller grain. you may need to ask in the reloadinsection . most manuals won't have either for that round . but it will work very well. especially if you get a 26 or even better a 28 inch barrel . you can have a lot of fun with your new project. hope you get it.. I shoot RL 22 in mine. but im trying to go fast as I can. 115 grn noslers @ 3600 fps that's why you shoot a weatherby . best of luck.

 

[Leaky Waders]

Thanks Coug, the speer #14 manual has retumbo (and RL22) data in it.

The factory boxes I have are 100 grain spitzers...they were on some promo for 32.99 at bass pro so I bought all they had on the shelf. I've been lurking at 257 weatherby for several years now actually, and seeing the loads less than the cost of brass made me commit.

Are the 100 grain spitzers suitable for hunting?

We looked the fibermark and accumark online and my wife likes the deluxe looks better.

Otony, sorry for my bolt throw confusion.

 

[coug]

yea, you got a deal on the brass. I have tried a couple of different bullets. they all have killed but at that speed they aren't staying together. I just bought some berger VLDs to try I haven't yet loaded I hope I get better penitration with these. I have yet to find one intact. you should be fine with white tail but I would go to a bigger bullet for anything else. I probly won't shoot it this year because I have a 6.5-06 AI that I just habit built to play with. make no mistake that 257 will eat powder but. you will love it.. im sure you will be happy with whatever model you choose. I realy doubt heating thaat thing up will be a problem you will buy powder by the 8 pound keg for if you shoot it that much. I have about 500 rounds left in my barrel, when its done im gonna turn it into a 6.5x300 wby cause I can use my brass. and the 6.5 just has better bullets. let us know what you get.. just yell if you would like any info.

 

[Geno]

Ed Weatherby, Sr. used the .257 Wea Mag to harvest many dangerous game animals, including cape buffalo. I used the 95 grain and 100 grain projectiles. The 100 grain will drop a whitetail deer at 525 yards with 1 shot...been there and done that one myself. That rifle was the Deluxe with a 26" barrel. I never experienced any shifting in zero. Weatherby seals the stock in epoxy...seriously rugged stuff.

Geno

 

[Leaky Waders]

How do you guys have yours scoped? Since it shoots so flat with a 300 yard zero can you just use a fixed 4x or 6x?

I joined the 'weatherby nation' website and lurked on their forums reading all I can about mark v and accumark and other offerings.

Our local firearms dealer has two 257 deluxes at their supplier, I'm literally out the door for deployment but my awesome wife is going to pick one up for me this week. It will be in the safe waiting for me to get back. At least she can email pics of the factory target.

Oh, there's a nice thread in the reloading forum on trailboss and decreased loads.

 

[Geno]

I had a Leupold Vari-X III, 3.5-10, with AO. It was mounted with Leupold dual-dovetail rings and bases.

Geno

 

[zeke]

Geno-yes free floating the barrel helped considerable. After 20 rounds the accuracy still degrades as very dirty barrel degrades it's accuracy.

Have an older version of a 4.5x14 leoupold varix-3. Never used over 4.5 power on deer, up to 250 yds away. The 14 power only gets used as a spotting scope.

 

[Leaky Waders]

Thanks for the replies, my new weatherby 257 deluxe is being shipped and should be in my safe this week. I'll get to fantasize about scopes and rings and bases until I get back.

I sincerely appreciate the feedback of real users. That makes this board pretty great imho. I'll get back yo ya'll about reloading data in the reloading section when the need arises.