Der Jaeger,
I guess I never really took a position in my post above. I am in agreement with you on the reliability of the Weatherby rifles. They are right up there with my best Mauser actions.
And to be prefectly honest, I was never a fan of guns that demanded a substantial premium over similar less expensive shooters. The decision came hard for me to buy my first MKV. The second was a few weeks later. I will not discuss numbers beyond that, in case my wife is listening. LOL!
As far as the shine, I have some of the old Jap made MKV's and have noticed a bit of mottleing in the shiney finish. I checked out the problem and it seems to be the use of gun oil on the stocks. I was told to use some non-abrasive liquid car wax on them and sure enough, it brought the finish right back up to snuff. What beautiful wood they have!
Larry