So, I found myself wishing to try a Weatherby again…….

Most either love ‘‘em or REALLY despise them.

I’ve had a few in the past and sold just about as many as I’ve bought. The funky stock shape works very well for me albeit an inch shy of the pull length I’d prefer….

Anyhow, I jumped back into the cool aid and picked up a new MK V wood stocked .340.

The blueing is deep and beautiful high lustre. The stock is also high lustre. Not ideal for a hunting arm as I’d prefer a matte finish, but the mirror effect is great for when I want to admire my reflection whilst hanging around waiting for a head of game to shoot.

Now to the guts of the thing:

All parts are well fit. The old blocky triangle “Wedge” forearm has been significantly slimmed and now feels like a forearm vs the old 2x4 blocky feel. The safety operates smoothly and silently. The bolt is still a little stiff but I expect will smooth out with some use. Taking the stock off, to my surprise the action is aluminum pillar bedded and glassed. This is a really nice departure from Weatherby’s traditional glass bedding. Now on to the trigger: It is a Trigger Tech unit. The roller sear breaks like glass, albeit slightly heavy for my taste. No problem with that. A quick run across town and I had a Trigger Tech “ Special” unit that breaks down to a pound and a half - I prefer my triggers on the lighter side, even on my hunting rifles. The bore scope shows a chamber cut nice and clean with a lovely throat with no visible nasty machining marks. The rifling is clean as well with no discernible matching marks…. Weatherby supplied a screw on muzzle brake, and a cap to cover the threads on the end of the barrel. I’m thinking the brake might make a nice cigarette holder as a brake has no business being installed on a hunting rifle - thankfully it is a removable item.

I’m quite impressed with what Weatherby has done lately. Overall just small refinements, but are most welcome. The rifle hasn’t made it to the range yet as it is minus 6 degrees outside and as I age, I REALLY HATE the cold. I’ve mounted a 1x8 piece of glass on it and have put together some loads based on some old recipes I’ve had good accuracy success with in the past.

If this thing turns out to be a good shooter, I will likely hang on to it and “maybe” bring it overseas to do some post-Covid plains game hunting with it. If it turns out to disappoint, well, it will likely go on down the road with the others I’ve played with.

What is the consensus of the forum members? Do you like the Weatherby products or do you view them as toxic waste?