I read your post with great interest.. One of my better friends was a Weatherby dealer for 40+ years.. He would occasionally give one to me to test out, use or whatever.. Did a lot of testing when they first come out with the lightweight models.. Have to say at the time I was less than impressed with the rifle but always like some of their calibers.. My all time favorite was/is the .257..SO, I built 2 customs. One is with a titanium Rem action and lighter stock to use when I hunt in the badlands for mule deer...The other has a blueprinted stainless Rem action with a Hart barrel.. both are extremely accurate.. Used them lot on pronghorn and deer.. with an occasional elk thrown and a few coyotes over hunting season.. Always shot 100gr Barns triple shocks out of it.. near 3670 fps..

Two other favorites were the 300 and 340..I no longer own any of them but have the 300 and 338RUM's in their place.. which I feel are better cartridges..

I believe when Weatherby moved their factory out of that shithole called California and settled in Wyoming they knew they needed to build a better mousetrap. Necessity is the mother of invention.. Look at the quality of firearms in terms of accuracy and handiness one can buy in todays world for a third or half of what Weatherby was charging.. And their guarantee of 1 1/2" at 100 yards in today's world is getting beat by $400 rifles... The Ruger American being one of them.. None of the Weatherby's I had consistently made that guarantee btw..

Its refreshing to see they have apparently picked up quality of what they had.. and YES, very curious to see how the big 340 shoots...