Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Weatherby Mark V Lightweight

Desire to own a Weatherby that epitomizes the convergence of light weight, accuracy, and power. Cartridges under consideration are 257 Bee, 270 Bee, 6.5-300, and 7 Bee.

What would you choose? Thanks

Answer depends 100% on what your intended use is.

I have three of your four, I don't have the 6.5 because it's way too much case capacity for a 6.5 and suspect that it's a major barrel burner. I have had several 300s through the years,but the recoil is much worse than the 257,270,and 7mm.

I have killed the most game with the 270,it's very flat shooting and carries plenty of bullet weight for just about anything on this continent.

The 257 is a wonderful,light kicking,flat shooting laser beam for deer and antelope,and with the right bullets is plenty for elk.

The 7mm is the most versatile of the group,and it's has plenty of heavy bullet options in premium controlled expansion bullets as well as really high BC long range bullets.

If I am hunting deer on the edge of water,and I want him dead right there,257 weatherby is in a league of it's own with 100 grain bullets.
For deer and hogs,I use a 270 weatherby with 140 ballistic tips or accubonds.

Out west,I have mostly used the 7mm with high BC bullets in really open country. KIlled with it at 400 and 500 yards without issue.

i may not be a Gunwriter but my favorite cartridge is and always will be a 257 Weatherby Mag. with a 26 inch barrel atleast . i have been hunting and reloader for this cartridge for 20 some years , i have never been a person who likes to hunt with light rifles generally they never shoot as well for me, i am 6 ft. 2 in. 240 lbs. have always worked hard so carrying a rifle that weighs 9-10 lbs. has never been a problem for me. some will say speed is not a factor but i have seen some amazing kills using my 257 Weatherby mag. using my handloads with a 100 gr. Nosler partitions at 3800 fps on some very nice antelope, mule deer and whitetail bucks. i do believe you need a very good scope on whatever cartridge you decide and good luck with your choice,Pete53

In my personal experience, the .270 Wby and 7mm Wby are ballistic twins until you get up into bullets 160 gr and heavier. Same case, same power up to 150 gr bullets. .257 Bee is great for deer,etc. and elk and bear with good shot placement and sturdy bullets. The 6.5-300 is in a class of its own. I have a Vanguard in 6.5-300 and it scales 8.0 pounds with scope. I have a .300, 2 - 7mm Wbys, and a .30-06, all Mark V’s. The magnums scale 9.2 to 9.5 with scopes. The Mark V ULW weighs less and will punish you at the range in Magnum calibers. I think a 26” barrel is ideal for the 6.5-300 and .300 Weatherby. One of my 7’s is a 24” but not sure if they still offer that. Maybe in ULW.
If I could keep only one it would be the 7mm Weatherby although some places .270 Wby ammo is easier to find. I roll my own, so that doesn’t matter to me. Good luck finding 6.5-300 ammo. Happy Trails

Dogger,

The lightweight Mark Vs in .257, 6.5-300, .270 and 7mm Weatherby really aren't all that light, since they're built on the 9-lug action. Have owned two, in 6.5-300 and 7mm Wby., and with a typical 12-14 ounce 3-9x or 3-10x scope they went around eight pounds. The only truly lightweight Weatherby Mark Vs are on the smaller 6-lug action, which comes in .240 Wby. Magnum and 6.5 Wby. RPM. They will weigh around 6-1/2 pounds with the right scope. My wife used one in .240 for a number of years, and it was VERY accurate.

The 6.5-.300 (and 26 Nosler, which has just about exactly the same case capacity) don't fry barrels as fast as many shooters would guess. Usually they're good for at least 1000 rounds, and sometimes up to 1500, depending on how hot the barrel gets, and the powder used.

I dig the 270/7 Wby, especially since they’ve boosted the useful twist in them. Probably not ultralight by today’s standards but I’d suspect an 8lb rifle could get set up pretty easily.

Thank you very much for the cogent and informative replies... i made the mistake of surfing Gunbroker and seeing a Weatherby Mark V Altitude, 6.75lb for the nine lug action, chambered in 257 Bee... the hook was set... unfortunately it sold... But that got me to thinking about marrying up something i don't have - a tier 1 rifle (Weatherby), lighter than the usual 7.25 lb sporter, with a flat shooting fast stepping cartridge... that isn't a 30.

An old Army buddy has a 7 Bee and it is his only rifle and he swears by it... another shooter i met at the range has a 270 and swears by it.

I don't think the 240 Bee gets me more than 100 fps than my 6mm Remington... I don't have a quarter bore (never have)...

I am leaning towards the 257... in a 26" fluted barrel lightweight synthetic stock.... point and shoot with 100 grain factory ammo... deer and antelope... need to figure out the scope...

A 6.5 Wby. RPM would seem to be the perfect mountain walk around rifle, finally.

Never heard of the 6.5 Weatherby RPM until this thread... wow... but to not have the double radius!!

6.5 RPM is pure heresy. Old Roy would roll over in his grave! 🤣

The not so light 257 Lt. Wt. is still a very nice package especially for stand hunting long open senderos in South Texas. The six lug is what I would get if buying new and probably would still go 257 but the 6.5 RPM looks intriguing. I have not fired one but I think the 6.5-300 would be not so shooter friendly in the Lt. Wt. package. I would want a 26" barrel just for noise and muzzle blast reduction, it also gives at least the sensation of less recoil too.

Yep Roy would not approve of any Wby. without a belt or the double radius trade mark shoulder. I ate that stuff up about the stronger belted brass and the venturi effect of the double radius. I spent my pubescent years reading the Weeatherby annual catalogs.

The only Mark V we have is the DGR in .340. It's a good rifle albeit heavy

I have a 223, a 6mm, a 280, a 30, several 300s, and a 444...

A fast 257 fills a gap...

The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a fine round, and far more versatile than many hunters might believe. On a 2012 elk hunt here in my part of Montana, my hunting partner Tim Frampton took this bull with one 120-grain Nosler Partition factory load.

Hate to admit it, but I overlooked the 257Wby for far too long.

Just scared off by the barrel burner reputation, and not paying enough attention to it's attributes.

But since my time is shorter now, and considering I am only interested in "hunting rifles", I now have two in the safe.

Light recoil, and truly enjoyable to shoot. And there's darn few rounds that shoot flatter within normal hunting ranges for a point-and-shoot hunter.

As hunting rifles, at the rate they get shot my son can rebarrel them.

You guys have sold me on the 257...

Have one in 30/06.Love it...Used in Africa and Wy.Vert accurate..."You might need a break because of weight...

I doubt you'd want a brake with the 257Wby.

It's a soft shooter. You'll love it.

How about one of the new Mk V Backcountry models? If the advertised weight is correct on the 9 lug non-Ti model, it’ll be about half a pound lighter than the previous Ultra Lightweight models. Then there is the Ti, which is a true lightweight but spendy.

I went through all of this over and over again, and found that the newer WY manufactured models have a Triggertech trigger in them, which is a significant upgrade over the previous LXX trigger. The Backcountry models also have carbon fiber stocks made by AG Composites, though not classic Weatherby shapes compared with the B & C manufactured fiberglass stocks on the Ultra Lightweights. I believe the barrels being used in current WY produced rifles are somewhat better than the CA produced rifles (with the exception of the Krieger Custom model). It really comes down to what stock shape you want, what your budget is, and how light you want the rifle.


I was all set to buy when an opportunity to buy a NULA in 257 Bee showed up, and that’s the way I went. If I hadn’t gone that way, I would have probably bought the non-Ti Backcountry and given it a whirl sans muzzle brake. Second choice was the new Weathermark LT model, which is pretty much an Ultra Lightweight but with the upgraded trigger and better barrel of the WY produced rifles. The stock on that model is still the classic Weatherby shape made by B & C.

What I was told, and it seems to have rung true is that the 257 is never a bad choice. Now the decision is which bullet to use for what you intend to hunt?