Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Weatherby Ultralight shooters.

Hello,

I've been considering a Weatherby Ultralight in 300 WBY Mag. I have read one favorable review and thats all that I have found on the net. There seems to be a lot of Tikka and Sako fans out there but does anyone shoot the Weatherby. Also Weatherby guarantees 1 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds?? Is that all the better you can expect a 1800 dollar rifle to shoot, or is this a conservative understatement of the rifles accuracy. Thanks

I'm a big fan of the ultra lightweight. Had one in .270, and my buddy has one in .280 and 338-06. The 338-06 with 210 NP's we can shoot clover leaves all day long. All I had to do with his rifles was adjust the trigger and cook up some loads. Have not shot the 280 yet but will soon. with the Medalist stock and Kreiger barrel I feel it's a great set up. It's what I consider semi-custom. If you can afford it, you won't be disappointed IMHO.

I am interested in this as well. All of my Weatherbys have been shooters, so I was shocked to read so many negatives about these guns. However I do think some of them are just from the "I hate Weatherby" group. I do understand when you are running a thin barreled gun one should not expect to get 5 shot groups measuring .5 moa.

Unless you get the Accubrake installed she's gonna kick like a mule. Other than they are OK. I have a Super Predator Master in 22-250 that shoots MOA but that's it. You need to let the barrel cool between shots to get any decent groups. If you don't reload you better check out the prices of 300 Weatherby ammo too.

Thanks for the replys. It only stands to reason that the ultra thin barrel wouldn't shoot 5 shot groups. The one review that I found said that it was good for a three shot group. Makes sense, and that really should be adequate as I do not intend to punch paper or shoot pasture pups. I have come to the understanding that shooting this rifle is likely to be an emotional experience. Light weight and sharp heavy recoil usually don't add up to make for a pleasureable shooting experience. But recoil (within limits) doesn't bother me as much as muzzle blast. I (for some reason) bought a model 70 with a boss barrel about 10 years ago. I couldn't stand to shoot it. Even with ear muffs, you could feel the blast on your face and it wasn't pleasureable to shoot. Took one deer with it and my ears rang for about a week! Not cool. Of course I could have got the solid tip to screw on and replace it but I replaced the rifle with a pre '64 30-06. So my experience with muzzle breaks is that, and my stance is not favorable. Even though that boss barrel cut down recoil tremendously. My shoulder takes abuse better than my hearing. I currently own an '06 and a 375 H&H. Both pre '64 and would really like to split the difference with an all weather packable rifle. Looks like this could be a good pick.

You should get two weatherby's if you go this direction. One a Mark V deluxe for the bench and practice and then the light thing for the mountains.

I own several weatherbys but no ultralights.They do shoot well and if you space the shots they will produce fairly tight groups.

300 Roy ammo is actually as expensive as anything else now. In fact it is cheaper than 300 WIN at the local fallapart(walmart). Premium ammunition is more expensive but the Roy is one caliber that goes where it needs to go in a hurry.

Sincerely,
Thomas

I have owned a .280 Rem Weatherby UL for many years I have no
regrets it will put about 4 shots of Federal 140 AB'S into a
inch inch 1/4 before starting spread some and then not badly.
Recoil is not a issue the one inch pachmeyer decelerator does
its job splendidly. I bought mine new when first introduced
for $1250.00 they have gone up quite a bit mine was the gray
with black spider webbing. The barrel is stainless with flutes
blackened.The new ones have a tan stock with black webbing.
And the whole barrel is blackened. I will never part ways with
this gun I have taken some very nice bucks with it.

I've had a bunch of Weatherby's, some of them UL's and I never could get any of the UL's to shoot for chit. I'm not a Weatherby hater like someone posted earlier, I love Weatherby rifles, nothing shoulders better to Me than a Weatherby. I still own a few that are "decent" not great shooters, but after many very expensive tries I never did get hold of an Ultra Light that would shoot MOA, but I'm not a reloader any more and I'm sure that might have made some difference, In My opinion though you should expect better accuracy than I experienced out of a $1500.00 rifle.........Good luck.......547.

I have two Weatherby ULs, a 7mm-08 & a .270 Win. I haven't shot the 7mm-08 much, but it seems to shoot about 1" or a little better with the one or two loads I have tried. The .270 shoots about a 1/2" to 3/4" with about everything. In fact, the first time I took the rifle out it shot about a MOA 9 shot group with three different bullets/loads.

I think the widely varying views of how the ULs shoot has to do more with how you hold them then anything. Mine shoot about 5" groups if I let the stock bounce on the front sand bag. If I firmly hold the gun & forearm (much like I were shooting off hand), groups automatically shrink to 1/2" to 1".

I think DesertMuleDeer has hit the nail on the head. UL rifles are definately not as easy to shoot as some of their heavier cousins....I find I have to really concentrate on holding steady and take my time over the bench whilst doing load development.

I have had several ULs and currently have a 270 win mag in one. It shoots .5" to 3/4" groups with most anything I feed through it. I normally load develop using 3 shot groups as the skinny barrel heats up reasonable well after 3 - but the upside is that it cools down pretty quickly too.

A mate of mine has had a couple of 300Wby U/Ls and both of them have shot 3 shot groups well under 1".

IMO they are well worth the money if one wants a lightweight mountain rig,

I do have both the Weatherby Ultralite (SPM) in 22-250 and a Tikka T3 in 338 WM. I bought the Weatherby before the Tikka because I always wanted to try one. I do like the Weatherby but I like the Tikka T3 even more. Would I buy another Weatherby? No. Would I buy another Tikka T3? Definitely. The Weatherby is a nice gun but will not shoot as good as the Tikka T3 will.

I like Weatherbys . I have a 270 wby mag in a Ruger No. 1 and a 257 wby Mark V . Knowing I like 'em , a friend from Arkansas sent me his Wby UL in 257 wby to mess with a couple years ago . He couldn't get it to shoot. Neither could his buddies .

I wasted way too much time and ammo figuring out that the new Zeiss Conquest scope was no good . Zeiss replaced it promptly.

He is not a handloader , so I was limited to factory loads . I had the stock bedded before I discovered the scope problem , so I don't know if it was necessary . The rifle would not shoot with my 257 but it shot good enough .As I recall it would keep the first three in an inch and a quarter or so .

More importantly[ at least to me ] it shot to the same point when the barrel was cool and fouled and shot the Barnes and the lead factory ammo equally well .

I would not hesitate before choosing a Wby . I know from another friend's recent experience with them that they will make sure you wind up with a shooter even if it means giving you another rifle !

Why not a 270 mag instead of the 300 ? I've had a 300 Ultra Mag and I use my 270 wby for anything I used it for and don't feel handicapped . Just curious .

For what it's worth I have a .300 Weatherby UL that took a bit to get to shot "acceptable" groups but the load that worked for me was Reloader 22 (max charge according to Alliant) and 180 grain accubonds.....3 shots in .75-1". Does kick pretty good - but hoping that I only have to shoot it once (at each animal)

PennDog

I didn't really like the magnum sized action paired with such a thin barrel in the ultralight. Still felt heavy to me, but is probably not a bad thing with such a caliber.

Now the six lug standard action for a 30-06 sized case is a very good pairing. Comfortable to carry without excessive recoil.

My main buck huntin rifle is a 257 ULW, bought it the second year they came out, shoots under MOA with ALL factory ammo with the exception of the 117 RN and the 87 grainers. I have never fired nither. Picked up a "old style" ULW in 300 Roy 2 weeks ago from Cabelas gun library, stripped the rings and bases off, through talleys on her, put the VXII 4X12 that came with it, and did some shootin last night. Factory 180 Hornadys averaged 3300, a little over the 3240 advertised, which was a bonus. Groups were 3/4''. Bought it for bulls and bears, should be a goodun. Also have a "old style" 240 ULW I'll be picking up at the end of the month. Love em....

I own one Wby Mark V that is currently being rebarreled to 7 Dakota. I owned and sold a Wby UL in 280 Rem.

Nothing is worse than to lay out big money for a rifle that decides not to be a shooter. I have been to the range and spent days trying to work up a load for a rifle that was no where near as accurate as a box-stock Rem 700 with factory ammo.

Wby's are great guns.....if, you get one that shoots. My Mark V was accurate as long as I kept the velocities well below Wby ballistics. I didn't buy a Wby to settle for mediocre velocity from it. I love my Mark V and will never part with it.

On the flipside, I won a Remington Mountain Rifle in 280 Remington. It weighs 7.2 lbs loaded and it will put factory 150 gr CoreLokts into 2 holes with 10 shots. It didn't cost me $1200 + either.

Fact is, if you buy a Wby, you might get a shooter and you might not.