Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Weatherby Ultralights, pressure bedded forend tips

disappointed with a Mark V ultralight in .300 Wby mag. The B&C stock has two pressure points at the tip of the forend, and is free floated otherwise. I have other rifles with pressure points that shoot fine, and I'm not opposed to them, but right now I'm thinking of getting rid of them.

Can anyone advise their experience?

Is the action properly bedded? If so, I would remove the pressure points and give it a go. It is pure luck for a manufacturer to get the two points "pointing" the same. If it needs pressure, I would do it with one "band" of pressure area, this after a lot of playing without and fully bedded. Of course, this also after the action is properly bedded. I have a couple of very lean barrels that shoot great untouched and a couple that do the same fully bedded (old Mauser's). Not much luck with tip of the forend contact for me.

I would send it back to Weatherby!

Not an Ultralight but my 300 Mark V shot much better bedded into a B&C Medalist with the points removed.


My Remington Ti 30/06 shoots great free floated also.

Thanks all!

I bought the rifle used, so nogo on returns.

Yes it has been bedded. The barrel was also rubbing slightly on one side of the barrel channel, which I fixed, but I left the pressure points there.

Think I'll float it, and if it does not shoot, then I'll go back with something softer for a pressure point, like rubber.

I have a 338-06 Weatherby Ultralight. When new it was a 2" MOA rifle, but was consistent and with lots of different loads. Not being satisfied with that I took the two pressure points out and bedded the action. It was now a 3" MOA rifle.

Of course that would not do so I put a new pressure point back into the stock. The new point of contact now made the rifle shoot around 1" to 1 1/4" with most any hunting load I use. I think the contact points that Weatherby installed at the factory appeared to be putting uneven pressure on the barrel. Whatever it was when I redid the pressure point it helped.

I my case the rifle liked the pressure point.

Thanks - what did you use for the pressure point?

I'm thinking a hard point, fiberglass molded is not helpful.

Epoxy works well.

Some folks will do the business card trick to find the best pressure, then install a pad of epoxy just ahead of the cards after they find the sweet spot(removing the cards once cured). Using release agent on the bbl of course.

It took me 3 Wby UL's in 280 to get one that shot good enough to suit me.

Hardly seen a 300 Wby that 84.5 gr's of 7828 & 180's wouldn't fix.

Send it back to weatherby FWIW, they back their rifles.

Tex,

I used "Acraglas" from Brownells to build the pressure point. After glass bedding the action you can insert a business card or some electrical tape under the action near the recoil lug so the action does not sit completely in place, allowing the barrel to be slightly elevated at the end of the barrel channel. Now apply some Acraglas in the location you want and clamp the barreled action in place (don't forget the release agent). Now on the ultralight with the fluted barrel you will have a ridge in your pressure point where the flute was. I grind this down smooth so it does not have contact with the bottom of the flute. This assured good even pressure on the barrel and I think the reason it shot better with my bedding than the factory did.

When a factory just installs a generic pressure pad molded into the stock and then puts a barreled action in it the action and barrel are not custom fitted and my opinion more than useless, it hurts accuracy. The procedure above assures even pressure.

Check the action screw torque. If they're like Remingtons, they are sensitive to the torque on the bolts that hold the metalwork into the stock. About 50 in/lbs is about right.

Biebs is on the nut here. Don't [bleep] with the pressure points until you torque the action screws correctly to what Wthby specifies. Call them and ask I think it's 45 Ft INCHES frt and 35 FT INCHES rear and in a specific order. A buddy of mine went thru this his MK V UL 280 sent it off for trigger work got it back and groups 2-3" the gunsmith wasn't aware of the correct torqueing sequence and ft INCHES of torque. Magnum Man

With some testing a suitable pressure point can be created. I doubt, however, that most factories would take the time and effort.

That being, I float everything (Weatherby's included) before it makes it out of the house.

Same here. Send it back. Unfortunately you bought the most problematic caliber in the Ultra light. Everyone I have ever seen has had problems. I think the 300 is too violent for the Ultra Light chassis. I have had a 257 and a couple of 270 Wby and all shot great!!


Here is my 270 Bee with 150 Nosler ABLR

I also bought a 378 BEE that the guy before me had free floated. This is what she shot like.







After using a neoprene washer where the pressure point use to be.

All of my rifles, except the Weatherby Ultralight, have free floated barrels. Well a JC Higgins model 50 I have not gotten to yet is still factory. Some started with pressure points but all shot better without them.

The Weatherby is just one of those rifles that likes the pressure point, at least mine does.

As others have said, make sure the screw torque is correct, bed the action, then play with a floated barrel or point pressure until you find what the rifle wants.

Could be a reason why the guy next to me asked, "what the hell are you shooting?"

I am liking that neoprene washer idea, something that absorbs vibration.

Tex: Listen to Fotis because he is spot on. A 5 3/4 pound rifle with a long pencil thin barrel is not compatible with 85 grains of IMR 7828. My denying this fact almost cost me a Dall sheep in the Brooks Range. I bought an UL in 300 WBY, shot a 3 shot 1/2 inch group off the bench and thought I had the perfect sheep rifle. I took a 250 yard shot at a ram from prone position off a pack pack rest and clean missed high although the shot felt really good. I finally connected on a running 175 yard shot. When I got back I worked with the rifle extensively and found that I would get groups under an inch but had unexplained fliers. The errant round was not consistent as to what order it was in the shot sequence. WBY returned the rifle the first time I sent it back and said nothing was wrong. When the random shots increased in frequency I again returned it and requested engineering inspect the rifle. I received a new rifle with a letter from engineering but he declined to tell me why the rifle was replaced. That rifle shot 1" groups with the same random fliers. I sold it and got a 300 win mag and a 300 WSM. They are 1/2 pound heavier and shoot 3/4 to 1" groups but they are consistent. With 180 grain bullets, the win mag is 50 fps slower than the 300 WBY and the 300 WSM is 100 fps slower.
I do not know if it is the 1/2 pound greater weight or the 20 grains less ejecta (powder) but to me it is a good trade off for a consistent rifle. I do know that the WBY had a tendency to rebound off the shoulder unless it was gripped very tightly, pulled back extra firmly into the pocket and had a perfect trigger squeeze. My opinion is the 300 WBY UL is like taking a dragster to the outback when what you need is a pick up. After changing pressure points, free floating, not free floating, etc., you are still going to end up with a temperamental rifle that is basically too much of a good thing.