smith and weatherby ??

[k.craig]

hey just to give everybody a break from answering questions about s&w, i thought i'd throw this out there;
i just bought (site unseen) a weatherby mark v deluxe.
from the website it tells me the serial# is H79956 which means it was made by hoya between 1974-1981.
i also only know it is a 300 mag (win or wthby) ??
this was really a spontanious decision which is never good, but oh well what is done is done.
i paid $900. It is graded at 90%.
never owned a weatherby before, always wanted one.
any info and opinions you have is appreciated, even if it hurts my feelings! lol

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

In that time frame, 300 Win Mag was not an option on the Mark V, so you are the proud owner of an American Classic (although made in Japan) in 300 Weatherby. The normal barrel length is 26" and barrel weights are usually pretty light. So that translates into; BE careful The scope doesn't give you a cut above the eyebrow! (I know several people that happened to, including my older brother). All Weatherby chambers have "Free Bore" (Remington chambers in Weatherby rounds do too) This is left over from when Weatherby rifles were made in West Germany, And the factory ammo was developed with this in mind. (by law all center fire chambers are required to be free bored in West and Current Germany, but not East Germany) So it is pretty difficult to hand load ammo that will touch the lands, and it might behave like dynamite if you did.

My only Mark V was a Sport model from the 90's and didn't have the inlayed stock. I did and do have early Vanguard VGX model rifles with the stock similar to the Deluxe. Have fun. Ivan

 

[k.craig]

ivan, thanks!
ive been trying to research the serial numbers on the net.
there seems to be a mark v deluxe and a mark v eoropa.
even on the weatherby forum this question has been ask before but nobody really gave a clear answer. what i took from it is that maybe the europas dont have the quality shine on the wood?? confusing rite now. i believe i will pay the $50 and have weatherby certify to what it is.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

You seem to have it right. Deluxe has the rosewood forend contrasting wood spacer line and skip line checkering with the high gloss finish. The Europa(I thought was a little later than the dates you gave, but ?) has a Matt or dull oil finish and I don't remember about the rosewood ,but no contrasting line spacer. Save your $50! I used to have the Weatherby catalog, it was like a slick magazine with color photos and all the options. I had a friend that was a authorize dealer so I has the retail and dealer price sheets. It like many other objects got lost in the move last fall and may or may not be seen ever again! (The factory pricing wasn't a big deal. I bought all the Weatherby rifles I owned on sale at a LGS, for less than my buddy could get them for.) Ivan