1
The Weathermark sports a
24 inch barrell, optimising
velocities from larger capacity
chamberings.2
The Weatherby Weathermark’s
origins are easily recognisable.
In .308 Win., the 600mm barrel not
only improves balance but
increases the velocity.3
Disassembled, showing the
slimmed down receiver with
large integral recoil lug and fluted
bolt body. Trigger guard/floorplate is
alloy for lightness.weight difference which in a
complete rifle can be almost 1kg.
The six-lug bolt body has a
diameter of 17.65mm compared
with 21mm for the nine-lug
bolt, and it is shorter into the
bargain. Overall length for the
former (including the shroud)
is 181mm against 203mm for
the magnum bolt. Other
changes include a slightly
shorter bolt handle as well as a
smaller bolt sleeve on the
medium action. Both action
lengths share a 54-degree bolt
lift and a deeply recessed bolt
face which totally encloses the
cartridge head. Likewise the
breech and end of the barrel is
counterbored to receive and
totally surround that portion
of the bolt which is housing
the cartridge case head, thus
giving a complete enclosure of
the cartridge case within the
bolt and barrel, which are in
turn confined within an
extremely strong receiver ring.
The bolt face counterbore
houses a powerful extractor
and plunger ejector.
In the event of a pierced
primer or case head separation,
any gases that might flow
rearward out of the cartridge
case will naturally follow the
path of least resistance, which
is the extractor and firing pin
hole. Gases that might seep
around the extractor are
deflected by a substantial
shoulder located immediately
behind the locking lugs on the
bolt and are directed outward
and away from the shooter's
face. Gases that flow into the
firing pin hole will flow back
into the bolt and be vented
through three 3mm diameter
gas escape ports located on the
side of the fluted bolt body. It is
impossible for gases to travel
fully back through the bolt and
around the cocking piece into
the shooter's face since in the
Weatherby Mark V any
remaining gas flow is shrouded
WWW.SPORTINGSHOOTER.COM.AU | 27ON THIS SPREAD
Both action
lengths share
a 54-degree
bolt lift and
deeply
recessed bolt
face.”
by the solid bolt sleeve. In all, a
thorough and positive gas-
handling arrangement.
The bolt sleeve houses a
two-position safety
mechanism that operates
smoothly and quietly and
locks the bolt closed. The lever
is rotated to the rear to place
the rifle on "safe" and forward
to ready the rifle to "fire". In
the "off" position a red dot
indicator appears behind the
lever. To remove the bolt from
the rifle it is only necessary to
pull it back to its rearward
position and apply pressure to
the trigger which lowers the
sear, allowing the bolt to slide
out of the receiver.
The full-diameter forged
bolt body has an integral
handle and up front six lugs
combined with a counterbored
bolt face make the Mark V one
of the strongest, safest actions
ever designed. The locking
lugs are formed by grooving
and channelling the bolt head,
resulting in a full-diameter
bolt pattern that has become
very popular in recent years.
Due to the multiple locking
lugs, locking and unlocking of
the bolt requires only
54-degrees of rotation,allowing scopes, even those
with a large ocular lens, to be
mounted low over the receiver.
On the Mark V action, the six
locking lugs are of the same
diameter as the bolt body,
making possible a close, smooth
fit of the bolt inside the receiver.
The root of the bolt handle
turns down into a notch in the
bolt body to form and auxiliary
safety lug. Since the extractor is
a flush arrangement, with the
bolt itself it is possible to
manufacture the bolt within a
few thousandths of the inside
diameter tolerance of the simple
cylindrical receiver which has
no raceway channels.
The one-piece trigger guard
has a hinged floorplate release
located inside the trigger
guard. The bottom metal is
aluminium and matches the
finish on the rest of the rifle.
The trigger guard and face of
the trigger carry a handsome
rendition of the "Flying W"
logo. The magazine holds
three rounds plus one in the
chamber. The bolt does not
touch the polymer follower.
The Weathermark is fitted
with a 600mm sporter-weight
hand-lapped chrome-moly
barrel which measures 28mmat the receiver/barrel juncture,
tapering to 14mm at the
muzzle with a field crown.
The match-quality LXX
trigger is mounted as a
sub-assembly and is adjustable
for weight of pull down to
1.134kg. As issued, it breaks at
1.6kgs with no creep before
the sear releases. Using the
sear as a bolt stop, the trigger's
performance is limited
because the need to actuate
the bolt-stop plunger precludes
adjusting out any overtravel.
While the Weatherby
Weathermark is not a stainless
rifle, it does have the3