There’s no doubt that Remington’s 700 is the champ, the long-time gold standard in bolt action rifles. But much as Romeo y Julieta is (arguably) the gold standard of cigars, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of room for improvement. To push that analogy just a little further, you might say that Weatherby’s Mark V Accumark series is the Davidoff of the firearms world.
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Starting at the business end of the firearm you can see that Weatherby has made some solid investments in the the Mark V’s barrel.
The Accumark’s stainless steel barrel is fluted to reduce weight, increase surface area for better heat transfer and, most importantly, make the rifle look damn slick. The fluting cuts have been blued to provide some contrast to the unfinished remainder and increase the visual appeal.
The 24-inch barrel has been hand lapped to perfection. To protect that investment Weatherby put an aggressive target crown on the end of the barrel. That simultaneously allows the gasses from the barrel to escape evenly (so as not to interfere with the bullet’s trajectory) and protect the muzzle from accidental damage. The muzzle has also been blued, which makes cleaning a little easier. It’s a nice touch.
As you’d expect, the barrel is free floating in the hand laminated fiberglass Monte Carlo stock. There’s a pair of sling swivels in the front of the Mark V Accumark’s stock to allow you to quickly attach both a bipod and a sling. The stock sports a webbing pattern in the finish. It not only provides a nice look but makes it easy to grip when wet.
The receiver is blued with a satin smooth finish.
The bolt is also fluted, with the cut sections blued to perfection. This reduces friction as it moves, allows the bolt some ability to self-clean and continues the look of the barrel. The bolt sports six locking lugs in two rows which provide plenty of surface area to keep the chamber securely closed.
A safety selector with three options sits the back of the bolt.
“Safe” disconnects the trigger and locks the bolt closed; it won’t accidentally come open when hiking through heavy brush with the rifle slung over your shoulder. “Fire” does exactly what you’d expect. The third position is the more traditional safe setting. It disconnects the trigger and allows the Mark V Accumark’s bolt to cycle.
Working the action, everything feels solid and smooth. The action features a short 54 degree throw for quicker follow up shots. There’s a small cutout in the front of the action to allow the rounds to be loaded into the internal magazine — the ejection port is too small otherwise. That’s a good thing, since a shorter action means more strength and better accuracy.
The receiver comes drilled and tapped for scope rings from the factory, and just about every reputable scope ring manufacturer makes a compatible set.
Underneath is Weatherby’s new and improved LXX trigger. It’s a solid, single stage trigger with a clean break that’s user adjustable down to 2.5 pounds.
I’m not a fan of anything cut into my trigger blade, decorative or not. While the Weatherby logo looks good, I prefer a smooth, uninterrupted shoe. When I’m spending this much on a gun I don’t want the most important piece to be compromised in the name of branding.
Out on the range the Mark V Accumark’s stock feels great. Drop at comb is just right, providing a solid cheek weld even with a tall scope attached. The factory length of pull is a little short for my taste, but it can be adjusted with spacers. Recoil is stiff, but manageable.
I tried three different flavors of .308 Winchester ammunition including Federal Gold Medal Match, Eagle Eye ammunition and a random box of dirt cheap Hornady 150gr hunting loads.
The smallest group of the day was shot with the cheapest box: the Hornady hunting loads. The Mark V Accumark seems to like lighter and faster rounds. That’s a good thing as most hunting rounds fall into in that category.
The rifle is advertised as a sub-MoA shooter. Copt that. No matter what ammunition I tried I fed it, I got sub-MoA three-round groups.
When the barrel started to heat up, groups tended to string a little bit north and south, opening up to a full 1 MoA. The first three rounds, however, consistently measured 1/2 MoA. The first two rounds usually stacked on top of each other. And then I damn near sneezed and threw the third round right.
How does the Weatherby Mark V Accumark stack up against its competition?
At $2,300 MSRP the gun is definitely on the expensive side of the equation. Remington’s comparable model, the 700 CDL SF is only $1,180 MSRP — damn near half price. But Big Green’s fit and finish isn’t quite as good as Weatherby’s, and the stock isn’t as nice. Savage has their Model 12 BVSS at $1,146, but Weatherby sports a better trigger and Savage’s wood stock can’t match the Weatherby.
So the Mark V Accumark is definitely a better rifle, with impressive looks and performance. But is it $1,000 better? You’d have to spend an additional grand on the comparable guns to get them to the same apples-to-apples level as the Mark V Accumark. So if what you want is an out-of-the-box top notch hunting rifle, I’m going to say yes.
SPECIFICATIONS: Weatherby Mark V Accumark
Caliber: Tested .308 Winchester (Others available)
Magazine Type: Internal
Magazine Capacity: 5 rounds
Barrel Length: 24 inches
Overall Length: 44 inches
Weight: 7 1/4 lbs
MSRP: $2,300
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Ratings (out of five stars):
Style and appearance * * * * *
I really dig the two tone look. Fit and finish is satin smooth and perfect.
Ergonomics * * * *
Just great. Not as adjustable as other stocks, but there’s a reason why the Monte Carlo design has been much loved for years.
Customization * *
Not much you can do here, but there’s not much you’d want to do, either. You can swap out the stock and change the scope. But in general the gun doesn’t need much changing.
Accuracy * * * *
I’m satisfied. 1 MoA five-round groups and 1/2 MoA three round groups.
Reliability * * * * *
This gun ran everything without any issues. Then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a bolt gun.
Overall * * * *
The gun misses the fifth star only because of its price tag, but it more than earns every one of the other four.
The stock looks finished similar to cheap Asian furniture.
Externally, the stock looks similar to my 20-year-old Remington 700 VS.
“There’s no doubt that Remington’s 700 is the champ”
Not on my planet!
No more than the Toyota Corolla is the best car. Yea, fine for many things, but hardly a world class performer. Just affordable and modular.
For those whose toes have yet to dip into the ultra-quality world of Weatherby et. al. there is much more to rifle shooting that their small world of long guns has expereinced.
made in paso robles, usa.
well, not usa, but cali.
“While mostly made of stainless steel, the Accumark’s barrel is fluted to reduce weight, increase surface area for better heat transfer and, most importantly, make the rifle look damn slick.”
Barrel is “mostly” made of stainless steel (SS)? Part of it is, part of it isn’t? WTF?
“The muzzle has also been blued, which makes cleaning a little easier.”
How so? I scrub my non-blued SS barrel muzzles with a SS brush; it doesn’t get much easier than that. With this rifle, you have to worry about damaging the finish on the muzzle of a SS barrel, which is normally only a concern on blued-steel barrels. This is NOT easier.
“That’s a good thing, since a shorter action means more strength and better accuracy.”
How so? Strength is a function of the chosen material, its thickness, and heat treatment. If these were all the same on a short-action and a long-action, how could one be “stronger” than the other? More rigid and resistant to bending/bowing, yes; stronger? No.
Not your best work, Nick.
– Barrel stainless steel comment. Yeah that got a little strange, I was trying to point out that most of the barrel is unfinished shiny stainless steel but it came out sounding funny. Edited.
– Muzzle bluing. If the muzzle is blued then you don’t need to scrub at all, no mater how easy it may be. And no scrubbing means no possibility of harming the target crown and introducing stray scratches in a critical part of your barrel. I’m calling that a win.
– Shorter ejection port means more rigidity, which to most people would mean stronger. Point taken and accurate, but I’m gunna leave it as is.
Fair enough.
Perhaps my regular use of .22 rimfire rifles (where buildup of crud is a given, and WILL cause eventual problems) has forced me into more aggressive muzzle cleaning procedures than are actually needed on centerfires…
I gotta look at one of these. I need every possible variation of a long-range rifle that comes on the market
Apparently, my earlier post was ‘eaten” by the system. Please forgive if it shows up later, and duplicates this post.
“While mostly made of stainless steel, the Accumark’s barrel is fluted to reduce weight, increase surface area for better heat transfer and, most importantly, make the rifle look damn slick.”
Barrel is “mostly” made of stainless steel (SS)? Part of it is, part of it isn’t?
“The muzzle has also been blued, which makes cleaning a little easier.”
How so? I scrub my non-blued SS barrel muzzles with a SS brush; it doesn’t get much easier than that. With this rifle, you have to worry about damaging the finish on the muzzle of a SS barrel, which is normally only a concern on blued-steel barrels. This is NOT easier.
“That’s a good thing, since a shorter action means more strength and better accuracy.”
How so? Strength is a function of the chosen material, its thickness, and heat treatment. If these were all the same on a short-action and a long-action, how could one be “stronger” than the other? More rigid and resistant to bending/bowing, yes; stronger? No.
Hmmm.
Two attempts at a critical post, neither appeared.
I guess I can take a hint…
but other than that, it’s pretty much anything goes.
maybe you’ll win a contest.
Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket today…
EDIT: Well well, looky there.
Both of the previous comments just popped-in (20 minutes after posting!), but say they are waiting for Moderation.
Hey there,
The comment system has gotten a little squirrely and is flagging more comments than usual for moderation. There’s also an issue where the page cache doesn’t update quick enough to show new comments in real time. I’m working on both of these issues and apologize for the inconvenience.
Thanks, Nick.
I thought I gave it plenty of time to update, but maybe I’m being unrealistic during the lunch rush-hour(s). I’ll try to be more patient, but it’s hard for a used-to-immediate-gratification American.
I actually noticed if I swear more, the more likley my comment will succeed in being posted.
WordPress stops a lot of posts for approval for no apparent reason. See your post above. Sorry for the delay, but we clear them frequently through the day.
Romeo and Juliette? People keep referencing those two. They have a band or something?
Yes. A cigar band.
So why is this rifle over $1000 more than its counterparts?
Looking at well over 3k with a bipod, rings, and a decent scope.
For a .308 thats insane.
I’d get it in .270 Weatherby Magnum. That’s worth $3K.
Good choice. I’ve got a Vanguard 2 in 270 WM and it will punch nickels all day.
Romeo y Julieta makes solid cigars, but “gold standard” might be pushing it.
Ok, I just saw the (arguably) part. That’s fair.
Remington 700 the camp gold standard? Bs. That would be the Mauser. If we are talking commercial US rifles, than I would put forth the Winchester model 70, or even the currently longest continually produced US bolt action aka the Savage 10/110. Piss on a 700. They never were exceptional, even when Remington still could build a gun without a recall. The 700 is much like the 10/22, so great in that it supports a large aftermarket to make it capable of what it’s competitors were capable from the factory.
This. The 700 is a standard, sure, but not the “gold standard” by any means. It’s the Honda Civic of bolt rifles. It can get the job done, but it’s generally nothing special out of the box, and its ubiquity has created a relatively high demand for aftermarket improvements. The “don’t call it a recall” of pretty much every 700 ever made hasn’t helped, either.
What he said
The Winchester 70, pre-war, is my gold standard for bolt guns. Custom Mauser 98’s are really nice, and I occasionally make custom 98’s for myself and the rare customer who wants to pay for it, but as a rifle to shoot, hunt with, carry every day on a hunting trip, the Win M70 is very, very hard to beat. The M70 is smoother, faster to cycle, is more ergonomic, lighter without being stupidly thinned down, and the pre-war quality from Winchester was very high. The M70 already has the “barn door” safety, with a third position that allows you to cycle the bolt without being able to fire, as well as lock the bolt home. You can put that type of safety on a 98 by buying a new safety/bolt shroud from Ed LaPour, but let’s be honest – we’re stealing the idea from a M70.
For overall safety features for the shooter, the 98 is the pinnacle of bolt gun development. Every bolt gun made since the 98 is removing, not adding, a safety feature from the 98.
As an interesting footnote: The post-64 (and especially post-68) M70 push-feed rifles are under-loved, despite being a far superior rifle to the 700. IMO. The extractor on the post-64 M70 is vastly superior to the Rem 700’s flimsy and breakage-prone extractor. There’s no shortage of 700 gunsmithing work retrofitting either a M16 or Sako style extractor into a 700 bolt. I’m constantly on the prowl for post-68 M70 rifles that have been rode hard, put up wet, so I can strip the action/bolt/trigger out of them, put in aftermarket bottom metal and a better barrel. For a push-feed action, they’re superior in every way to a 700 – other than how cheaply they can be manufactured, which is all Remington really cares about in any gun they produce.
In the last 30 days you could have gotten a Remington 700 5R in 308 for $650 after rebate. That was a $1200 rifle a year ago and will shoot sub moa all day long with the right ammo.
I can attest to the 5-R’s accuracy. Feed it some Federal Gold Medal Sierra Matchkings and you’ll shoot sub-MoA all day long.
Shot a .30-06 Weatherby Accumark and it was potentially the sweetest shooting rifle. The bolt feels better than even an AW. The accuracy is phenomenal, like the article shows. The recoil is stiff, but straight back because of the stock design. Overall, on of the easiest to shoot accurately .30-06’s I have ever shot, much better than the Rem 700, Ruger 77, or Win 70…now if I can only scrape together enough pennies an .30-06 will be mine….
Just had a sheilen select match Free float barrel put on a DPMS lower , also put in a timney trigger, vortex viper 6×24 x50mm scope on it, barrel is 1 in 12 twist ,308 , it will put 10 into 1/2 inch , every time I shoot it for about same price that’s with 150 grain Hornady A MAX, I’d rather have 20 shots than 1
Awesome rifle but too expensive for me.
This is a Weatherby to expect anything else but a truly finished product is a Remington quality piece of furniture (so to speak) you get what you pay for.
Three shot groups are a poor man’s way of testing for accuracy. I say “poor man” because the only reason I can see for using three, instead of five rounds, is to save the expense of the other two.
Of course it takes a few minutes longer to shoot several five shot groups, than three, but if your that strapped for time, you need to take up another hobby.
It would take a lot more fingers and toes than I have, to count all the times I have shot the fourth and fifth round out of the group of three.
I teach reloading, and my course recommendation is ten rounds per test batch … and that’s in order to cover all three aspects of accurate shooting. And, it’s a lot more satisfying (bragging rights) to look at a shot-group where all ten rounds overlap in the smallest area possible.
Lost me at $2300
It’s spectacular! I want one, maybe two! I’ve always wanted a Weatherby but a beautiful rifle with a gorgeous wood stock isn’t useful to me – this setup is.
Let’s not be so dramatic on the price point here, the regular Weatherby Accumark in .308 Winchester is around $1590 street price right now, while the $2200 posted above on the Accumark RC is just the MSRP. It comes with a #3 Criterion button rifled barrel, Mark V action, Mark V trigger, Bell and Carlson stock. Spec’d separately as a custom rifle you would come in right around $1500 in parts without assembly and fitting.
The base Remington threaded 5R rifled model is not the same type for comparison to this rifle. Remington has 29 different 700 models available that range from the SPS with a street price of $550 up to $2900 for the Tactical Chassis. The most similar model is the Model 700 Sendero SF II starts at MSRP $1502 and actually sells for around $1070.
Really both of the above are in the same market and price range. We aren’t talking about custom production rifles like the GA Precision Xtreme Hunter which starts at $4,350 and is based on a custom 700 action. Firearms are expensive and that shouldn’t be a shock to anyone.
The Mark V does not have a three position safety! What are you smoking? The Remington 700 might be your champbut it sure isn’t mine! Also it does NOT have two swivels up front. Did you even look at the rifle? If in doubt you can see it again on Weatherby’s website. Was the gripe about the W on the trigger just to have something to gripe about? The Mark V is a premium rifle. Why compare it to the 700?
I know this is after the fact but all of your points are spot on! On/off is not three positions. There is no “blueing” on the stainless steel barrel or muzzle as stainless steel doesn’t readily take bluing. It is another type of finish. Very durable. He describes the recoil of a heavy (Compared to a lot of bolt action rifles) .308 Win as “stiff”. I’ve shot that rifle in .340 Weatherby. THAT was stiff. A .308? Please! The W on the trigger is a non-issue. If that throws you off your problem isn’t with the trigger it’s with your finger or your imagination. And the 700 Remington always was designed to be a cheaply made rifle which used to be consistently accurate. Hasn’t been for years. Not a “gold standard” to me.