From the Vault: Weatherby Mark V Crown Grade

Sit back and revel in some bolt action goodness! Brownells Gun Techs™ Keith Ford and Steve Ostrem are at Rock Island Auction Co. to show us a throwback to the 1960s and '70s. No, they're not modeling bell-bottom pants, but they do have the acme of American rifle building of those days: a Weatherby Mark V "Crown Grade," appropriately chambered in .300 Weatherby Magnum. The .300 Wby Mag is based on a .300 Holland & Holland case, and it can propel a 180-grain bullet at 3,200 fps - faster than a .300 Win Mag. Developed by Roy Weatherby and Fred Jennie in the late 1950s, the Mark V action has a NINE-lug bolt, which is necessary to contain the .300 Weatherby Magnum and other powerful Weatherby big game cartridges to come. The strength and smoothness of the Mark V action make for a superb-shooting rifle. Steve explains why these guns are comfortable to shoot, making the heavy recoil of a Weatherby magnum surprisingly manageable for the average shooter.

But Weatherbys weren't just about performance. Roy Weatherby knew how to get his guns into the hands of famous people - Hollywood stars, war heroes, foreign dignitaries - which boosted the rifles' cachet immensely. Owning one was a statement of who you were and your sense of STYLE. The problem, of course, is that styles change.... The engraving, high-polish bluing, and ornately carved stock (also highly polished) of Rock Island's Crown Grade Mark V seem a bit too exuberant in the 2020s, maybe even gaudy. But in the '60s, nothing was too gaudy! This gun is topped with a Weatherby Premier scope anchored by heavily engraved Buehler rings. Early Mark V actions were made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn in Germany, then Weatherby shifted manufacturing to Howa in Japan, and today's Mark Vs are made in Wyoming.