The first thing you’ll notice when picking up the new Weatherby Mark V Backcountry Guide rifle is its weight – or rather, the lack of it. 

The gun weighs just 5.4 pounds to 6.4 pounds, depending on chambering. That’s a little lighter than Weatherby’s Backcountry 2.0 Carbon rifles, which weigh 5.8 – 6.6 pounds. The difference is largely due to the use of shorter barrels on the Backcountry Guide. In most chamberings, barrels are 20, 22 or 24 inches long. The sole 26-inch barrel is used to maximize performance with the 6.5-300 Wby Mag cartridge. In the Backcountry 2.0 line, you’ll find more 24- and 26-inch barrels.

Weatherby’s Upgraded, Lightweight, Backcountry Hunter

That weight difference may not sound like a lot, but for those who hunt remote country or steep mountains, every ounce matters. The Backcountry Guide’s shorter barrels also make the rifle handier in tight cover and a good choice if you prefer to hunt with suppressors. 

The rifle is chambered in 19 popular cartridges, including several proprietary Weatherby cartridges. Notably, rifles in 243 Win, 240 Wby Mag, 280 Ackley Improved, 308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 Wby RPM are offered in left-hand versions.

The Backcountry Guide represents the next step in the evolution of the Mark V Backcountry line. Based on the results of my testing, I’d say it’s evolving toward perfection. The gun isn’t cheap – the best never is – but the rifle is loaded with features that make it a standout among lightweight factory hunting rifles. Here’s a look at what you’ll get for your money.

Tensioned BSF Carbon Fiber Barrel

The rifle is equipped with a tensioned BSF carbon fiber barrel. The design uses a 416R stainless match-grade barrel wrapped with a carbon fiber sleeve that’s loaded under tension, creating a stiff but lightweight barrel. According to BSF, precision-cut openings in the carbon fiber, combined with a design that creates a 95% air gap between the steel and carbon fiber, prevent delamination and promote faster barrel cooling. The carbon fiber moves at the same expansion rate as the 416R stainless steel, resulting in a vibration dampening effect. 

All of this, in theory, results in more consistent shot-to-shot accuracy. The jury may still be out on industry claims of faster cooling for carbon fiber barrels versus all-steel barrels, but I can report that there was little difference in test group size with this rifle whether I shot it with the barrel cold or hot, and I didn’t give it much time to cool between groups. Bullets did not walk as the barrel heated up, and the gun delivered superb accuracy, as you will see, with loads it liked.

My test rifle, chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, had a 22-inch barrel, threaded 5/8-24, and equipped with Weatherby’s radial titanium Accubrake ST. Average variation in muzzle velocity for four tested factory loads was just 33 fps below claimed velocities for the ammo, which is typically tested with longer barrels. With this rifle in this chambering, you won’t sacrifice enough velocity out of the shorter barrel to make any difference at any practical hunting range.

Peak 44 Blacktooth Stock

The Backcountry Guide rifle also saves weight by use of the Peak 44 Blacktooth stock, which is one of the lightest production carbon fiber stocks on the market. This stock differs uses a patented carbon fiber bedding block that engages the front recoil lug and transfers recoil force to the exterior shell. Recoil is further mitigated with Blacktooth’s 3D Hex recoil pad, which employs hexagonal voids that collapse and disperse recoil energy. The recoil pad and muzzle brake combine to reduce perceived recoil. That isn’t needed on a rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, but it’s helpful with harder-kicking cartridges.  

The stock has clean and somewhat classic lines, but with a bit of a negative slope to the comb that aids in eye-scope alignment. The bottom of the forend is flattened for stability when shooting from bags or other rests. Each stock is hand painted with olive green and backpack sponge pattern accents, so each rifle has an individual look. My only knock on the stock is the absence of stippling on the forearm and pistol grip. The surface is slightly slick when dry, but I found I actually had a better grip with wet hands.

Spartan Gunsmith Adapters

The forend of the stock integrates two flush-fitting Spartan Precision Equipment gunsmith adapters for compatibility with Spartan’s ultra-light bipods and accessories. One is located just behind the front swivel stud, for mounting bipods, and one is closer to the rifle’s center balance point, for attaching the gun to a tripod. This system uses rare earth magnets to quickly attach or detach bipods and tripods.

The adapters add very little weight and are quite handy in the field. To attach a compatible Spartan bipod or the first time, you simply touch the magnetic head of a bipod to the adapter’s insert and withdraw it. You then insert the head of the bipod into the socket, and it locks into place magnetically. The beauty of this system is that you can attach or remove a bipod very quickly by just shoving it into place or pulling it out, so you don’t need to carry a bipod on the gun all the time in the field. It’s not quite as wobble-free as other attachment systems that clamp everything tight, but it’s very fast, and you can steady things up nicely with proper shooting technique, such as loading a bipod. 

Legendary Mark V Action

The rifle is built upon the legendarily strong Mark V action. Actions for most magnum chamberings still use a nine-lug bolt, while actions in non-magnum chamberings use a six-lug bolt that is dimensionally smaller and weighs 28 percent less. The bolt is deeply spiral fluted. In addition to saving weight, this translates into a very smooth-cycling action. The bolt has a very short 54-degree throw, allowing for ample scope clearance and faster follow-up shots. The skeletonized bolt knob is removable, so you can replace it with one of your choosing.

A great rifle requires a great trigger, and the Backcountry Guide has one. The gun uses an externally adjustable TriggerTech trigger made of stainless-steel components. The trigger on my test rifle had zero creep and very short over-travel. The break was crisp and clean. I adjusted the trigger down to a pull weight of 2 pounds, 5 ounces, which I about what I prefer for a hunting rifle. A two-position safety locks the bolt down in the off position and prevents the bolt from accidentally opening when snagged on brush. All external metal is protected with a black Cerakote finish. The bottom of the hinged-floorplate magazine has an attractive, contrasting topographic map pattern and Backcountry logo.

Functionally, the gun ran flawlessly. There were zero issues with feeding, extraction and ejection, and I found I could run the gun fast thanks to its smooth- cycling, short-throw bolt.

Impressive Accuracy

For testing, I mounted a Leupold VX-5HD 3-15×44 scope in a set of Talley lightweight rings. Because the Weatherby Mark V Backcountry Guide is purely a hunting rifle, I tested it with four popular hunting loads with bullet weights ranging from 127 grains to 143 grains, with no match loads in the mix, shooting three, three-shot groups per load at 100 yards. Conditions were less than ideal, as I had to contend with a full-value wind varying 5-13 mph. That resulted in a slight bit of horizontal stringing at times, but results still exceeded my expectations.

Three of the four loads met Weatherby’s sub-MOA accuracy guarantee, and a fourth one, using a light 127-grain bullet, narrowly missed that mark. The star of the show was Hornady’s 143-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter load. It printed average groups measuring 0.47 inches and a best group of just 0.31 inches. 

That’s impressive performance for such a light rifle. If you want to go even lighter, Weatherby also offers the Backcountry Guide Ti, which has a titanium action. Weights for the Ti version range from 5.2 pounds to 5.9 pounds, depending on chambering. MSRP for the standard rifle is $3,299, and MSRPs for the Ti version range from $3,799 to $3,949.

Weatherby Mark V Backcountry Guide Specifications

• Action: Mark V bolt action
• Caliber: 6.5 Creedmoor, as tested
• Weight: 5.6 pounds
• Barrel Length: 22 inches  
• Barrel Material: Stainless steel, tensioned carbon fiber sleeve
• Barrel Twist Rate: 1:8
• Muzzle Thread: 5/8-24
• Magazine/Capacity: Hinged floorplate, 4+1 rounds
• Trigger: TriggerTech
• Trigger Pull Weight: Externally adjustable, 2.5-5 pounds
• Stock: Peak 44 Blacktooth carbon fiber
• Length of Pull: 13.5 inches
• Finish: Graphite black Cerakote
• Free-floated Barrel: Yes
• Guaranteed Sub-MOA Accuracy: Yes (3-shot group at 100 yards)
• MSRP: $3,299

Weatherby Mark V Backcountry Performance