Weatherby Mk V action; SS or blued Steel?

[Baron B58]

I have a Weatherby Mk V Accumark and I would like to refinish the action; however I am unsure wether I am dealing with Stainless Steel thats been covered with some finish or normal blued steel. This might sound like a silly question but since Weatherby`s are quite scarce in South Africa nobody can give me a answer! Any info will be appreciated.

 

[TRECustom]

Baron, welcome to the site. It's one of only three that I stay on.

I think all the Accumarks are stainless, but not positive. The only other bright MK V I know about was the "Alaskan". It was made in Japan, and was nickel plated. If it's a factory Accumark, bright finish, made in USA, I think it's stainless. To be sure, contact Weatherby by email and give them the serial #. You can also join Weatherby Rifles Forum and ask the question. The Weatherby Nation forum is connected somehow to Weatherby, and would also be a source of information.

Wish I knew for certain. Good hunting, Tom

On edit: a magnet won't help. The Cr-Moly and the stainless actions are both strongly magnetic, but if you can locate a place on the bottom of the receiver that won't bother you, grind or file a shallow spot on it and try to cold blue it. if it's Cr-Moly, it'll take color. If it's stainless, it won't take any color. Crude, but it works. Tom

 

[Baron B58]

Thanks for the speedy reply Tom! Yes the magnet test won`t work. This one I`ve got is one of the early Accumarks with a black finish; but I suspect it is indeed SS hiding underneath. I will see if someone can help me on the Weatherby site.