Weatherby Introduces The World’s Lightest Production Hunting Rifle & A New Cartridge [REVIEW]

Weatherby’s MkV action dates back to 1957, so it’s stood the test of time. It’s been something of a world traveller, too; originally produced in California, production was quickly moved to Germany, before it switched to Japan in 1970, returning to California in 1994, until the burden of that state’s regulatory system became too great. 

Weatherby moved to Wyoming in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. We got the chance to visit their production facility and chat with staff and customers at their Sheridan plant, where we were read in on the latest project.

It’s a combination of a new cartridge, and the lightest production bolt gun in the world.

THE CARTRIDGE

There’s been something of a quiet revolution in the hunting world over the past decade. A combination of factors led many to the realization that, contrary to the writings of gun scribes of yore, elk aren’t bulletproof, and whitetails are made of blood and tissue. Joe Biden may have been an incompetent, dementia-addled, corrupt sh!tbird career politician, but he was at least correct in his observation that deer weren’t wearing Kevlar. Hey, a stopped clock and all …

The widespread adoption of various 6.5mm calibers, with a concomitant uptick in interest in long-range precision shooting meant there was a bigger pool of people who could actually, well, shoot. Add to the mix an increased number of first-time hunters interested in putting meat on the table while spending time in the backcountry, and it wasn’t long before those same superbly capable smaller calibers were finding their way onto Western mountains and stacking big ungulates. 

Of course, this ran counter to the narrative that mandated a caliber that began with 3 and ended with the word, “magnum” as being the bare minimum needed for elk, yet the carcasses kept piling up. It’s a strange thing, but if you put an expanding bullet where it’s supposed to go, stuff dies.

Ironically, one of the main progenitors of the magnum craze brought out its own version of a well-balanced .264 bore in 2019. This being Weatherby, the company just had to push the velocity envelope, but the 6.5 RPM offered PRC performance, without the need for a magnum bolt face, and as a result fit neatly into their trim, 6-lug action. 

In 2023, the RPM case was necked up to produce the 338 RPM, and for 2026, it’s necked down to create a quarter bore.

While you may question the need for yet another chambering, (and yes, we’re fast approaching new cartridge fatigue, too) there’s no denying the design improvements that have been wrought over the last few years.

The 25 RPM is a light-recoiling, versatile cartridge, optimized for heavy-for-caliber projectiles through a combination of fast twist rifling and head height, which keeps long bullets from intruding into the powder column and taking up space, which could otherwise be occupied by propellant. Based on .284 Winchester parent brass, it features a rebated rim, the diameter of which is 0.473 inches — the same as a 308 or 30-06, which is just as well, as Weatherby’s standard-sized six-lug MkV action won’t accept anything bigger. The cartridge body is fatter, at 0.498 inches diameter ahead of the extractor groove, giving greater case volume.

There are other 25-caliber cartridges available. How does this stack up against them?

The 25-06  and 257 Roberts are the old-school options. The 25-06 has a history dating back to 1912 as a wildcat, and 1969 as a factory chambering, while the Bob was legitimized in 1937. Both are specced with 1-10 twist barrels, and so are unable to stabilize bullets weighing much over 120 grains, and have 30 degree shoulders, which aid in feeding but do little to limit case growth. The Roberts is capped at 58,000 psi in its +P variant, but the 25-06 can run to 63,000 like most modern cartridges. Due to their overall lengths, both will end up losing powder capacity when heavy-for-caliber bullets are loaded.

Another oldie is the 250-3000 Savage, which to all intents and purposes duplicates the Roberts in its standard pressure loading and was the first factory cartridge to crack the 3,000-fps barrier. Weatherby already has a quarter bore in their lineup. The massively overbore 257 Weatherby can launch a 117-grain bullet at a blistering 3,400 fps, but is based on the belted 375 H&H case, and unless a custom, aftermarket barrel is used, it’s also limited to lighter weight bullets.

The Savage and Bob can fit in short actions, while the 25-06 and 257 Weatherby are long-action propositions only.

As far as off-the-shelf modern designs go, there’s the 25 Creedmoor. And that’s it.

The relationship of the 25 RPM to the 25 Creed is similar to that of the 6.5 PRC to the OG Creedmoor — it’s a lite magnum version, using more powder to drive the same bullets faster. Unfortunately, you can’t just magically increase the powder charge and expect everything to fit in the same action. In the case of the 6.5 PRC, you’ll need a magnum bolt face (and if we’re being completely honest, a medium length action in order to wring out every ounce of performance) and with the 25 RPM, it’s a long-action proposition.

Weatherby is launching with three factory loads available, and we ran them through the Capra test rifle with the following results, and our test rifle showed a distinct preference for the Berger 133-grain Elite Hunter. If we accept a minimum expansion threshold of 1,800 fps and run this through a ballistics engine, it should produce decent terminal effects out to 1,000 yards at the kind of elevation we encounter when pursuing elk in Western states. 338 Win Mag, my ass.

We also took the time to work up some sub-minute hand-loads, using Nosler and Hornady bullets, the results of which are below. Note that we were flying completely blind here, as at the time there was no published reloading data for available. These proved safe in our rifle, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be safe in yours, so use an abundance of precaution when working up any recipes.

THE RIFLE

In its 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor versions, the Weatherby Capra weighs in right at 4 pounds, which as far as we know is the lightest production bolt action rifle made. The 25 RPM version is a little heavier due to its longer barrel, but fully kitted out with sling, scope, and suppressor, it’s still lighter than most hunting rifles as they emerge from the box.

In order to make weight, every spare ounce has been whittled away from its components, starting with the receiver. Titanium is expensive as a raw material in comparison to steel, but what really drives up the cost of finished goods is difficulty in machining. It’s a “gummy” metal and hard on machine tools, which must be replaced more often, but in this case, its weight savings are worth the price of admission. Weatherby already had experience with the use of titanium receivers in their Backcountry line of rifles, so this was an easy option for the Capra.

One of the original “fat bolt” guns, the MKV is inherently slick, as its locking lugs are the same diameter as the bolt body; unlike a Remington or Mauser action, there’s no need to cut raceways in the action body, so the bolt slides like a piston in a cylinder. 

One of the strongest actions on the market, the MkV uses an interrupted thread to lock up — much like an artillery piece — and the case head is completely recessed into the bolt for added support.

The Capra’s barrel is pencil-profiled ahead of the chamber, and has twin helical fluting to further save weight. In case you were wondering why there’s no carbon-fiber exterior, it’s because most carbon-wrapped barrels are this slim under the skin — adding CF increases stiffness, but at the expense of weight and if you’re trying to make the lightest production gun, you need to shed every fraction possible. 

Such as with the skeletonized bolt handle, and lack of a floorplate. The Capra’s internal magazine holds three rounds, and our pre-production test gun occasionally had a problem chambering the top round if extra-long bullets were used. We have to imagine it’s an anomaly that will be fixed on commercial guns, but it’s worth mentioning for the sake of completeness.

Weatherby makes the Capra’s carbon-fiber stock in-house, and we got to see the level of care and attention to detail exercised by the dedicated craftspeople who spend their days creating some of the most feature-rich stocks on the market. 

The company set up a separate sub-brand inside the Weatherby shop, and Peak 44 products are available to fit most popular actions.  In the case of the Capra, you can see evidence of serious thought in its design, where the team behind it sought to cut weight, but still leave enough material to provide a solid interface between man and machine.

For example, the forend is just a bit shorter than usual. It features finger grooves on both sides to enhance grip, and the profile is fairly skinny, yet still has a flat underside for use off a pack or bag, and the pistol grip is fairly vertical with a slight palm swell on both sides. The finger grooves and inlet panels on both sides of the butt serve to increase overall stiffness, without adding weight, and its 3D Hex recoil pad does a good job of damping shock.

ROUNDS DOWNRANGE

In keeping with its role as a hunting rifle, we decided to take the Capra and 25 RPM into the mountains of eastern Arizona. After several years of coming up dry, the lottery system produced elk tags for my small group of friends, and days leading up to the season opener were anxiously checked off. Outfitting the new rifle meant an EOTech VUDU 2-12×40 in Talley rings was installed. This kept weight down while providing enough magnification and light-gathering ability to cover both open country and dark timber environments, while a Dead Air Nomad Ti kept things civilized on the loud end. A Spartan Precision bipod adapter and RedKettle sling rounded out the ensemble.

In the days leading up to the hunt, numerous different load and bullet combinations were sent downrange, and we settled on the Berger 133-grain as our first choice. Ultra-light rifles are notoriously difficult to shoot well — there’s a reason it’s called Newton’s third law, rather than Newton’s third suggestion — and you’ll never see one on the line at a PRS competition. Rifles start moving under recoil before the bullet even leaves the barrel, so heavy guns flinging light bullets are a means to partially mitigate this, whereas featherweight magnums are at the other end of the scale.

Getting used to the Capra didn’t take as long as anticipated, as the can takes away a lot of recoil. It was still snappier than my wife’s SIG Cross in 6.5 Creedmoor, but that’s just physics. With its TriggerTech trigger set at 2.2 pounds, the Capra turned in some respectable groups with both factory and reloaded ammo, which gave plenty of confidence in the field.

Opening day rolled around, and naturally, the weather failed to cooperate. Being unseasonably warm and windy, bulls simply holed up and refused to present a target, despite being active, present, and visible just days before. Later in the week, things changed. Moving along a finger ridge during late afternoon, we spotted a group of cows across the canyon, with a bull lurking in the treeline behind them.

My better half set up to make a 625-yard shot, and was proned out behind her rifle waiting for the bull to take another step into a clearing when we heard rocks clattering on the canyon lip to our left. Rolling over, she saw a bull emerge from the abyss not 40 yards from where we sat, so folded him with a head shot.

As the days slipped by without seeing anything of notable size, and with beef prices set to increase throughout 2026, it was time to put meat in the freezer. Spotting a small herd through trees about an hour from last light, we put a stalk on them and got within 325 yards of a big-bodied raghorn. Placing the reticle in the sweet spot, the Berger was sent on its way and punched through, fragmenting as it went and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. As snow started to fall, we started the recovery process, and by the time he was loaded in the truck, 4 inches of the white stuff covered the road.

325 yards is a chip shot for any decent rifle and cartridge, but the terminal effects of the 25 RPM are nothing to be sniffed at, giving lie to the notion that you should only go afield with a magnum. The Capra is the easiest rifle to carry through mixed terrain, and if we were to wind up on the hunt of a lifetime in the mountains, it’s a combination we’d have no hesitation in pulling out of the safe.

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