New Weatherby Backcountry 2.0 series, for serious hunters

The Weatherby Backcountry 2.0 is here, just in time for hunting season. But, be prepared―buy one of these, and your wallet is gonna take a big, big hit.

Weatherby actually added four new rifles to the Backcountry series, the Backcountry 2.0, the Backcountry Ti 2.0, the Backcountry 2.0 Carbon and the Backcountry 2.0 Ti Carbon. All these rifles are aimed at the ultralight hunting set, with materials like titanium and carbon-fibre driving up the price of the more expensive rifles in the series, but also drastically dropping the weight. According to Weatherby, the Backcountry 2.0 Ti weighs as low as 4.7 pounds. Obviously, a magazine filled with cartridges, along with a sling, mounts and optics will increase that weight. Nevertheless, this sounds like a very lively rifle to shoot, if stoked with a load of .300 Weatherby Magnum.

Speaking of which, the various rifles in this series are available in a wide range of calibres, also including .240 Weatherby Magnum, .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .280 Ackley Improved, .308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5 Weatherby RPM, and 6.5-300 Weatherby. The Carbon rifles are also avaialble in .30-378 Weatherby Magnum/ Not every calibre is available in a left-handed action, but several are.

Again, while perhaps lagging behind the recoil of the heaviest-recoiling calibres favoured by the mountain-hunting set, the weight-cutting measures on these rifles will mean a stiff kick. Such is life in the backcountry, when there's no cover and you want to shoot a moose a half-mile away, like those guys on TV …

Along with the titanium receivers and carbon-fibre barrels on the rifles at the top end of this series, all the Backcountry 2.0 rifles have a Blacktooth carbon-fibre stock from Peak 44. If you're wondering who Peak 44 is, they're a new company offering aftermarket upgrades for hunters. The Blacktooth stock is supposed to be the lightest carbon-fibre stock in the world. It has Peak 44's Rock Solid Carbon Link bedding system, which uses the recoil lug to push energy through the entire stock, not needing an aluminum bedding block. Peak 44 says this is not just lighter, but also stiffer than a traditional stock design.

Even the models with standard steel barrels (Weatherby's #1 or #2 profile, depending on chambering) are fluted, with fluted bolt and skeletonized bolt handle reducing weight as well. Again, Weatherby cut the fat wherever it could, which means the rifle has the potential to beat up the shooter.

Weatherby understands that excessive felt recoil is not conducive to accuracy, though. So, the rifle gets an Accubrake ST muzzle brake, with 30 symmetrically-spaced gas ports, and a 3DHEX recoil pad. This pad has a 3D honeycomb pattern built in, which slows down the rifle's recoil, taking the edge of the kick and helping the shooter stay on target.

Finally, Weatherby gives the rifle a Cerakote finish on the metal parts, which many hunters will find preferable to stainless construction, as it presents less glare.

What about pricing? We have not seen Canadian pricing or availability yet, but in the US, hunters are paying $2,499 for the Backcountry 2.0; $3,349 for the Backcountry Ti 2.0; $2,999 for the Backcountry 2.0 Carbon and $3,749 for the Backcountry 2.0 Ti Carbon. Those elk steaks just went up considerably, in price per pound …