Thanks for the kind words. I have the benefit of excellent mentors and teachers in hunting, shooting, and handloading, and just pass along what I've learned over the decades.

I'll get in some hunting this season, though perhaps not as much as I'd like. But, then again, do we ever get as much hunting as we'd like?

There is the possibility of having it rebooted, but the above advice to get a new barrel is the route I'd go.

I don't think production Vanguard barrels are hand lapped. And I'm not sure Mark V production barrels are, either.

Cool, and thanks for the response. The RCBS has the improved features - less taper, 30deg shoulder angle - but not as steep a shoulder as the Ackleys. I think it will be similar in velocity to what you're doing with yours. Hopefully I can find a suitable donor, funds, and time to do the project one of these days.

Just wondering if anyone else here has any rifles chambered in a wildcat cartridge.  I have a semi wildcat, .250 Savage AI in a Savage 99 and a Rem 700 rebarreled and chambered in a 6.5 X .280 Rem AI.

Curious as to which 6.5-280AI wildcat you're shooting, Dino. I've long been wanting to tinker with one chambered in 6.5-280RCBSImp but have just never got around to it.

I'll chime in and agree with the idea that the scope should fit the rifle, and the intended use of the combination.  I don't hunt with big scopes.  In fact, the biggest I have on a hunting rifle is a 3-15x42 Minox, in terms of weight and size.  Second would be a Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x44, which resides on my Stainless Mark V, coincidentally.

Unless you're planning on hunting at extreme long range (for which there are far better platforms than a sporter-weight barreled gun) you don't need more than 9-10x, really, and I'd stay away from anything bigger than 15-18x on the high end, and a hard requirement for me is a low end power of 4x or less.  I wish my 4.5x was slightly lower on the old Conquest, but I've worked with that combination for a long time and it is such clear glass that I can deal with the slightly narrower field of view.

If you just have to have FFP, that's going to limit your options.  And you should see where your eye naturally rests on the Mark V stock, so you can assess what the largest objective diameter which clears mounts which place your ocular lens at the right elevation for your natural position is.  From there, find a scope with a low end of 3-4x, a high end in the 14-18x range, an objective bell which will clear your barrel in the correct height rings for your natural positioning, and a FFP reticle.  You may find no such animal exists, at which point you have to start deciding what is the least important "must have" to relinquish to get a scope which works.

I'd recommend you look at Meopta, Vortex, Zeiss, Swaro, and potentially others based on your budget.  I'm not a fan of Leupold, as you can generally get better reliability and features for the same price from the brands I just listed.  I've seen too many Leupold scopes come out of the box brand new, and broken, to trust the brand again.  They have great service, but they have poor QC.  You'll notice that while I own a Minox, I don't recommend that brand, either.  It's a service issue there.  I had a long, drawn out, multi-step return and wait from them.  For a long time after I got a replacement scope, I had trust issues with it.  I trust that scope now, but still check it more often than I check my Zeiss, Pentax, Meopta, and even my Bushnell Elites.

You may find this guide helpful, as well.

http://www.weatherby.dk/content.php?30-Removing-the-Weatherby-Deluxe-Finish

Congratulations to you and Oscar, Jr, Para! There is no better gift than healthy babies!