I just acquired a W. German Weatherby Mark V in .300Wby. it has one of the old 2x-7x weatherby scopes (imperial i think, its also made in germany)

I dont' really want to spend the 100 bucks or whatever it is for the weatherby birth certificate, but i'm curious to know when the rifle was made. i know its between 59 and 73 with a serial number 36xxx

On the side of my action, it says mark V, patent pending. does anyone know when they went from patent pending to a patent number?

also, the stock is cracking in a line along the length of the rifle, just behind the action. I hear this is a fairly common problem in these rifles ( my pops has the same rifle with the same cracks)... if i get it repaired, will it affect the collector value of the gun? if so, i will just get a replacement stock if i'm going to actually use the gun, otherwise i'll let it sit in the safe and look at it, it's very pretty

sorry for the lengthy post. it's my first weatherby, i've always loved the way they look and the beautiful stocks. hopefully it won't be anywhere near my last.

According to a table at www.weatherbycollectors.com, your rifle was made in 1962.

The Imperial scope was made by the company of Hertel & Reuss in Kassel, Germany.

I'm not a Weatherby collector (though I do own and hunt with several Weatherby rifles and shotguns) so I don't know how collectors feel about repairing cracked stocks. My own view is it would depend on the quality of the work done in making the repairs.

Personally I'd drop a note to Weatherby and ask if the factory could do the repairs and what the cost would be. They'd likely need to see it to provide an estimate. Weatherby could likely also sell you a new stock if you decide to go that route, and I believe their custom shop could fit/bed the stock to your barreled action.

You have a nice rifle there, I think you are doing the right thing in getting it fixed up and out hunting again.