Jorge,

One other thing. If go to custom on the website and start with the Krieger cut rifle barrel option and after you go through that you will have the choice of Product Upgrade or Build a Custom gun.

If you pick point checkering and rosewood grip and forend and pick a grade of wood that is similar to a price on Dakotas website you will find the Dakota and Wby are witing a couple of hundred dollars of each other.

Also, after you have been through the section for the Krieger cut rifle barrel, square bolt face, lugs etc the cost of the barreled action is within about $10 of Dakota's barreled action.

Mike

Rusty, those rifles of yours are really special, and for a lot of reasons.

It's easy to overlook this fact on today's rifle scene, but many hunters literally rewrote a portion of hunting history with Weatherby rifles like the ones shown on this thread, plus other "California" type rifles from that era. And some of them were and are really fine rifles that shoot amazingly well even by today's standards.

There's a dealer who attends the big three-day gunshows in Portland who has three or four tables full of Weatherby rifles, all the way from off-the-shelf Mark Vs to Crown Grades, and these rifles are from all eras of Mark V production. I'm often tempted to carefully select a German-built Mark V from this dealer, just for the sake of owning that piece of rifle history and hunt with it on occasion.

AD

Allen

If you look at the M70 XTRs from the 70s you can see the Wby stock including the angled forend tip.

Then the Sako Deluxe. Sako even went as far as copying the shape of the Wby striker cover on their bolts.

What does suprise me is how many of the expensive European guns are very shiny. That thread on Gunsmithing, I think it is called...would you rate this a exibition...on the Dakotas....a chap has posted up a lot Euro rifles and the actions look silver plated.

Apart from Wby the other rilfes that really catch my eye, although I have only seen photos, are those Ryan Breeding (I think that is his name)big bores with the short barrels and big muzzle brakes. Almost look like an upmarket version of a bolt action assault rifle

I suppose from an historical point of view one of Weatherbys first Mark Vs that were made in the US of A would take some topping. I think a few thousand of them were produced.

Mike

I have a question about Weatherby barrels:

My understanding is that Weatherby made his own barrels, at least some of the time. I've seen a photograph of a "deep hole drilling machine," as it was called, cutting a barrel in the Weatherby shop, and I've also seen a photograph of a hammer forging machine in Weatherby's shop too. So he made at least some of his own barrels, both cut ones and hammer forged ones.

Anybody have more information on this question?

Lloyd

They used to be promoted as hammer forged in those early Wby guides. Whether he was getting some other compnay do it I don't know.

I will ask a mate of mine if he can find out as he is matey with the bloke that runs the Weatherby Collectors.

It was this mate of mine that gave me all those pictures of Kerb Kleins rifles.

As a side note, the Weatherby Vanguard is now the biggest selling rifle in Australia.

The two Wbys you rarely seee in Australia are the 7mm and the 416.

Mike

Timken made the barrels in the early days.

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
Man, ol' Roy Weatherby did one hell of a job "brainwashing" me as a kid. I remember those "Weatherby Guides," festooned with all kinds of trophies from all over the world, and to make matters worse, when JOHN WAYNE bought a few, that did it for me!


.jorge

Jorge, John Wayne never bought a rifle in his life, they were all given to him! Not only that but he complained once when given a comertive rifle, "Damn, another rifle, why doesn't anyone give me a shotgun?" Wayne was a bird hunter, and whiskey drinker, who loved a fine shotgun, but didn't care for rifles all that much!

About the pictures posted here they look like the minue at a royal India whore house! BLING, and Paint!

Mac,

Some that H&H stuff looks like it has the Wby touch.

Have you seen the H&H double made for Larry Hagman

A lot of the European bolt actions also look like they have been for a trip through the Wby custom shop. However, I believe this is mainly the German market.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Mike375:
Mac,

Some that H&H stuff looks like it has the Wby touch.

Have you seen the H&H double made for Larry Hagman

A lot of the European bolt actions also look like they have been for a trip through the Wby custom shop. However, I believe this is mainly the German market.

Mike

Mike, there is no accounting for , or the lack of, good taste! You can bet it wasn't H&H's idea to built such guady crap, it was made to order of the man paying the bills.

The capacity to pay high prices is not a guarintee of good taste! LOOK at Mr T!

Mac,That Gold Plated rifle would match my gold grill front teeth.

The top rifle is equipped with the long-discontinued Tilden base and ring system. It's a lot like the Redfield SR/Leupold STD system, but it's a lot more rugged and it's extremely well-made and finished.

Tilden-type scope mounts are one of those great, nearly forgotten products from the 'good ol' days' that I wish someone would pick up and manufacture again.

AD

quote:

Nowadays most shooters prefer classic or traditional styling in custom rifles, but in the 1950s & 1960s "California" styling was the cat's meow.

If I had a cat that meow'd like that I'd have shot the SOB fast.

quote:

P.S. What is a .284 Magnum?? Is it a 7mm Wthby??

looks like there just using a old "magnum box" and put other rounds in it as the calibure on the box has been blacked out.

As trophies are for show so are some Rifles. Wonderful work.

I have an old Weatherby guide at home(I think about 1968) that I believe several of Klein's rifles appear in. It will be interesting this evening to see I these are published there. I do remember that one of the rifles pictured that year is a rifle made up for the Shah of Iran, which if memory serves, put all the others to shame for "flair".

Though I don't care of the gaudiness of those rifles, Klein was one of the world's top sporting hunters. Even in his senior years he was climbing high in the Pamirs and Altai's after argalis and ibex. The man does deserve respect.

Thanks to Saeed for posting the images of Klein's rifles.

Nice rifles, but way overdone for someone like me. Nice pictures however.

The 284 is an old Winchester cartridge as well as the 264. Both were wildcats that did not make it with consumers due to the popularity of the 270 and 7mm Rem.

This is more my style. "Style", yes. "Price", no.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/content/community/gun...IWE?_requestid=31137

Dave

How is it possible for a Krieghoff to be worth $59k?

How can gas be 3 bucks a gallon?

quote:

As a side note, the Weatherby Vanguard is now the biggest selling rifle in Australia.


Mike

Mike

Out of curiousity, where did you get that statistic from?

mlg

Beautiful rifles,very nice.............

Interesting piece of history. Not my cup of tea, but I wouldn't mind having one. I secretly have always wanted a Crown Custom like Jorge. I've always thought the Weatherby Safari Rifle to be the best looking of the Weatherbys.

Even though I have a 257 Weatherby that is the best grouping rifle I have ever had, 1" groups all day long with the 100 gr. Hornady factory loads, those two rifles are the ugliest I have ever seen. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder... of the most $$$$. Klein could have probably bought out Weatherby, Remington, and Winchester on what he earned in a year. If I remember right Mr. Klein once wrote that during the 1950s his oil interests were earning him $ 50,000.00 a day!

PERFUME ON A PIG!

quote:

Originally posted by almostacowboy:
How can gas be 3 bucks a gallon?

Did you ever get an answer to your question?

Let me help - milk and bottled water cost more as does beer. It is supply and demand except the supply is controlled by countries and governments not our own. The demand, we control.
It costs $3 per gallon for the same reason that Model 70's cost 50% more now than 18 months ago - someone will pay that price.

I am in the business and it is suprising to me that people wonder at the price of energy when we all consume more than we need and we expect it to be cheap and plentiful, yet we have used up the "cheap energy" in our country as well as others. Most European countries support their health care system via taxes on energy - gas in Britian is at $6.50 per gallon, gas in the US is $3.10, Gas in Tehran is $.50 per gallon - which health care system do you want to go to?

At the end of the day, the price of gasoline has caught up with inflation and the natural price increases of shoes, clothes, cable TV and a host of other items.

Be glad we do not have a government that taxes energy exorbitantly to prop up a socialist lifestyle.

I was wondering when someone would get around to the obvious. Pimp guns plain and simple.
While this style certainly orginated in California with the Weatherby line, I'd bet my next two safaris that the majority were purchased by Texans. You know, the kind who bring their "niece" with them on safari, the little girl wearing gold that weighs more than she does?

TWL, sounds like we need a small dick alert.

Live and let live, most of us do.

Cool old historic rifles, I like seeing the good pictures.

Josh

Josh A.

Glad you liked the pictures...... standard "old school" Weatherby TRASH!!! Mostly owned by those who do NOT hunt!!

Nice, but not my cup of tea.

quote:

Originally posted by Widowmaker416:
Pretty! But way to flashy for me! My guns are my tools, I'd be afraid to shoot these! I'd be afraid to do anything with these!

I'd be afraid to show myself in public! I think my quarry would laugh itself to death. Saves on the cost of ammo. Looks like something you'd use in a pool hall.

Frans

Keep in mind that "back in the day", these were the "Corvette" of the American gun scene. Yes they are gawdy, but somewhere in all of that embellishment there is a coolness factor, a Vegas-tacky appearance that passes as well, cool.

I'd buy them in a second and proudly display them in my mostly "conservative" collection.

Mr. Klien obviously was a man with quite a bit of character to take these out and hunt with him...My kinda man for sure!

Gotta love this kind of stuff!

JW

I remember some of my dads old Weatherby catalogs and there were some really outlandish stocks on those guns. I remember that most of the people in the pictures were the Hollywood set. The ugliest rifle I saw was the one made for the former owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team. The freaking stock was a sky blue color. That was a bad look for a hunting rifle.

All said and done, I would not trade my 257 Weatherby for any rifle out there. It has helped me harvest over 20 wild hogs, a couple of real toad Mule deer bucks in Nevada, 11 Blacktail bucks and more coyotes than I can remember. I love the stock Weatherbys, but the fancy grade stocks I can do without.

Paul C

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Wemmer:
Keep in mind that "back in the day", these were the "Corvette" of the American gun scene.

That's a fair discription! A plastic chevy, and a pimp rifle, brothers under ugly cloths!

quote:

Mr. Klien obviously was a man with quite a bit of character

...........and all his taste in his mouth!

quote:

Originally posted by TWL:
I was wondering when someone would get around to the obvious. Pimp guns plain and simple.
While this style certainly orginated in California with the Weatherby line, I'd bet my next two safaris that the majority were purchased by Texans. You know, the kind who bring their "niece" with them on safari, the little girl wearing gold that weighs more than she does?

Your discription of the old guy, and the young girl sounds more like the 50% of the Colorado population that migrated there from California. I've lived in Texas all my life,(70 yrs) and I've never seen a guawdy piece of crap like those rifles anywhere in Texas!
There could be some now though, because we've had a lot of Californacators, and Colorado folks moveing to Texas!

quote:

TWL, sounds like we need a small dick alert.

Live and let live, most of us do.

Cool old historic rifles, I like seeing the good pictures.

Good one, I agree when it comes to this matter.

"I've lived in Texas all my life,(70 yrs) and I've never seen a guawdy piece of crap like those rifles anywhere in Texas!"

Awh come on Mac, you know damn'd well you have that sucker laid across the dash of your 72 Eldorado with Gold RR grill and Steer-horns hood ornament. Hell, we've all got those kinda guns out here in Midland-Odessa...Love them high oil prices!!!

You do have a lot of fire in your belly for an old codger though, gotta give you credit on that aspect....You must know Ray

JW

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Wemmer:

quote:

TWL, sounds like we need a small dick alert.

Live and let live, most of us do.

Cool old historic rifles, I like seeing the good pictures.

Good one, I agree when it comes to this matter.

"I've lived in Texas all my life,(70 yrs) and I've never seen a guawdy piece of crap like those rifles anywhere in Texas!"

Awh come on Mac, you know damn'd well you have that sucker laid across the dash of your 72 Eldorado with Gold RR grill and Steer-horns hood ornament. Hell, we've all got those kinda guns out here in Midland-Odessa...Love them high oil prices!!!

You do have a lot of fire in your belly for an old codger though, gotta give you credit on that aspect....You must know Ray

JW

Shhhh!.......... I haven't had that thing out of the barn for years!

YEH, I know the old codger, but I put scopes on double rifles, so I'm a liberal compared to Ray!

MacD37--I knew I'd stir up some of you old Texas hands!! Good on ya for your quick response.
Best..........TWL