A used Weatherby costs more then a typical Winchester, Remington or Ruger so it only stands to reason they will take longer to sell. Other then that they are like anything else in this world, you pays your money and you takes your chances.

I've had pretty good luck with the two I own.

quote:

Originally posted by muygrande:
No doubt at 2000.00 min. they are a stretch. However for 800 or so I consider this rifle a steal provided it is as described. In fact
I have this rifle in the Japanese 26" version and it is a flat out elk killing machine and shoots little bitty holes with the 168 gr TTSX. Mine has been tweaked and is in a Micky stock with all the bells and whistles done to it. Even at that one can pay the 800 or so spend a little and have a killing machine.

I picked up a Fibermark at a LGS 2 months ago in 7mm WBY for 645 out the door. Came with the mcmillan fibermark stock and shoots tiny little groups with 139 gr Factory Ammo . That is what is known as a buy

I passed on a used German made Mk V with a factory Weatherby scope for $800 + tax.

Just can't warm up to them.

It sat forever at the LGS until it finally sold.

My FIL has one in 300 WBY and it is the hardest kicking son of a gun. Way worse that a 375 H&H

quote:

My FIL has one in 300 WBY and it is the hardest kicking son of a gun. Way worse that a 375 H&H

I still have my Mark V in .300 Weatherby and for a few years had a Mark V Sporter in .340. I really liked the .340, but for sighting in sessions, about 10 rounds out of either of the Weatherby's was enough, but I could go 20 rounds with my .375 H&H with no ill effects.

I have several questions for the Weatherby Mark 5 guys here...
Are all Weatherby receivers 9 lug?
Are the hole spacing the same on all Weatherby receivers?
Are all Weatherby receivers the same length?
Reason I ask is I have a Fajen Weatherby CLASSIC style stock in black walnut that has beautiful croch figure on the two sides of the butt and then good grain flow through the grip and forend. Tried to sell it a few years back and got nothing.
So, I'm kind of looking for just an action to barrel it up in something other than a Weatherby caliber. Seen one here...American made for almost what I am willing to pay, and thought I'd tear it down and build something on this semi inletted stock.

Price of the ammo doesn't help any.

Grizz

If your looking at that USA made 300 Srtax, then yes it is a 9-lug. There are 6-lug versions in 30-06 etc but the big Weatherbys are all 9-lug.The 9-lug receivers are the same length as is the hole spacing, just the really big ones have 2 recoil lugs.(the 300 has 1 recoil lug) sounds like a sweet stock. Good luck with your project and God Bless!

Thanks for the quick reply Robert and welcome to AR. I have built rifles on several kinds of actions but have never paid much mind to the Weatherby receivers. 338 Winchester mag might be fun... .

Back in the late 70's I bought a fancy Vanguard in 30-06 with a Tasco 3x9 scope, I was young and loved the fancy stock, long story short those old Tasco scopes were super clear and bullet proof, the long 26" barrel was accurate with any ammo I crammed in it! I guess I was lucky but the gun will still clover leaf and has accounted for untold whitetails out to 400 yards, I changed guns but uncles and BIL's are still folding deer bang flop. I loaned it to a BIL 13 years ago and doubt I will get it back till he croaks, he carry's it to stand by the scope! One of the best buys I ever made.WinPoor

My two FN Wheatherby's 257 and 300 Wby Mags. Circa 1955

Well, as an avid user of Weatherby rifles througout my modest hunting career, I have to disagree with a few of you here, specifically on the accuracy issue. Maybe I have lower standards than some of you but rifle for rifle, they have been the most consistenly accurate rifles I've ever owned. Caliber-wise, NOTHING kills deer quicker than my 257 and my 300 accounts for well over 17 species of African PG. As to their "sellability", like many other things, the market is limited and yes the ammo is expensive, but I handload and thus mitigate that issue.

As a Weatherby collector, maybe I have some insight that might help.

1. Origin - Where it was manufactured (and when) has a big impact on value. The German (P-series, built by Sauer) and Japanese (H-series, built by Howa) MKVs are the most desirable. The German rifles came first, so they have the same value as a classic car, and the Howa rifles are (arguably) of the highest quality and have the best wood, generally. The early FN Mauser (and other) action rifles assembled at Weatherby's Southgate, CA shop have collector value, but only to a collector. Some people don't see them as true Weatherby rifles, because they used part of another rifle. Sort of like a Mustang with a Chevy engine... only valuable if you're into that sort of thing.

2. Model - There's a pecking order as far as model is concerned also, with the Ultramark having the top grade XXX fancy walnut and commanding the highest prices. The Deluxe and Lasermark (some people like them, but I'm not one of them) come next, followed by the Euromark (dark, oil rubbed stock, matte finish) and Classicmark (traditional style stock, also oil rubbed), and then there's the Sporter, which may have plain wood or synthetic. The Fibermark fits in somewhere around the Deluxe and is the only way to get a .30-378, .338-378, or .375 Weatherby these days.

3. Cartridge - The chambering impacts the value of the rifle. Weatherby rifles in Weatherby calibers are more valuable than the standard (.270, .30-06, etc.) chamberings. See the Mustang/Chevy metaphor provided above. If you're going to buy a Weatherby, why would you get it in a caliber everyone chambers? You can see the disparity in the value in the Varmintmaster 6-lug MKVs (S-series). The .224 Weatherby commands a huge premium over the .22-250 version.

4. Rarity - See above. A .224 Varmintmaster, especially a German MKV, with nice wood, is easily the most valuable used Weatherby right now. They regularly go for $2,600-2,800 on GunBroker. The .22-250 version goes for about $1,600-1,800, because while still rare, it's not as desirable. The .240 is probably the next rarest, followed by the .416. Ultra-rare (almost non-existent) is the .375 and .220 Rocket. I've only seen two .375s on GunBroker in the last several years, and only one .220 that sold for $5,500.

The .270, 7mm, and .300 Weatherby are so common that they usually sell for much less than, say, a .257. Where you can count on about $1,500-1,800 for a nice .257 (with or without scope), you can pick up .300s for $800-1,100 all day long.

5. Wood - There's a huge variation in stock quality over the various MKVs. German MKVs usually have pretty plain walnut and the finish may be redish, or may be checking/cracking from age. The Euromark rifles built during that period have beautifully figured walnut, because while RWS was overseeing manufacturing, the fancy grade walnut was being put on the rifles intended for European sales and the Deluxe models shipped back to the U.S. were getting very plain wood. Roy eventually corrected this, but it impacted a large portion of the early rifles.

The Japanese (Howa) MKVs generally have much nicer wood, and even some of the Deluxe rifles look as good as Ultramarks. I have a couple Howas with beautifully figured stocks, which if you can get them for (used) Deluxe price, are a bargain comparatively speaking. The only Ultramarks I've seen on Gunbroker have all been $2,100 and over.

6. Availability and cost of ammo - While you can now be fairly sure you can find .300 Weatherby in a lot of stores, trying to find .270 or 7mm Weatherby is much more difficult, and forget about any of the larger cartridges (.378, .416, .460) or the smaller cartridges (.224, .240, .257). Cabela's or Midway (online) is about the only place guaranteed to have a selection of either, and they're fairly expensive compared to a box of .300 Win Mag or even .300 WSM, for that matter. Some people (myself included) just load their own with Weatherby (Norma) brass.

7. Reputation for recoil - There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you want 200+ fps more out of a given bullet weight, you're going to pay for it in recoil, and some people believe Weatherby rifles kick excessively hard. In my experience, I've found that Model 700s in .300+ cartridges kick harder than the corresponding Weatherby, but everyone has their own threshold for discomfort.

Everyone seems to agree that the .378 Weatherby is the worst of all (possibly of all sub-.500 cartridges), but I didn't find it to be that bad. Mine kicks about as hard as my .416 Rigby. A friend has a Model 700 in .338 Win Mag that I think is more unpleasant to shoot off the bench, and I could shoot my .340 all day long without major discomfort.

Is the reputation for punishing recoil undeserved? Maybe. Is it a myth perpetuated by gun writers who want you to know how tough they were to stand up to the vicious punishment of a Weatherby? Maybe. I don't find them any more vicious than anything else, and I don't believe the Weatherby Monte Carlo stock makes recoil any worse (or any better).

So why didn't your rifle sell for a very reasonable price? Post a picture and I can probably tell you why. Or I may be interested in buying it.

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:
I have a .240Weatherby with a 26" barrel made on their Big action(9lug). I like it because it so different from everything else I have. I later realized after I bought it it was also a very rare gun too.

When you're tired of it, let me know.

jla: I have a German Weatherby in 257, 24" barrel with a gold inlay design on the bottom of the forend (standard Wby elongated diamond, about 4" long. I'll try and post pictures, but any idea as to it's value?

jla:

What an informative and worth while post. Thank you for taking the time to write it, and welcome to AR.

I've owned a Southgate FN 300 I purchased new at the Southgate store when I was 16 years old in 1965. It was a "second" because of a couple of flaws in the stock and a poor polish job on the barrel. My Dad had one he had purchased in 1960 and I admired it so much I had to have one of my own. So I saved my money and we went to the Weatherby store and I bought it. The fact that a 16 year old was in the store looking to buy a 300 brought Roy Weatherby out from the office and he made the sale himself. I have a picture of him, my dad, and me holding my new rifle.

Been shooting it ever since. Recoil never bothered me, even as a kid. Always loaded for it myself. It's been restocked once and I have hunted with it throughout North America and Africa. Can't say how many head of game it's taken. A bunch.

It might not be worth much on the open market, but to me it's priceless.

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
jla: I have a German Weatherby in 257, 24" barrel with a gold inlay design on the bottom of the forend (standard Wby elongated diamond, about 4" long. I'll try and post pictures, but any idea as to it's value?

Hi jorge,

Without seeing a picture I can't give you a specific figure or range, but I can tell you that an average range for a German MKV .257 in good condition is probably $1,200-$1,400 without optics.

A Japanese MKV .257 will go for around $1,300-1,600, depending on the grade of the wood. The difference is that the German .257s had a 1:12 twist rate that won't stabilize the longer, heavier bullets (110+ grains). The Japanese .257s have a 1:10 twist and an extra 2" of barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by TWL:
jla:

What an informative and worth while post. Thank you for taking the time to write it, and welcome to AR.

I've owned a Southgate FN 300 I purchased new at the Southgate store when I was 16 years old in 1965. It was a "second" because of a couple of flaws in the stock and a poor polish job on the barrel. My Dad had one he had purchased in 1960 and I admired it so much I had to have one of my own. So I saved my money and we went to the Weatherby store and I bought it. The fact that a 16 year old was in the store looking to buy a 300 brought Roy Weatherby out from the office and he made the sale himself. I have a picture of him, my dad, and me holding my new rifle.

Been shooting it ever since. Recoil never bothered me, even as a kid. Always loaded for it myself. It's been restocked once and I have hunted with it throughout North America and Africa. Can't say how many head of game it's taken. A bunch.

It might not be worth much on the open market, but to me it's priceless.

I'd love to see that picture if you would be so kind as to post it. That is super cool.

quote:

Originally posted by TWL:
jla:

What an informative and worth while post. Thank you for taking the time to write it, and welcome to AR.

Thanks!

quote:

I've owned a Southgate FN 300 I purchased new at the Southgate store when I was 16 years old in 1965. It was a "second" because of a couple of flaws in the stock and a poor polish job on the barrel. My Dad had one he had purchased in 1960 and I admired it so much I had to have one of my own. So I saved my money and we went to the Weatherby store and I bought it. The fact that a 16 year old was in the store looking to buy a 300 brought Roy Weatherby out from the office and he made the sale himself. I have a picture of him, my dad, and me holding my new rifle.

Wow, what a great story and history!

It's possible that your rifle was built by Sako for Weatherby, since it has the FN Mauser action and they started production in 1956, but if it was a custom rifle, it would have been built at Southgate. Do you have any other documentation? You can look up your serial number here...
http://www.weatherbycollectors.com/

quote:

It might not be worth much on the open market, but to me it's priceless.

Absolutely.

I've seen a few of the FN-actioned rifles at gun shows, but earlier this year I acquired a 1949 Model 70 Super Grade... Weatherby.

Except for the action, it's a .270 Weatherby with a 26" Weatherby profile barrel and Monte Carlo stock, including the original "Tomorrow's Rifle Today" slogan on the recoil pad and an ivory diamond and spacers. I haven't contacted the Weatherby historian to find out more about it yet, but it's definitely one of the earliest Southgate custom rifles I've seen.

It was part of a display at the last Weatherby Collector's Association Banquet, but the owner didn't have any other documentation to go with it. Still, it doesn't have your rifle's back story, and I didn't get to meet Roy as part of the deal.

Not trying to change the subject, but did Weatherby ever offer the Mark V with a "classic" style stock? If so, what was the model? I have called the factory and the classic is not offered.
Thanks,
Jim

I have bought and sold lots of them.

I don't currently own one, but I love the action.

The 257, 300, 340 and 416 are my favorite calibers. I prefer the synthetic stocked ones, and honestly I prefer stocks that have a different geometry.

I have shot quite a few in Harry Lawson thumbholes, and they have been wonderful rifles. Not sure that I prefer a thumbhole, but on a hard kicking 416 they are wonderful.

Like most guides and PH's I have seen a lot of problems with hunters toting Weatherby rifles and will bet even money that there will be a problem when one shows up in camp.
But I have come to learn that in all honesty the problems are most likely due to the types of "hunters" who bring them rather than the rifles.

I have two Weatherbys, a German .300 Wthby and an American .340 Wthby.

Both are very accurate and hit like thor's hammer on everything that I have aimed at.

I do not have a lot of rounds through either gun, but I have had no problems with either one.

Anyone have any commentary on the Japanese made Weatherbys ? Maybe that is where the problem lies ?

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Hundley:
Not trying to change the subject, but did Weatherby ever offer the Mark V with a "classic" style stock? If so, what was the model? I have called the factory and the classic is not offered.

Hi Jim,

You're right that the Classicmark is no longer available, even through the Weatherby custom shop. I suspect they found that people like their Weatherby to look like a, well, Weatherby.

You'll see them listed occasionally on GunBroker, but I've never actually seen one sell, probably for the same reason, and because they're typically priced fairly high. However, I did watch a 7mm priced at $850 (no mounts or scope) fail to sell for a couple months before the listing was taken down.

A .340 Classicmark...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=438559912

A .416 Classicmark...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=439273886

quote:

Originally posted by Cold Zero:
I have two Weatherbys, a German .300 Wthby and an American .340 Wthby.

Both are very accurate and hit like thor's hammer on everything that I have aimed at.

I do not have a lot of rounds through either gun, but I have had no problems with either one.

Anyone have any commentary on the Japanese made Weatherbys ? Maybe that is where the problem lies?

I have Weatherby MKVs built in Germany, Japan, and the U.S. ranging from .257 to .460, and all of them are capable of MOA if I do my part. I actively look for the Japanese rifles, because they are not only consistently very accurate, but they also tend to have the nicest wood for the money.

One of my friends is also a Weatherby enthusiast, with a 7mm, three .300s (one a Vanguard), a .340, and a .375 H&H, all built in Japan. They all shoot exceptionally well, especially the .340. His dad has a Japanese .240 that is also very accurate.

I don't know where the reputation for inaccuracy came from, but I'm guessing it has more to do with the shooter flinching from fear of the recoil thanks to all the hype about how ferocious Weatherby rifles are.

I had a tang safety Ruger M77 in .300 Win Mag that couldn't manage better than ~2" groups with any of the factory ammunition I tried (pre-reloading days), and I know that early Rugers had a reputation for poor barrels before they started manufacturing their own, but I wouldn't say that all Rugers were inaccurate. Just that one.

Listed in the classifieds.

quote:

Originally posted by jlabreck7316:

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Hundley:
Not trying to change the subject, but did Weatherby ever offer the Mark V with a "classic" style stock? If so, what was the model? I have called the factory and the classic is not offered.

Hi Jim,

You're right that the Classicmark is no longer available, even through the Weatherby custom shop. I suspect they found that people like their Weatherby to look like a, well, Weatherby.

You'll see them listed occasionally on GunBroker, but I've never actually seen one sell, probably for the same reason, and because they're typically priced fairly high. However, I did watch a 7mm priced at $850 (no mounts or scope) fail to sell for a couple months before the listing was taken down.

A .340 Classicmark...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=438559912

A .416 Classicmark...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=439273886

I had a Classicmark in 378Wby...........wish I'd never sold it. It was a fussy gun.....but it shot 300 grain Swift A-Frames into .75moa.

I also had a 9 lug Euromark in 240Wby......wish I'd never sold that either!!

I just picked up a mint unfired 1983 Japanese .460 with the original drilled barrel and very nice wood (for a .460, which usually have very plain stocks with straight grain) and a 1972 German .270 with a gorgeous rippled stock. Both came with Leupold scopes and the .460 included three full boxes of vintage "elephant" ammunition, so there are deals to be had right now.

.300s don't seem to be selling very well, unfortunately (GunBroker has three full pages of Deluxe .300s at varying prices from $800-$2,100) but the other calibers are. A .416 Euromark just went for $1,875, and a couple others I was watching (a .270 and a .340) also sold for $1,300 and $1,450 respectively. Neither had a scope.

A lot of auctions starting at $0.01 are running into high figures recently. I don't know why that seems to excite people (newbies, especially), but the buy now = opening bid auctions attract almost no attention these days. I'm guessing people like to feel they're getting a bargain... even if they run past the original buy it now price.

That said, does anyone have a pretty .224 or a .240 they want to part with for a reasonable price?

quote:

Originally posted by Ed Scarboro:
I have two Weatherby Mark V's for sale on the AR Classified-Firearms that I thought were price fairly and no inquiries. I thought a 378 & 416 Wby would be snapped up on this site. They are almost like new with HS Precision stocks.

What happened to these? I can't find your post, Ed.

when you buy a weatherby
I have found you best hold on to it

when you let some one talk you out of it

you will never get one like it back and if and when you get close it will cost you double to get back where you were when you sold that rifle
you may not think much of it now but wait till you sell it and shoot somtin else you will miss it

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:
I have a .240Weatherby with a 26" barrel made on their Big action(9lug). I like it because it so different from everything else I have. I later realized after I bought it it was also a very rare gun too.

That's nice rifle. I don't know that I've seen many, if any, with open sights. That said, I heard that if you want to know what a diamond ring is worth, carry it to a pawn shop. Same with some firearms; you've got to find the person that wants it.

My dad has a Mark V, in 30-06, that he says is coming to me when he no longer needs it. First thing I'd do is pull the wood stock off, put that in the safe, and then get a McMillan classic-style Edge stock to replace it for my use.

His has always shot one-inch groups with factory ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by Redlander:

That's nice rifle. I don't know that I've seen many, if any, with open sights. That said, I heard that if you want to know what a diamond ring is worth, carry it to a pawn shop. Same with some firearms; you've got to find the person that wants it.

.

I don´t know what this gun is worth on the street. All I realized it was a very rare gun with 26" barrel, canjartrigger and open sights.
I bought this gun on a german netauction www.egun.de for about for about USD 561 or 453€. It might be a little low for the average "Weatherby" even by American standards, but rarety doesn´t always mean a high dollartag.
I have this gun here as an interesting gun as the caliber is the last true Roy Weatherby caliber from 1968, which happens also to be my year of birth.

Not many hunters/shooters here in this country want a Weatherby. However I do see Weatherby as an important part of "gunhistory" that is worth telling.

I'm going to date myself but here goes.

In the early 1970's the biggest seller of Weatherbys in the USA was a banking institution in Colorado. You would buy a C.D. and when it matured they would return your investment plus a brand new Weatherby MK V.

The older Wbys had a trigger housing made of cheap pot metal. Over time they would crack and fail.

One of Roy Weatherby's selling points about the 9 lug bolt being designed for extra strength was misleading. The bolt body which was the same diameter as the locking lugs was extremely heavy compared to conventional design. All this was done so they could bypass broaching the receiver for the bolt lug raceway, saving them a great amount of time and expense machining the action. That is one reason why Wby's tend to be heavy. The next time you examine a Wby, remove the bolt and notice the weight, extremely heavy and bulky. All of it behind the locking lugs where it doesn't count.

quote:

In the early 1970's the biggest seller of Weatherbys in the USA was a banking institution in Colorado. You would buy a C.D. and when it matured they would return your investment plus a brand new Weatherby MK V.

I remember that, but the way I remember it was you got your Weatherby at the beginning and your money back someday. Which day was determined by how big a investment you gave them.

that was my recollection also. and the model you got, cost wise, depended on the value of the CD you were buying.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

quote:

In the early 1970's the biggest seller of Weatherbys in the USA was a banking institution in Colorado. You would buy a C.D. and when it matured they would return your investment plus a brand new Weatherby MK V.

I remember that, but the way I remember it was you got your Weatherby at the beginning and your money back someday. Which day was determined by how big a investment you gave them.

Bank of Boulder

quote:

The bolt body which was the same diameter as the locking lugs was extremely heavy compared to conventional design. All this was done so they could bypass broaching the receiver for the bolt lug raceway, saving them a great amount of time and expense machining the action. That is one reason why Wby's tend to be heavy. The next time you examine a Wby, remove the bolt and notice the weight, extremely heavy and bulky. All of it behind the locking lugs where it doesn't count.

I don’t disagree with the weight comments or the reasons for the extra heavy bolt. A Mark V bolt has a lot of non structural weight. Stuart Otteson provides an excellent analysis of the Mark V action in his book “The Bolt Action”. There were trade offs, and Otteson makes the comment that the large bolt diamerter makes the mid section of the Mark V weak.

But, if this Wiki article is true, Weatherby did make a very strong and safe action.

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weatherby_Mark_V

Proof testing of the Mark V action[edit]
Weatherby had intended that the new action would be the safest and strongest bolt action available. The rifle was marketed as the "The World's Strongest Bolt Action." The Mark V action has been tested to be able to contain up to 200,000 CUP (Copper Units of Pressure) [5]
The testing of the rifle was conducted on a production rifle chambered for the .300 Weatherby Magnum. Before testing was to be conducted very thorough measurements of the rifle were taken so as to provide a benchmark for the testing which was to be undertaken.[6]

The first test was conducted using a 180 gr (12 g) bullet propelled by 82 gr (5.3 g) of Du Pont #4350 powder. This load provided 65,000 psi (4,500 bar) of pressure. This load did not show any pressure or extraction issues with the new Mark V action but caused a slight sticking of the cartridge case in the Mauser style rifle design. Subsequent testing was performed using the same 180 gr (12 g) bullet and using a powder charge of Du Pont #4350 which increased by increments of 2 gr (0.13 g) for each test thereafter.[3]

The second testing which was conducted with the 84 gr (5.4 g) showed no signs of pressure nor issues with extraction even though the measured pressure was close to 75,000 psi (5,200 bar). Firing this load in the Mauser rifle led to a blown primer and extreme difficulty was experienced in extracting the spent case.[3]

Using 86 gr (5.6 g) of Du Pont #4350 the cartridge began to show signs of pressure in the Mark V action. However, the case did not stick and extraction was performed easily. Breach pressure was found to be between 85,000–95,000 psi (5,900–6,600 bar). Measurements of the spent case showed that the case had stretched at the belt a mere .0005 in (0.013 mm).[3]
The spent case from the 88 gr (5.7 g) test lead to a slightly sticking case which in turn lead to a slight difficulty in opening of the bolt. Measurements from the case belt showed that the belt had expanded from .533 in (13.5 mm) to .535 in (13.6 mm). The pressure generated by this load was 100,000 psi (6,900 bar).

The fifth test conducted used a load of 90 gr (5.8 g) of Du Pont 4350. Firing this load lead to some difficulty in opening the bolt and the case was extracted when opened. The case of the belt still measured .535 in (13.6 mm). A difference in the diameter between the bolt head and the diameter of the barrel of .002 in (0.051 mm) per side was noted. No bulging of the bolt, receiver or the barrel was noted. Headspace was measured to be the same as prior to the testing.[3]

Further testing was conducted with a 180 gr (12 g) bullet lodged in the throat of the barrel. A cartridge loaded with the standard charge of 78 gr (5.1 g) of Du Pont 4350 and a 180 gr (12 g) was fired into the back of the first bullet. It was found that both bullets exited the barrel. The primer had been pierced and the exiting gas entered into the bolt and hit the firing pin sleeve which was loosened slightly. The bolt was opened by hand but the cartridge stayed stuck in the chamber. When the case was tapped out it was found to be in good condition except for its pierced primer. It was found that the barrel, just in front of the receiver ring had expanded from 1.147 in (29.1 mm) to 1.1496 in (29.20 mm). The diameter of the bolt head had expanded from .7178 in (18.23 mm) to .7190 in (18.26 mm). The head space had increased from .2163 in (5.49 mm) to .2174 in (5.52 mm). All other dimensions had stayed constant. This test was conducted 15 times. A test was conducted with a 220 gr (14 g) bullet lodged in the bore of rifle and a 180 gr (12 g) grain bullet was fired into the back of this bullet. The result of this test found that the cartridge case head had expanded to .545 in (13.8 mm). After these additional 15 tests it was found that the head space was set back only a mere .001 in (0.025 mm).[3]

In 1968 I was overseas "working for the government" hahahahaha. Interested in all things involving guns/hunting et all I ordered catalogs from many different companies. When the Weatherby catalog arrived there was a cover letter thanking me for my service and stating I could buy anything they offered BY MAIL! shipped to my home address. I sent a letter back and asked if they would sell me a Varmitmaster barreled action, letter came back with a price and complete info on ordering. I stocked from Boyds and have shot many "targets of opportunity" thru the years My .22-250 heavy barrel Varmetmaster is in my safe , now awaiting a new stock and it's next adventure.

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:
I have this gun here as an interesting gun as the caliber is the last true Roy Weatherby caliber from 1968, which happens also to be my year of birth.

Not many hunters/shooters here in this country want a Weatherby. However I do see Weatherby as an important part of "gunhistory" that is worth telling.

So in other words, you're not ready to sell it to me?

quote:

Originally posted by jlabreck7316:
So in other words, you're not ready to sell it to me?

Well...

Free marked economy dictates the power of Cash.

Tempt me!.