Weatherby .224 Magnum Mark V Varmitmaster.

[Timothey101]

Thanks for the info and warm welcome. I will check them out. I'm down here in Niceville, Florida enjoying the beautiful weather.

 

[436]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and need some assistance if anyone is familiar with Weatherby rifles; I am not, but am learning. I recently acquired my first Weatherby rifle and am looking for info about it. It is a Weatherby .224 Magnum Varmitmaster bolt action rifle with a 24" barrel. It has "Made in W. Germany" stamped on the barrel near the receiver and has a unique serial number. Per the Weatherby website all of the first production .224 caliber rifles, which started in 1963 have serial numbers all starting with an "S" prefix, but this one has no prefix (1116). It is in gorgeous condition and appears to have never been fired or at least very little. It also came with two boxes of original ammo and the original scope mounts are in tact. Could this possibly be a pre-production or prototype? I have attached some pictures of it for your review and a picture of a note from the original owner, a soldier who was stationed in Germany in the early 1960s. Thanks in advance for any ideas or commentary.

Nice find, I have a mint MkV .224 Wby Mag "Varmnitmaster 26" inch a little later date in the 70s made in Japan, at the time I also bought one of Weatherby's .22-250 Rems in the same rifle, kind of a match set, many years later I converted the .22-250 Rem to a 6XC for Deer hunting, but... I digress... the .224 Wby Mag is a great varmint cartridge and a breeze to reload for. Your rifle would most likely like bullets 52grs and lighters weight bullets, mine loves the Barnes 50gr XLC, it will pretty much stay up with the .22-250 Rem in performance. With that said your German is more of a collectors gun these days. I see you have the Leupold Std mounts they work great, they're what I use on mine. Good luck, and have fun. Cheers

 

[Timothey101]

Nice find, I have a mint MkV .224 Wby Mag "Varmnitmaster 26" inch a little later date in the 70s made in Japan, at the time I also bought one of Weatherby's .22-250 Rems in the same rifle, kind of a match set, many years later I converted the .22-250 Rem to a 6XC for Deer hunting, but... I digress... the .224 Wby Mag is a great varmint cartridge and a breeze to reload for. Your rifle would most likely like bullets 52grs and lighters weight bullets, mine loves the Barnes 50gr XLC, it will pretty much stay up with the .22-250 Rem in performance. With that said your German is more of a collectors gun these days. I see you have the Leupold Std mounts they work great, they're what I use on mine. Good luck, and have fun. Cheers

Wow! What some beautiful rifles. Thanks for the advice on cartridges and bullets. I do have a reloader, but haven't gotten it set up yet. I inherited my dad's favorite rifle, a Sako .223 and love to shoot it. The accuracy is unbelievable on it. I'm a little nervous about even taking the Weatherby 224 out to shot or hunt with as it appears to be a collector's item as you mentioned. Thanks again for the insight. The only guns I've built or altered are AR-15s…mostly 5.56 with one 300 Blackout. But I'm learning more every day and enjoy tinkering with them. I put a very nice Vortex scope on the 224 using Leupold rings (3x-9x by 40 Scope). I believe it will do the job. See the attached photos of scope/rings and 2 boxes of original ammo. Sorry they came out yo side down…I'm definitely not a photographer.

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

Thanks for the advice and info. And I will contact Weatherby next week and ask them about the serial number. I had no idea about the safety on the bolt, but I just looked at it and you are correct, it is on the bolt. Does this safety modification devalue the gun or enhance it? Any ideas or thoughts on it? I would think it would make it more unique. The gentleman I recently got it from inherited it from his father-in-law who has passed away. The father-in-law was a soldier stationed in Kirchgoens, West Germany who purchased it new with scope and rings in December 1963. The gentleman does have the original scope and rings, but has put it on another gun he owns; a Husquvarna .243. I was thinking about offering to buy him a brand new scope and rings in exchange for the original Redfield scope and rings that came with the gun. That way I can restore it to the original configuration as it was when it was new. It also came with 2 boxes of original unfired .224 Weatherby Magnum ammo. And apparently one of these gentlemen had purchased several additional boxes of newer ammo for it (also came with the gun), but as I look at these newer boxes, they are 224 Valkyrie and appear to be a totally different round (5 boxes of 224 Valkyrie total).

I would be curious about the gun club. In 1963 $975.00 was a lot of money. And the dollar went a lot farther than the Deutsche mark back in those days. So was this club a military gun club, or a German gun club ? If it was a German club. I believe the rifle would have sold in marks. Not dollars. So I would assume it was a GI club. Not that this lessens the value any. Just a bit curious on my part. I was stationed in Aschaffenburg. And I bought a few pieces while there. But I purchased mine from other soldiers leaving & not wanting the hassle to ship them home. I was the comp. armorer so this was no big deal to me. This was late 80s & things were a little harder than in the 60s. Just for reference I got paid as a E1 less than $400.00 a month in the late 80s if I remember correctly. Granted housing & eats were provided. lol

 

[436]

Wow! What some beautiful rifles. Thanks for the advice on cartridges and bullets. I do have a reloader, but haven't gotten it set up yet. I inherited my dad's favorite rifle, a Sako .223 and love to shoot it. The accuracy is unbelievable on it. I'm a little nervous about even taking the Weatherby 224 out to shot or hunt with as it appears to be a collector's item as you mentioned. Thanks again for the insight. The only guns I've built or altered are AR-15s…mostly 5.56 with one 300 Blackout. But I'm learning more every day and enjoy tinkering with them. I put a very nice Vortex scope on the 224 using Leupold rings (3x-9x by 40 Scope). I believe it will do the job. See the attached photos of scope/rings and 2 boxes of original ammo. Sorry they came out yo side down…I'm definitely not a photographer.

It's a very nice looking rifle, I've also had a couple of older Sako over the years, a very fine rifle, your Dad had good taste. Side note, those boxes of Wby ammo are also very collectible, and if they are loaded with the original cartridges even more so. Have fun, and I'd think hard about taking the German .224 Wby to the field. Cheers

 

[TonyRumore]

That's a very nice scope. The original scope the came on this gun was a Redfield 3x-9x. So, I looked on eBay and found a couple of original Redfield scopes from the 1960s that will work and they are not priced that bad. Thanks again for the insight.

If you end up going with an old Redfield, I would suggest sending it to Iron Sight in Tulsa, OK to have it cleaned/refurbished. Those old Redfields tend to get a bit cloudy and will come back from Iron Sight perfectly clear.

I also have a few of the original Weatherby scopes, and the optics are fairly poor on all of my examples. Unfortunately, Iron Sight doesn't work on Weatherby scopes.

Tony

 

[asd9055]

If you end up going with an old Redfield, I would suggest sending it to Iron Sight in Tulsa, OK to have it cleaned/refurbished. Those old Redfields tend to get a bit cloudy and will come back from Iron Sight perfectly clear.

I also have a few of the original Weatherby scopes, and the optics are fairly poor on all of my examples. Unfortunately, Iron Sight doesn't work on Weatherby scopes.

Tony

According the the website of vintage.... posted by @Tommytrees they work on Weatherby Scopes. I might send mine in to be cleaned and regassed

 

[TonyRumore]

According to their website, they don't work on Weatherby scopes. See link.

Scope Repair Service in USA | Ironsight, Inc.

We both fix and change. Any additional scope repair service is handled. Call Iron Site at (918) 445 -2001 right now to speak with professionals.

ironsightinc.com

Tony

 

[asd9055]

NOT ironsight, but vintage gun scopes. $200 for a Weatherby if it does not need parts.

Vintage Gun Scopes

Vintage Weaver, Redfield and other Vintage Rifle Scopes, Guns, scope rings and mounts for sale.

www.vintagegunscopes.com

 

[Tommytrees]

Thanks for the info and warm welcome. I will check them out. I'm down here in Niceville, Florida enjoying the beautiful weather.

If you don't see Weatherby on the website, give them a call or send question via form that is on the website. They also have mounts and rings to match the vintage scope or firearm, also I believe they give Military, Police, Firefighter discounts.

East of you on the shore.

Good luck in your search. TT

 

[hawkpilot81]

I had the same rifle with a serial number within 15 digits of yours, no "S". Ended up selling it, but before that I tried forever to find more info. Weather does not have records of serial number for these very early rifles. The best they could tell me if that it was one of the first off the serial line in the early 60s or late 50's. And made in Germany. Mine was purchased by a soldier stationed there around 1961. Hope this helps. And, FYI, it is worth a lot.

 

[Window]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and need some assistance if anyone is familiar with Weatherby rifles; I am not, but am learning. I recently acquired my first Weatherby rifle and am looking for info about it. It is a Weatherby .224 Magnum Varmitmaster bolt action rifle with a 24" barrel. It has "Made in W. Germany" stamped on the barrel near the receiver and has a unique serial number. Per the Weatherby website all of the first production .224 caliber rifles, which started in 1963 have serial numbers all starting with an "S" prefix, but this one has no prefix (1116). It is in gorgeous condition and appears to have never been fired or at least very little. It also came with two boxes of original ammo and the original scope mounts are in tact. Could this possibly be a pre-production or prototype? I have attached some pictures of it for your review and a picture of a note from the original owner, a soldier who was stationed in Germany in the early 1960s. Thanks in advance for any ideas or commentary.

 

[Timothey101]

I would be curious about the gun club. In 1963 $975.00 was a lot of money. And the dollar went a lot farther than the Deutsche mark back in those days. So was this club a military gun club, or a German gun club ? If it was a German club. I believe the rifle would have sold in marks. Not dollars. So I would assume it was a GI club. Not that this lessens the value any. Just a bit curious on my part. I was stationed in Aschaffenburg. And I bought a few pieces while there. But I purchased mine from other soldiers leaving & not wanting the hassle to ship them home. I was the comp. armorer so this was no big deal to me. This was late 80s & things were a little harder than in the 60s. Just for reference I got paid as a E1 less than $400.00 a month in the late 80s if I remember correctly. Granted housing & eats were provided. lol

I thought the same thing about the price he put down. I believe it's a typo, but he's not around to ask about it. It was probably $295 more than likely imho. It was on the military base is what his son-in-law told me; (Kirchgoens) Rod & Gun Club.

I had the same rifle with a serial number within 15 digits of yours, no "S". Ended up selling it, but before that I tried forever to find more info. Weather does not have records of serial number for these very early rifles. The best they could tell me if that it was one of the first off the serial line in the early 60s or late 50's. And made in Germany. Mine was purchased by a soldier stationed there around 1961. Hope this helps. And, FYI, it is worth a lot.

Thanks for the info it really helps. Next week I'm going to attempt to get the original Redfield 3x9 scope and rings for it from the guy I got the rifle from and put them back on the rifle. Any idea what the value of the gun is including all accessories that came with it? I have 2 original unfired boxes of ammo, an original leather sling and gun case that was purchased with the gun in Dec 1963. Thanks again for the info. And from your handle…you must be a Blackhawk pilot? I'm retired Army myself.

 

[TonyRumore]

They were going for North of $3,000 but the market is a bit slow at the moment.

Tony