( LIVE ON GUN BROKER ) Weatherby MK V Deluxe 7mm WBY Mag *INCREDIBLE MADE IN WEST GERMANY EXAMPLE*

SPECIFICATIONS: 

Manufacturer: Weatherby 

Model: Mark V Deluxe

Serial: P11556

Range of Manufacture: 1964-1973

Caliber: 7mm WBY Mag.

Finish: Blue

Barrel Length: 24"

Optics/Sights: Weatherby 2 3/4x to 10x variable optic

Stock/Grips: Deluxe skip line checkered pistol grip walnut stock with Monte Carlo style cheekpiece and rosewood tipped forearm & pistol Grip

Action: Bolt-Action 

Markings: Standard / Right side of the receiver is stamped "Made in W-Germany".

Bryant Ridge's Analysis:

The original production rifles by Roy Weatherby were built on commercial Mauser actions manufactured by FN, Brevex (magnum), and Mathieu (left hand). Weatherby would build a custom rifle from a customer's specifications for bespoke rifles, using any action the customer requested - provided the action was strong enough to tolerate the pressures for their desired cartridge. Weatherby manufactured his rifles for many years at his small facility in South Gate, California, until 1956, when he contracted with Sako to continue building his firearms based on the Weatherby-FN Mauser actions. Weatherby still produced some custom rifles in South Gate following this contract.

Weatherby's first break from designs based on Mauser actions came in 1956 when he commissioned the Danish firm of Schultz & Larsen to build the 378 Weatherby Magnums utilizing the Schultz & Larsen Model 54 bolt-action. This action was very stout and had several features that Weatherby would integrate into future proprietary rifle designs, including a low bolt-lift and triple gas-escape ports in the bolt.

In 1958, after several years of development, Roy Weatherby introduced the Mark V bolt-action, his first proprietary design developed in-house by Weatherby himself and with his head engineer, Fred Jennie. Weatherby had to build the newly designed rifle to withstand the higher pressures the experimental cartridges produced, which exceeded 100,000 pounds per square inch. Pacific Founders, Inc. manufactured the first Weatherby Mark V actions in the United States. Weatherby assembled and finished the rifles at the Weatherby facility in South Gate. The demand for the new Mark V rifles quickly exceeded Weatherby's manufacturing capacity, so the company contracted with J. P. Sauer in West Germany to produce the rifles. Manufacturing of the Mark V continued in West Germany until the early 1970s when material and labor costs led Weatherby to shift production to Howa in Japan. Some say the machining and finishing of the Howa-manufactured Mark Vs. was an improvement over the quality of the Sauer-made guns. Weatherby moved Mark V manufacturing back to the United States in 1995, where the Mark V has been built under contract by both Saco Defense (acquired by General Dynamics in 1998) and Acrometal/ATEK ever since.