How would the Weatherby 22LR stack up?

[danno50]

I came across a new article on the latest offerings in 22 Rimfire's. The article is mostly about accuracy at 50 yards and price. Because of the strides in technology over the years, its a bit unfair trying to compare new rifles and ammo to those of old. Which of these rifles would you consider buying, and would the Weatherby 22LR compare in accuracy to any of them?( not really a fair comparison since these new rimfire's are bolt action, but just for grins )

https://gundigest.com/reviews/rifles-reviews/best-precision-rimfire-rifles-guaranteed-to-own-the-bullseye

[224KING]

Dan,the only thing Weatherby about these rifles is the stock.Anschutz has been known for it's 22 cal accuracy for years and for most of those years they were setting the pace with their accuracy.I have two of the 22 cal and one 17HMR that are NIB.Their test targets,22 cal using Ely ammo,are remarkable.The 17 is even better with 5 shots looking like 3 shots.

[terminator]

I think I will buy me a couple of those Vodoos just for grins. I love shooting .22s. Think I will have to stick with my bolt Savage though. The rimfires are just like our centerfires in that you have to find the ammo they like best. I have tried over 45 different kinds in my rifles from from $2-$18 / box.We would shoot 25,50,75, and 100 yds with each kind.It was interesting that some that had the best groups at shorter ranges were not as good at longer ranges and vice versa. Subsonic rounds under 1100 fps almost always gave the best groups and the hypervelocity ones the worst. I cant speak for the Weatherby but wish I had one to try.

[danno50]

Over the years, any number of Nation members have made their opinions known about wanting to have Weatherby put the Weatherby XXII back in the line-up (as most centerfire mfg's have 22's in their line-up) or have a special run of the XXII's. Back in the day when they were in the line-up, they weren't selling like hot cakes at I-Hop. They were  "at the time"  more expensive than the average Joe wanted to spend for a 22 rifle, but always dreaming that one day I'll own one, but not right now.             I'm sure Weatherby sold quite a few, but my own SWAG is that they were expensive to build, Anschutz barrel, AAA or AAAA walnut stock?, making or buying semi-auto and bolt action parts, machinery?, quality, craftsmanship, time invested and maybe a lot of inventory of 22's that dealers and marketing couldn't sell at those prices. There were no super stores or internet where you could get a better deal. To build a rifle like that today, with those materials, would again be more expensive than the average Joe would want to spend for a XXII rifle. You think a special run would be expensive? Like I said, this is all SWAGing and maybe some of you know exactly why the WBY XXII was taken out of the line up, and if not, I'm also sure that a lot of you have your own opinions about what happened and how it could have been fixed. However, Weatherby being a family owned business was stuck with making a command decision on whether to continue building it or not, and they choose the latter, for business reasons I'm sure.
      Weatherby could probably start a brand new line of 22's, sort of on a Vanguard synthetic line in a bolt action. No doubt it would be very accurate and many of us would probably buy one if the price could be negotiated, but it wouldn't fill the void for the original. Remember this is all just speculation on my part, so, please don't shoot the messenger, we can still be friends . BTW, I found a couple of  Anschutz's 22's to look at:

 https://www.eurooptic.com/ProductComparison.aspx?prods=7e56b3e1-75e3-4515-bd44-22709170a350_0d5c70b2-07b1-461e-bb1a-6442c98f7297&categoryId=d1e51bcf-ce7c-4b35-872e-bf23712296f1

[224KING]

The Anschutz 1517D is just about an identical match to the new Weatherby XXII bolt that was the latest 22Lr Weatherby to be put out.At a $1000 for the 1517D I can see how the Weatherby jumped from the $749.00 or $799 that they started out at some 11 years ago.Now they start out at 1500 and that's for a nice used one with box and papers.The Stocks that Weatherby used on the 64 barreled action from Anschutz are way nicer than the ones Anschutz uses on the 1517D's.So really I think they should have been offered at a higher price.Maybe $1249 or even $1299.Add in that there was only a limited number being made and you had an automatic collectors dream at $749.It really was a no brainer to buy one and sit on it.I only wish I had bought 2 in 17HMR and only 1 in 22Lr instead of the other way around.

I know I didn't talk about a cheap Weatherby offering for a 22Lr,but if your in the mood for one of those I'd suggest a Marlin bolt with microgroove for accuracy levels you'll get by spending 3 or 4 times the money on an Anschutz or Weatherby 22 for.Maybe Weatherby goes to Marlin for a barreled action and puts a Weatherby stock on it.

[danno50]

I'm going to add another article thats about 10 years old, well written, has more details on the Wby XXII's, some history about Anschutz, and some great pictures of Wby XXII's. (scroll all the way down) Its a good read:
https://gunsmagazine.com/web-blast-weatherby-mark-xxii-rimfire-elegance/

[danno50]

Roger, Tom, You know, that makes two purchases that I'm especially regretful of not paying more attention to when they made their first appearances.(many more than that in my lifetime) In particular, I'm talking about firearms. The Weatherby XXII's 1st. The Weatherby WNMR was the second regret. At the time, I never really even considered the XXII's since I had 3 other 22's, and thought the Wby's were a bit pricy. Well, hind sight being 20-20 couldn't be a truer statement, and it would have to be like Roger hitting the lottery before I'd spend $1500 on those 22's now. As to the WNMR, that one caught me at a real bad time still trying to recover from a money dumping economy in the obama years. I guess I wasn't alone on the WNMR, as a lot of us missed on that one. Pretty sure I won't see any of those 257's on GunBroker in my lifetime. Anyway I guess the present time should be considered the "good old days" and maybe a bit more research on some purchases might be in order. Hell, not having been a Weatherby fan very long now, I didn't' even know the Wby XXII's were a limited run and would become what Tom called "an automatic collectors dream at $749." Live and learn, sometimes.       

[224KING]

I got ahold of a dealer in Washington state,through a friend,that had his name on 2 of the XXII's in 22Lr.The SN's are AS00016X and AS00022X.I have not seen one,listed for sale,with as nice of a stock as the one that has the AS00022X SN.You guys wouldn't believe it.

[danno50]

Is there any way to get pictures of those XXII's?

[224KING]

Working away from home right now.Will post some though after I get back and take care of a few other things first.

[224KING]

Here is the XXII I promised pics of for Danno50

[terminator]

WOW WOW That is ridiculous.

[danno50]

Wild looking gorgeous stock. Thanks for the pictures.

[danno50]

I got ahold of a dealer in Washington state,through a friend,that had his name on 2 of the XXII's in 22Lr.The SN's are AS00016X and AS00022X.I have not seen one,listed for sale,with as nice of a stock as the one that has the AS00022X SN.You guys wouldn't believe it.

Its like the stock market (no pun intended) you have to know someone on the inside for a great purchase to take place. I know there was nothing illegal done, but the stock looks a little tender to be touched . 

[224KING]

This picture taking is the second time the stock has seen daylight since I got the rifle.I cut the seal on the box the day I received it from my transfer agent and looked the rifle over before all the paperwork/transfer was done.It got wrapped back up and put back in it's box after photos.It's a shame I'll never shoot her.She is a part of my 401K.One of these days I'll sell her to help fund my retirement.She's is a real shooter too,according to her factory fired target.