Who has the oldest Weatherby rifles?

[Dusty Roads]

0000000369   7mm With 1958 Bausch&Lomb(base adjust and Canjor trigger)
I use every winter for deer

[USMCSGT0331]

Going to bump this thread to the top of the list and add my rifle's serial numbers. My oldest Weatherby rifle is a Pre-Mark V that has the serial number 117, so it's pretty early! I believe they started numbering the Weatherby Pre-Mark V FN Mauser rifles with the serial number 101, which makes this the 17th Weatherby Pre-Mark V made! I know that there's at least 1 earlier rifle in this thread, so unfortunately my rifle isn't the earliest known. However it's an awesome rifle and I'm glad that I own it!

The rifle is chambered in .300 Weatherby Magnum, has a Jaeger trigger and a Rex Sha-Cul muzzle brake. I tried searching for this muzzle brake online and there was next to no information about it. Does anyone else have one of these brakes on their rifle? The rifle had a Bausch & Lomb scope system on it, which was pretty common for rifles the were around in this time period (that's why the receiver has the 2 hole on the right side of the rear bridge). The scope wasn't in the best condition, so I'm going to either replace it with a better example or find an old period correct Leupold that has turned a nice purple color (I love the old Leupolds that have the blued finish patina).

I'm also wondering if I should send the rifle back to Weatherby (if they offer restoration services) or somewhere else to have it restored. The receiver is in great shape, but the top of the barrel lost most of it's bluing and the stock has a good amount of wear. I have no idea how a lot of the barrel has it's bluing rubbed off, I've never seen that before. What do you guys think I should do with it?






Here it is with my early Weatherby Pre-Mark V target rifle, which is serial number 342:

[pharmseller]

My dad bought a Mk V 300 Weatherby Mag in West Germany in 1963. The rifle was made by J.P Sauer.

[danno50]

My dad bought a Mk V 300 Weatherby Mag in West Germany in 1963. The rifle was made by J.P Sauer.

    Does your dad still have the rifle, or do you own it now? Do you have any pictures of the rifle?

[224KING]

My dad bought a Mk V 300 Weatherby Mag in West Germany in 1963. The rifle was made by J.P Sauer.

Is it a Europa?

[danno50]

My dad bought a Mk V 300 Weatherby Mag in West Germany in 1963. The rifle was made by J.P Sauer.

  Is it a Europa?

  Tom, do you happen to know what the time frame was for the Europa builds?

[224KING]

Same time that the Deluxe Mark V's were being built by JP Sauer & Sohn for the North Americas.

The stocks were a little plainer in figure and they were oil finished instead of gloss.They also were chambered in European calibres with a few American cals too.