Weatherby.com

Long before there was a Mark V rifle, Roy Weatherby's cartridges established his fortunes in the hunting fraternity. The first appeared when Weatherby was still in the insurance business and moonlighting as a wildcatter and rifle-builder in his garage. In 1945, he resigned from the Auto Club to open a gun-shop on the corner of Long Beach and Firestone Boulevards in South Gate, California. Monthly rent for that vacated barbershop: $100.

Hard work, great salesmanship and good luck kept Weatherby in business long enough to interest investors like oil tycoon and globe-trotting sportsman Herb Klein. Roy also tapped Hollywood, putting Weatherby rifles in the hands of screen stars like John Wayne and Gary Cooper. Soon the Weatherby cartridge line included .257, .270 and 7mm "short" magnums and the full-length .300--all on the blown-out .300 H&H case, all distinguished by radiused shoulder junctures.

The .300 came along in 1944, and soon surpassed its stablemates in popularity. With a 180-grain bullet at 3,250 fps, it shot as flat as a .270 but carried much more energy and battled wind more effectively. Commercial ammunition became available in 1948--handloaded by Roy. In 1952, he got a quote from Fabrique Nationale of 15 cents per finished round.

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