Roy Weatherby
Encyclopedia
Roy E. Weatherby was the founder and owner of Weatherby, Inc.
, an American
rifle, shotgun and cartridge manufacturing company set up in 1945. Weatherby created an entire line of custom cartridges, and was one of the people responsible for the industry interest in high-speed cartridges. He created a custom rifle action to accommodate his high-pressure cartridges.
, California
where he and his wife, Camela, bought a Spanish style home located on 7672 California Street on the corner of Grand Avenue. Weatherby started manufacturing Weatherby Guns in his garage at the Huntington Park home. As orders for his guns increased, and social appointment pressed him and his wife to be away from home, his daughter, Diane, was often cared for by the neighbor lady, Emma Jones.
Weatherby firearms are best known for their very high-powered rifle cartridges, all bearing the name Weatherby Magnum such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum
and the .460 Weatherby Magnum
, and for the production of appropriately-chambered sporting rifles.
Weatherby came into the world of commercial cartridge and rifle making with a background of experimentation in cartridge wildcatting
and was determined to develop a range of sporting rifle cartridges that would produce very high muzzle velocities
, high bullet energies, very flat trajectories
, and very hard-hitting characteristics at long range. Among those who influenced his thinking and products was the English riflemaker and cartridge designer David Lloyd
.
Following the considerable commercial success of Weatherby Inc., Roy Weatherby established the Weatherby Foundation (initially known as the Roy E. Weatherby Foundation) as a non-profit, tax-exempt Foundation to educate the non-hunting public about the beneficial role of ethical sporting hunting, especially its contributions to wildlife conservation. It currently leads a national initiative to foster the development of educational outdoor expositions, and as at 2007 has sponsored 78 events in 19 of the US states, with combined attendance figures of nearly 1 million. The Foundation annually sponsors the prestigious Weatherby Hunting & Conservation Award.
Weatherby
Weatherby, Inc. is an American gun manufacturer founded in 1945 by Roy Weatherby. The company is best known for its high-powered magnum cartridges, such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum...
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rifle, shotgun and cartridge manufacturing company set up in 1945. Weatherby created an entire line of custom cartridges, and was one of the people responsible for the industry interest in high-speed cartridges. He created a custom rifle action to accommodate his high-pressure cartridges.
History
He grew up on a farm in Kansas. He later moved to Huntington ParkHuntington Park
-In the United States:* Huntington Park, California* Huntington Park , a park in Newport News, Virginia* Huntington Park , a minor league baseball stadium in Columbus, Ohio...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where he and his wife, Camela, bought a Spanish style home located on 7672 California Street on the corner of Grand Avenue. Weatherby started manufacturing Weatherby Guns in his garage at the Huntington Park home. As orders for his guns increased, and social appointment pressed him and his wife to be away from home, his daughter, Diane, was often cared for by the neighbor lady, Emma Jones.
Weatherby firearms are best known for their very high-powered rifle cartridges, all bearing the name Weatherby Magnum such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum
.257 Weatherby Magnum
The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a .25 Caliber belted bottlenecked cartridge. It is one of the original standard length magnums developed by shortening the .375 H&H Magnum case to approx....
and the .460 Weatherby Magnum
.460 Weatherby Magnum
The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby...
, and for the production of appropriately-chambered sporting rifles.
Weatherby came into the world of commercial cartridge and rifle making with a background of experimentation in cartridge wildcatting
Wildcat cartridge
A wildcat cartridge, or wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and firearms are not mass produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge.Developing and using wildcat cartridges does not...
and was determined to develop a range of sporting rifle cartridges that would produce very high muzzle velocities
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
, high bullet energies, very flat trajectories
Trajectory
A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...
, and very hard-hitting characteristics at long range. Among those who influenced his thinking and products was the English riflemaker and cartridge designer David Lloyd
David Lloyd (riflemaker and sportsman)
David Llewellyn Lloyd was an English deer-stalker, metallurgist, ballistician and sporting rifle maker, of Northamptonshire, England and Glencassley in Sutherland, Scotland. After service in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, extensive deer stalking, and frequent rifle shooting visits to...
.
Following the considerable commercial success of Weatherby Inc., Roy Weatherby established the Weatherby Foundation (initially known as the Roy E. Weatherby Foundation) as a non-profit, tax-exempt Foundation to educate the non-hunting public about the beneficial role of ethical sporting hunting, especially its contributions to wildlife conservation. It currently leads a national initiative to foster the development of educational outdoor expositions, and as at 2007 has sponsored 78 events in 19 of the US states, with combined attendance figures of nearly 1 million. The Foundation annually sponsors the prestigious Weatherby Hunting & Conservation Award.