The .224 Weatherby Magnum (5.56×49mmB) is a sporting cartridge that

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, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .340 Weatherby ...

introduced in 1963. The chambering was discontinued in 1994 and reintroduced in 2025. It is the only belted magnum varmint cartridge. It is a proprietary cartridge with no major firearms manufacturers chambering rifles for it other than

. It was originally called the .224 Weatherby Varmintmaster when it was introduced alongside the Weatherby Varmintmaster rifle, but the rifle was discontinued in 1994 and the cartridge was renamed.

Design

Roy Weatherby devised the .224 years prior to its commercial introduction. The delay was at least in part due to the unavailability of a suitable

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

. An earlier high-velocity .22 caliber round from Weatherby called the .220 Weatherby Rocket was based on the .220 Swift, though it was never manufactured.''Cartridges of the World 8th Edition'', Book by Frank C. Barnes, DBI Books, 1997, p. 23

Performance

Performance is similar to the popular .22-250. Once Remington introduced rifles in .22-250, they quickly superseded the .224 Weatherby Magnum in popularity, forcing Weatherby to chamber rifles in .22-250. This was the first time that Weatherby offered rifles in a commercial chambering.

Sporting use

.22 caliber rifles are legal in some areas for big game up to the size of deer or larger. Convention holds the .224 Weatherby and similar cartridges are better suited to long-range

varminting Varmint hunting or varminting is the practice of hunting vermin — generally small/medium-sized wild mammals or birds — as a means of pest control, rather than as games for food or trophy. The targeted animals are culled because they are cons ...

. Similar statements are made concerning other "big" 22 caliber cartridges like the .220 Swift and .223 WSSM. Currently many states in the United States do allow 22 caliber rifles on big game, but the majority require a minimum of 6mm. Well known firearms author

P.O. Ackley Parker Otto Ackley (May 25, 1903 – August 23, 1989) was an American gunsmith, barrel maker, author, columnist, and wildcat cartridge developer. The Ackley Improved family of wildcat cartridges are designed to be easily made by rechambering exi ...

believed that fast 22 caliber cartridges were suitable for medium-large game.

Craig Boddington Craig Boddington is a professional hunter, TV show host, author and Marine. Biography Craig Boddington was born in Kansas, U.S.A., in 1952. As a teenager, when not involved with hunting and shooting, he spent a lot of time pursuing Boy Scout ac ...

has said that such cartridges are suitable for smaller deer. Bullets suited for hunting big-game are available from major manufacturers such as

Nosler Nosler, Inc. is an American manufacturing company based in Bend, Oregon, known for producing ammunition and handloading components and specializing in high-performance hollow-point and soft-point hunting bullets. The current companies also in ...

and Barnes.

References

External links

Weatherby official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:224 Weatherby Magnum Pistol and rifle cartridges Magnum rifle cartridges Weatherby Magnum rifle cartridges

Design

Performance

Sporting use

See also

References

External links