224 Weatherby Magnum

Until quite recently, no other caliber had been souped-up, as had the 22. Therefore, it was inevitable that the dean of high velocity, Roy Weatherby, would eventually create a 22-caliber chambering. This happened in 1963, when this cartridge was introduced as the smallest member of the Weatherby cartridge line. This work began in the early 1950s but, due to lack of a properly sized action, this chambering was not introduced until Weatherby scaled down its Mark V action and thereby created the "Varmintmaster" – the only factory rifle ever chambered for this round.

Ballistically, the 224 Weatherby outperforms the 223 and comes close to matching the 22-250 but it cannot equal the 220 Swift. It uses the smallest belted cartridge ever commercialized and thereby maintains the "beltedmagnum" Weatherby design concept. Accordingly, it headspaces on the belt, which reduces case stretching and improve case life.

As most Weatherby rifles are chambered with a relatively long freebore, accuracy can often be improved by seating bullets to increased overall cartridge length. This reduces risk of the bullet yawing before it engages the rifling, thus improving shot-to-shot accuracy.

In Europe, the 224 Weatherby is legal only for roe deer and smaller game animals. Its true strength appears when it is used for the long-range varmint shooting, for which it was designed.