Weatherby Centurion

About the Weatherby Centurion

The Weatherby Centurion is a gas-operated semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun produced for Weatherby, Inc. from 1972 to 1981. Manufactured in Japan by Nikko and KTG, it used a gas-operated action conceptually similar to the Remington 1100, paired with a lightweight aluminum receiver and a high-gloss checkered walnut stock with a ventilated-rib barrel. Offered only in 12 gauge, the Centurion was a sporting and field shotgun aimed at hunters and clay shooters. The improved Centurion II introduced a revised stamped-steel slide assembly before the line was succeeded by the Model 82.

Roy Weatherby, famed for his high-velocity magnum rifle cartridges, expanded the Weatherby line into Japanese-made sporting shotguns in the early 1970s. The gas-operated Centurion was Weatherby's autoloader offering alongside the pump-action Patrician of the same era.

Weatherby Centurion specifications

Made in Japan by Nikko and KTG under contract for Weatherby. The original Centurion's slide assembly was prone to breakage owing to the lack of a recoil buffer; the Centurion II revised the slide and lengthened the action tube to address this. Sales were modest and most parts are now obsolete.