73. Winchester Pre '64 Model 70 Bolt Action Rifle
serial #236111, 257 Roberts, 24" barrel. This is a very enigmatic rifle. Outwardly the gun appears to be as-new. The gun was purchased by the consignor from the original owner who reportedly bought the gun brand-new in 1952. The finish is absolutely correct, the Winchester proofs are crisp and in-the-white, the feed ramp shows no evidence of ever having seen a projectile and the breech face of the bolt is blued and immaculate. The bore however shows moderate pitting the full length on its right side as though the rifle lay on its side with some contaminant in the bore. Additionally the lands show chatter marks from a rifling cutter skipping during the cutting process. The gun retains 99% plus original Winchester factory blue. The checkered walnut classic style stock rates excellent with perhaps a half-dozen very tiny "rack dings" but otherwise appears as-new. The last odd feature about this rifle is the hand-stamped serial number. There is no evidence of any other number having been in this area, nor any evidence of removal or machining in this area. The numbers are extremely neatly hand stamped and show factory bluing, indicating they were done before final bluing and prior to the proofs being applied. It is possible this may be some type of employee purchase, since Winchester could not sell a gun with bore defects such as this as brand-new through any distributor or retailer. An odd model 70 to be sure whose true story may never be known. (3253-4) {C&R} (1000/1500) SOLD FOR $1380.00 |
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