WINCHESTER Mod.70 pre-64 .22 Hornet
WINCHESTER
Rifles
Category : C
Caliber : .22 Hornet
Rare and superb pre-64 Winchester 70 (type III, variation 3)[1] chambered for the .22 Hornet cartridge, manufactured in New Haven in 1954.
This standard model is fitted with an alloy steel 24" barrel with integral front and rear sights bases forged with the blank. The front sight support bears an original Lyman mod.31 bead under factory sliding protector while the rear sight has given way to the front support of the ML Stith "Streamlined Scope Mount".
This rare period mount sports, without altering the rifle, in ultra-low position, the Weaver J 2.5 "Exposed Adjustment" scope with fine crosshair, manufactured between 1947 and 1967 in El Paso, Texas. The J 2.5 is a glass made for center fire rifle as indicated by the prefix J and its long eye relief allows perfect positioning on this W70.
All the parts, both the weapon and fittings, are blued steel.
The 14" LOP American walnut stock retains full factory finish with a perfectly preserved checkering and original checkered steel butt plate.
The whole, in a state close to absolute new condition, has not undergone any modification.
The .22 Hornet version of the W70 used a specially modified system with, among other things, a specific bolt head and extractor blade. The stroke of the bolt is limited while the staggered five cartridges magazine is built inside the standard one. The operation is remarkably smooth and reliable. [info]
Standard .22 Hornet W70 production ceased in 1955 even if the .22 Hornet chambering remained in the New Haven catalog on special order only until 1957.
Between 1952 and 1954 Winchester shipped just 105 .22 Hornet rifles and only 39 rifles out of North America. This rifle is one of the few exported to Europe and was proof tested in 1955 at Brescia proof house in Italy.
This 8lbs 6oz rifle is in an incredible state of conservation, it seems to have been very little used, its maneuver is tight and its barrel is absolutely perfect, with a mirror bore. With the Weaver scope fitted, the weight shows 8lbs 16oz.
This pre-64 Winchester 70, superb and rare specimen of "Rifleman's Rifle", benefits of course from our entire guarantee.
[1] * "The Rifleman's Rifle: Winchester's Model 70, 1936-1963" by Roger C. Rule
ISBN-13: 9780910785006
Publisher: Diakonia Publishing
Publication date: 01/01/1982