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Winchester Model 70 Featherweight .358 Win Class 3 Special Order
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February 16, 2019 - 1:46 am
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Hello everyone… I just joined with the hopes of being able to find out some more information on a Winchester Model 70 that a friend and fellow shooting club member owns. He is an older gentleman who purchased this rifle back in 1962, has owned it since and never fired it. He has asked me if I could find out more information on it beyond what we know. This is a model 70 featherweight chambered in .358 Win with a S/N that dates to 1955. I believe this is a class 3 special order based upon one reference I found in a Winchester collector book. I have not been able to find any others like it on any auction or internet sites. Any help in determining exactly what it is and what type of value it has in today’s would be greatly appreciated.

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February 16, 2019 - 6:51 am
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Welcome to the Winchester Forum. Yes this rifle appears to be a Class 3 Special Order. They were available in 1955 in the 358 caliber for a short time. I have no idea how many were made in this style. One like your friend’s is shown on page 257 of Roger Rule’s book ” The Rifleman’s Rifle”.

The standand model 70 in the 358 caliber was only made in the year 1955. About 2000 were believed to have been made. Some of these were sent back to Winchester and rebarreled to a different caliber due to problems of the head spacing on the 358 case (how many of the 2000 is not known) Winchester did not have a recall but would rebarrel to a different caliber free of charges.

I had a Model 70 in the 358 caliber a few years back – shot it occasionally and had no problem. If I had known at that time what the value was going to, I would have kept it. A 95+ condition original Winchester pre-64 Model 70 in the 358 caliber will sell in the $3500 – $4500 range.

Value of your friend’s ????? It would depend on how bad someone wanted it and how deep the pockets – sorry.  RR 

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February 16, 2019 - 12:02 pm
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Thank you for the information and confirming my research. I am not certain what happened to the pictures I posted but here are links:

http://foxcarbine.com/images/701.jpg

http://foxcarbine.com/images/702.jpg

http://foxcarbine.com/images/703.jpg

http://foxcarbine.com/images/704.jpg

Any help with a ballpark on what might be expected for a private sale or auction would be most helpful in assisting the owner in determining course of action.

Thanks in advance.

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February 16, 2019 - 6:39 pm
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I would expect it to sell for $4,500 to a serious collector.  If it sold in a well attended auction, it could easily eclipse the $5K mark.

Bert

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February 16, 2019 - 9:02 pm
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Hi stephenking-

Interesting rifle…  Your friend’s (S/N 348132) does indeed appear to be a twin to the one shown in photo 8-28 in Rule’s M70 book.  As it happens the one in the book (S/N 320167; ex-Sam Sanders collection) is currently owned by a fellow WACA member, and he tells me his rifle looks just like your photos, including the two reinforcing cross bolts in the stock and Lyman 16A sight (which is a minor anomaly itself in that the regular production .358 WIN FWTs had low comb stocks and Win 22K rear sights). 

So…  Your friend’s rifle, while not “unique”, is one of a very small number in that configuration and chambering.

According the the information in Rule’s book, M70s could be built on-order with a straight grip stock from sometime in the early ’50s until 1955 (the year these two were made).  So there are other “straight grip” M70s out there, but not many.

All that said, if authentic, your friend’s rifle would likely be of considerable interest to many relatively advanced M70 collectors.  I am not questioning the authenticity of your gun at all, just pointing out that I have seen “fake” straight grip 70 FWTs sell at auction, so any gun with special order features like this one needs to be looked at closely.

As to value????  It is impossible to give an accurate answer on something that never turns up for sale, beyond saying it’s worth what somebody will pay for it!!!  WinkWin61 is right that original, high condition .358 FWTs can sell in the $4250-4500 range due to the limited production chambering.  Your friend’s gun is worth more than that b/c of the infrequently ordered straight grip stock.  As a (very) rough guess, say add 50% to the value of a mint .358 WIN FWT and come up with a number in the vicinity of $6750.  Maybe more, maybe less…  For comparison, other desirable collector M70s, like high condition pre-war Super Grades in uncommon (but not rare) chamberings, like .220 SWIFT, .257 ROBERTS, .375 MAGNUM, etc. can fetch $6500-7500 retail, although they usually sell for less than that at auction.  Anyone else care to take a stab at value?  I to would like to hear what people think…

If your friend is thinking of selling, be sure he understands that he’d get at most 80% of the eventual retail by going through a dealer, since you have to account for the dealer’s profit margin.  The auction route also involves a hefty commission and is a bit of a gamble.  Not quite like playing the slot machines, but to “win big” you need at least two bidders who want it bad going after it.Smile Since some fake straight grip M70s have been sold in the past couple of years, a lot of potential bidders are going to be shy, even when the gun is legit (as your friend’s appears to be).

Hope this helps,

Lou

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February 18, 2019 - 2:05 pm
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I want to thank everyone for the information. The owner is very appreciative of the input although a little disappointed in the current value. The back story is that he paid $3000.00 for this rifle in 1962. To put that in perspective, that was the price of a new Corvette at the time. As the old saying goes, it is what it is. Nevertheless he realizes that he is just a caretaker at this juncture as he cannot take his collection with him which includes this rifle and several other M70’s in .358. Thanks again for the insight and God bless.

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February 18, 2019 - 6:47 pm
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Beautiful rifle. I really enjoyed the photos!

I just did the adjusted value of that 3000.00 =25,123.30 today.

I’ve seen 25k spent a lot more foolishly than this…. 

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