Thanks for purchasing and reading my books!

There were 9 front and 9 rear bases produced by Winchester, they were identified (but not always marked) #1-#9.  The only bases that were grooved for "see-through" were the #3 front, #4 front, #5 front, #3 rear, #4 rear and #5 rear, all the rest were standard flat-top bases.

If you are absolutely sure the front base is the same height as the rear #5 base then it is a #5 front.  The base height is what dictates the base number.  If they are both #5 bases then, with the 5X scope, that setup is correct for the Model 61, Model 63 and Model 67 rifles equipped from the factory with 5X scopes.

There were at least 38 different scope base configurations on 12+ different Winchester .22 models, that is why I didn't clutter up the Model 69 and 75 books with all of them, I only included the bases and combinations pertinent to those models.  It will be the similar in the upcoming Model 72 book.

If there is enough interest I can do an article in the Winchester Collector magazine to identify all of the variations/combinations in an easy to read chart.  The Winchester Collector magazine is one of the best perks of being a WACA member.

Best Regards,

BillWyo said
Thank you so much to both you and Blue Ridge Parson for sharing your time and knowledge. Your insights have given me a whole new appreciation for the newest addition to my growing Winchester and Colt rifle collection. 

I'm glad to be able to help.  Enjoy that fine Model 75!

BRP

Have fun!

BillWyo said
Thank you so much to both you and Blue Ridge Parson for sharing your time and knowledge. Your insights have given me a whole new appreciation for the newest addition to my growing Winchester and Colt rifle collection. I just bought the rifle yesterday and can’t wait for it to arrive so I can take it to the shooting range! For reference, the Winchester Collectors Association places the manufacture date of my rifle (Serial Number 16947) in 1939.
  

Nice score! Looking forward to a range report. As you may know this rifle will probably prefer standard (NOT high) velocity target ammo. Very cool sight package. 

Mike

Best Regards,

Congrats on your purchase, they are accurate rifles.

Best Regards,

You can get a letter from Pauline Muerrle who has the polishing room records for the 75 and it will tell you the date of manufacture (week/month/year) but there are no warehouse records available to give you the exact configuration of sights as shipped.

To answer your other question, there are no specific records covering the exact number of the early G7501R rifles with your sight package produced but we can make a pretty good educated guess based on some of the known data.  I will walk you through it at a high level so you can get a feel for the quantity.

The last "pre-WWII" serial number recorded in the polishing room records was 45365.  Of that number approximately 10,000 +/- were the G7505R government contract rifles with a different sight package.  The pre-war Model 75 Sporting rifles made up approximately 20% of that remaining number and the G7501R made up approximately 70% of the remainder from that, so the number you are looking for is roughly (45,365 - ≈10,000) x .8 x .7 = ≈19,804 pre-war Model 75 rifles in the G7501R sight configuration like yours.  The G7501R was the most common variant of the Model 75 Target.  

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Best Regards,

BillWyo said
Thank you. I was also thinking that, but I ran into a book which had a reference that seemed to say that Winchester branded that sight package as their sight but in fact it was a Wittek-Vaver G7527R match package. Not sure of this reference??? Would that be correct?
  

Hi BillWyo,

Thanks for the good, clear pictures - makes our job easy!

Blue Ridge Parson is exactly correct, your rifle (as configured) is a G7501R with the Winchester manufactured 84A Rear Extension Sight (which is wearing a Marble-Goss aperture) and the Winchester manufactured 99A front sight.

The Winchester catalog number G7527R you mentioned came equipped with the Vaver 3875 rear sight and the Vaver 1175 front sight which is not what you have.

The sight packages for the Model 75 were numerous and confusing so it is possible you misinterpreted the book or it is in error.

Best Regards,

P.S. In the future, the most current reference book on the Model 75 specifically is "The Winchester Model 75 - Diversity in Design" published in 2025