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Hello, here is a Model 70 I bought several years ago and have not been able to find any information on it. Someone told me they think it is a Camp Perry rifle but they weren’t sure. I’m hoping someone can give me some information as to when it was built and approximate value. Was this a special order rifle?
thank you all in advance.
Tom
There were actually 3 different Palma Match Model 70’s produced by Winchester. The first year was 1968, then 1971, with the last year being 1976. The Palma matches were held in different countries every year and the host nation supplied the rifles. The 1976 matches were held in the U.S. and there were 6 countries competing, including the U.S. were, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These rifles were made just for the competitors in the matches and I believe there were 150-160 rifles made. The rifles, which were equipped with Redfield International sights, were sent directly to Camp Perry for the competition. The were handed out to competitors the opening day of the match along with Winchester 7.62 match ammunition loaded specifically for these “Ultra Match” rifles. The rifles all started out as “Ultra Match” barreled actions and were completely assembled in the Winchester custom shop, with the addition of Bisonite bedding under the receivers.
Competitors could purchase their rifles after the conclusion of match, or, if the competitor declined, they were returned to Winchester where they were later sold.
Steve
Steve, thank you very much! There was a piece of masking tape on the rifle stock with a first initial and last name with NZ after the name. I unfortunately didn’t know what it was and discarded it years ago. You are the first person to be able to tell me what this rifle is! I’m not interested in selling it, but what do you think a fair market value would be?
Thanks again,
Tom
Tom, not really sure what the current value is. These seldom come up for sale. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a great deal of interest in them. A friend has been trying to sell his for the last couple of years. I believe he was asking $2,500 with original shipping boxes and sights. I do not believe it ever sold. I believe the main obstacle in selling, is the fact that there is little interest in the post 64 70’s, combined with the fact most people know very little about these scarce variations. I am fortunate to have at least one each of all 3 models. They are quite accurate, especially the 1976 version.
Steve
Thank you Steve, I really appreciate your input. Now I know what it is!
Tom
Hi all,
I have several questions about the 1968 M70 Palma Match rifles that I hope someone can answer:
1. Do these rifles have a 24″ or 26″ barrel?
2. Do they have the externally adjustable trigger? Is there a good source of information on the development of the externally adjustable trigger?
3. Is there a good source of information on the number of rifles made?
Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
Bill
William Grant said
Hi all,
I have several questions about the 1968 M70 Palma Match rifles that I hope someone can answer:
1. Do these rifles have a 24″ or 26″ barrel? 26″ Barrel length
2. Do they have the externally adjustable trigger? Is there a good source of information on the development of the externally adjustable trigger? The 1968 version uses the standard model 70 trigger as was used on all the target models at that time. The later Palmas’ had an externally adjustable trigger that was actually a modified version of the original design. Not sure of any sources that detail the adjustment of the trigger. They are really quite basic, and an outstanding trigger for a 2 lever design.
3. Is there a good source of information on the number of rifles made? My records show there were about 75 of the 1968 version, 120 of the 1971 version, and 140 of the 1976 versions. These are approximations, and I know of no source for exact numbers.
Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
Hope all this helps, there is very little published info on these rifles,
Steve
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your input.
You’re right, there’s not much information available on the M70 Palma Match rifles. I’m trying to do some research on them, along with the International Army Match and the Ultra Match, in order to possibly write a magazine article or two on them.
FYI, the August 1976 issue of The American Rifleman has a short article on the 1976 Palma Match rifles. The article also discusses the special lot of .308 ammo loaded by Winchester-Western and used for the 1976 Palma Match. The article indicates 140 of the rifles were made, which is consistent with your information.
Also, the March-April 1978 issue of Rifle Magazine has an article on the Winchester custom shop, and production of the International Army Match is covered. There isn’t much information in the article on the specs of the rifle, but it’s an interesting article.
You and I corresponded about 10-15 years ago via email, and you were kind enough to educate me about pre-64 Model 70’s, which I appreciated very much. I believe at the time you were starting a complete restoration of a 1967 Corvette. I still drive my 1996 Vette every day.
Regards,
Bill
Bill, thought that name was familiar. Vette was finished and now sold….just not a Chevy guy I guess, still have Cobra and GT350.
I am aware of those articles, and also have some other articles dealing with the 1971 rifle. I will look them up and post them here. If you would like a pdf, send me your email. Mine is [email protected].
Steve
Hi Steve,
Yes, I would like to receive those articles in pdf format. My email address is [email protected]. Thank you –
Bill
Hi Bill, not to resurrect an old thread, but I just finished reading your article in the new Winchester Collector magazine. I guess you finally got the info you were looking for! Great article by the way. It’s the most info I’ve ever seen on these rifles.
Thank you very much,
Tom
Actually there was a Palma match in the summer of 1967 at Camp Perry, Ohio. Model 70’s were made available to the competitors at that time.
As I remember there were teams from the US, England, Canada, New Zeeland, Zambia (which no longer is a country) and maybe Australia. I could be wrong about all of the countries, but it was open to all English speaking countries. Most of those countries. including the US, participated in the Canadian national matches in Ottawa a week or so before the US national matches at Camp Perry.
After further reflection, I’m going to admit that I was wrong in my previous post. The 1967 date was at the Canadian national matches and the Palma match at Camp Perry, (US national matches) was in August of 1968. It’s only been 53 years since those events took place, so please forgive my mistake.
BTW, I was a member of the US Palma Team for both of those events.
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