Log In
Members
Home
Add Reply
Add Topic
Hello, I’m hoping one of you experts can help me solve what is so far a mystery.
A few years back I acquired a Model 70 in the 270 caliber at an auction. I never really tried to find the manufacturer date or book price until recently while considering a trade with a friend. Neither one of us have been able to find precise information on the rifle while trying to look it up by the serial number. I know I don’t have to go into detail about Winchester’s record keeping issues.
Any help you may be able to provide would be greatly appreciated.
the serial is G171xxxx
Thank you.
Paul,
It is a late 1980s U.S. Repeating Arms Company production rifle… and it has absolutely nothing to do with “Winchester” record keeping.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Paul, all I can add is My Model 70 featherweight serial no. g1538xxx was wrapped in a Milwaukee Journal newspaper dated Dec. 31 1983. I don’t have a receipt so I don’t know what I paid but seem to recall about $400. Don
Hi. I also have a Winchester Model 70 w/ a similar serial # “G” followed by 7 digits. Any help re year of manuf. would be appreciated:
G1969954
Jerry
JHanson907 said
Hi. I also have a Winchester Model 70 w/ a similar serial # “G” followed by 7 digits. Any help re year of manuf. would be appreciated:G1969954
Jerry
Jerry,
What you have is a U.S. Repeating Arms Company (U.S.R.A.Co.) manufactured Model 70 rifle with the leased “Winchester” trademarked name on it. The U.S.R.A.Co. took over production of the Model 70 when Winchester (Olin Industries) licensed the “Winchester” and “Model 70” trademarks to the U.S. Repeating Arms Company on July 20th, 1981. To the best of my knowledge, the U.S.R.A.Co. never released any serial number or date of manufacture lists for the Model 70 rifles that they manufactured from 1981 through March 2006. When the U.S.R.A.Co. began production of the Model 70, the serial numbers were in the 1.525-million range.
Bert – WACA Historian
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Curious on what might thought of this listing here? Winchester pre-64 Model 70 serial numbers 1 and 2 – Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com : 969539184
Geno said
Curious on what might thought of this listing here? Winchester pre-64 Model 70 serial numbers 1 and 2 – Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com : 969539184
That pair of rifles is certainly of significant interest… but they most certainly are not worth 1.75-million dollars!
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Bert H. said That pair of rifles is certainly of significant interest… but they most certainly are not worth 1.75-million dollars!
No, one million would be my top offer. But how in the world did a measly Gunbroker dealer get hold on such famous guns? But I guess that’s no stranger than the factory sending them out for over-the-counter sale at a remote gun store, rather than making a special presentation of them to John Olin or some famous shooter like Whelen, Keith, etc. An extravagant Rock Island promotion is the obvious place for them.
November 5, 2014
Offline
Hi Clarence-
M70 S/Ns 1 and 2 are pretty well documented, are presently owned by the same person, and have been “on-consignment” with this dealer for quite some time… Both are, as expected, “used guns”… S/N 1 is in lesser condition and has a couple D&T holes in the barrel, but it is S/N 1 after all… S/N 2 used to be in Roger Rule’s collection, having gotten it after Mrs. Ethel Lied sold it… Sold on (and reunited with S/N 1) when Roger dispersed his collection after his book came out…
Given the “asking price”, I’m not sure that the consignor/dealer are actually trying to sell. FWIW… M70 S/Ns 3, 5, 6 and 9 have also “turned up” over the past several years and none has fetched more than about $30K. Of course, they’re not S/N 1 either, but c’mon… 
FWIW… I’m currently housing S/N 5, which is somewhere between S/N 1 and 2 in condition. Is it “real”???? Maybe…. Even if real, is it worth 1/5th of the asking price for S/N 1??? Not hardly!!!
I know you were being facetious, but I don’t think your “top offer” should be more than $175K for the pair… 
I wouldn’t go that high… No matter the “hype”, RIA couldn’t get close to the asking price for those two…
Best,
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
FWIW… I’m currently housing S/N 5, which is somewhere between S/N 1 and 2 in condition. Louis Luttrell said
You should ask the seller what he’d pay to add your #5 to his collection; ought to bring a few hundred Gs at least.
But aren’t you rather amazed that the factory could have been so blind to the unique status of #1, with its potential promotional & advertising value? Their flagship rifle, mind you, not some budget priced .22. In fact, I’d have thought the first 10 would have been set aside for distribution to VIPs.
November 5, 2014
Offline
Hi Clarence-
I don’t know… M70 S/N 4 (a Standard Rifle presumably in 30 GOV’T’06) is the one pictured in the inaugural M70 “Green Brochure”. I’ve yet to find info on that one, maybe it’s in Cody???
FWIW… They didn’t retain M51 “Imperial” S/N 1 either. T.C. Johnson’s personal gun… Well documented as such… FWIW… it’s pictured on the cover of Houze’s early Winchester bolt action book and Dan Sheuy included some of the Amoskeag auction pics of it in the article he wrote on the development of the .270 WCF in the WACA Collector issue-before last… The World’s first 270 WIN…
We still need to find out CFM want’s it…
Winchester didn’t seem to keep S/N 1 of everything… 
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
November 7, 2015
Offline
No idea what they’re worth but I suspect the bidding would be a bit livelier if the decimal point on the minimum bid was moved two places to the left.
Mike
TXGunNut said
No idea what they’re worth but I suspect the bidding would be a bit livelier if the decimal point on the minimum bid was moved two places to the left.
Not a serious attempt to sell; a serious attempt to sell would be consigning them to Rock Island. Something else is going on here, which I suspect is not above board. Like, for example, establishing an insurance value, in case they are “stolen.”
November 7, 2015
Offline
I suspect you’re right, RIA has been very successful with their marketing efforts in recent years. I suppose some mischief could be afoot, I hope that’s not the case. I just lost a long battle with an insurance company and quite frankly they don’t fight fair. I don’t see how a scam involving these rifles could be successful but I suppose it’s possible.
Mike
Hey I just bought a model 70 with the serial number G965365 can’t find any info on it
Steven Heineman said
Hey I just bought a model 70 with the serial number G965365 can’t find any info on it
Steve,
You won’t find much information for it. The serial number indicates that it was manufactured very late in the year 1969 or very early in the year 1970. It is a post-1963 production “push-feed” action rifle. Good shooters, but little to zero collector interest.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Lou, I see that your still trying to say that that silly wildcat .27 Cal is the first .270 WCF. Well that is up for debate! A fun debate it is. Anyways, I agree with you completely on the Model 70s Serial number 1, and 2. Priced as if they did not want to sell them. For what ever it is worth, the story is that Roger paid $50,000 for serial number 2 when he purchased it. Serial number 1 would be more desirable of course. If it was mine I would value the pair at $150,000. That is just me. Others may put a different value on the pair, and I could understand that. You have Model 70 S/N 5. That is pretty neat! I know the man who has Model 54 S/N 5. It is by the way the second .270 WCF. that was made.
Winchester Model 54 S/N 4, purported to be the world’s first commercially available 270 W.C.F. rifle.
I agree with Lou in that his Winchester Model 51 ‘Imperial’ Sporting Rifle chambered for that ‘silly’ wildcat .27 Cal. is indeed the world’s first prototype 270 W.C.F. To the best of my knowledge case dimensions, bullet weight, powder and primer specs were finalized in 1918 and both shoot the exact same 270 W.C.F. Cartridge…..just a matter of semantics.
November 5, 2014
Offline
Hi Bob-
The post for which you are taking me to task was from February 17, 2023, i.e. 18 months ago!!! I have since conceded that a “270 WCF” is NOT a “270 WCF” unless it is marked “270 WCF”… 😀 Hence the present owner of M54 S/N 4 holds the legitimate claim to “the World’s FIRST 270″…
To further update, Model 70 S/N 5 is no longer here. Now we’re “up to date”… 😀😀😀
Best,
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
1 Guest(s)
