Some thoughts about Gopher Specials….
Gopher Specials were in the 1959 Gopher Catalog and their magazine advertising said, “after waiting for a year” they were in stock. This would suggest that they were ordered from Winchester in 1957 or 1958. Additionally, one must take into account that Gopher offered sightless M70’s (including the 308 Win and sightless Standard Westerner) all the way through 1963. So there had to be more than one order from Gopher to Winchester, the later one including the 308 Win. Fwt and 264 Win Mag Standard Westerner.
The Red Book notes the full S/N range of 1959 M70 production and assumes that Gopher Specials were all made in 1959.
Good Luck finding a genuine Gopher Special.
