Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors 1961 Winchester Model 70 Supergrade Featherweight - Special Order 30-06

Mister Green, I call your gun a GS SG Fwt, Gopher special,super grade, fwt.... IF it is a " Put together gun" all Im going to say is, It is well put together !!!! Same as a fine woman...I would love to have it in my stable..This lady may have had a little Botox but those are home grown milky tits I see... very best WinPoor

Kevin Kelly of Kevins in Tallahassee FL used to have a new in the box .243 fwt SG, if he has not sold it I will take a look at it next trip to Tallahassee. IIRC it was a very late gun ,I bet its not a sightless barrel.. Guys this is what makes these things fun. If the stock is fake I would sell my fwt and hunt hell out of this one provided it shoots well and I have YET to buy one that did not shoot well and some were just downright scarey accurate.. very best winpoor

Amen. I think even at $2,000.00, he did very well on that one. It's still basically a custom rifle and you damn sure can't have one built like that one now days for that price. I'd be damn proud to own it. It does suck that it doesn't have all the supergrade markings on it, like it should. I was really hoping it did, just so reelman would be happy

Im going to ask a question I do not think has been asked. Is this super grade bottom metal aluminum ? very best WinPoor

I have recently spoke with a prominent Winchester collector friend of mine that is witness to certain Super Grade model 70's that are not marked "super grade" on the barrel. This has also been noted in some of the reference books so he tells me. Is there a chance in hell the Custom Shop would have taken a gopher special action and barrel and placed it in a SGFW stock to accomplish the special sightless order for a later production rifle?

Mister Green you can Monday morning quarterback your rifle as much a you want. At the end of the day all that really matters is that your happy with the purchase you made. Perhaps it's the real thing maybe not but who can say for certain. I would have paid the $2K for it BUT I would have bought it to use not as an investment to remain in a safe. I gave up on the safe queens long ago.

Did Winchester do this or that? A question that will never really be answered. IMHO I would use it but if your careful with it you should do no harm to it's value.

This baby doll is headed for GA, I will give all a Botox report after one trip in the bright SW GA sun! Put together or not I will hunt this bad boy if it shoots like any other pre 64 Ive ever worked over on the bench! very best to all WinPoor

This has been an interesting thread as far as making me think about the finer points of collector value. With some other rifles discussed recently the concern was the possibility of fake barrels not made by Winchester. That is counterfeiting, straight up, and is a different discussion from this one.

In this case, all seem to agree we are talking about original Winchester parts of the correct vintage but the stock has been glass bedded and the barrel floated. Am I correct in this assumption? The only question seems to be if this rifle was originally assembled at the Winchester factory in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. All seem to agree that the rifle was a bargain at $2K. But if it could have been proven that Winchester assembled the Winchester parts, and the stock was not altered, the value goes up by a significant multiplier, 2x, 3x, or more(?) And it seems the answer to such questions will never be known definitively unless some records are discovered. And even then, the collective opinion of the collector community would have to agree these records are authentic.

So, what we are left with, and ALL WE ARE EVER LEFT WITH IN THE COLLECTOR MARKET, is the collector value of an item is what someone is willing to pay when the item is sold.

It is really that simple. All the fretting, conjecturing, and opinions don't truly matter at all. You can gather up some experts and have them "vote"if it makes you feel good, but the only vote that matters is the one taken when it is sold. If someone pays an amount, the other members of the community can opine that the price was fair, too low, or too high, but it is what it is. And their opinions will not be proven one way or the other until the item is sold again. The market will decide. Again, it is really that simple.

The only time I can see that the opinion of the "experts" truly, truly matters is for insurance purposes or for bragging rights.

Again, I'm not "dissing" collectors or their hobby. The money is real, the market is real, and I truly appreciate fine guns. As I have said, I also appreciate the knowledge and enthusiasm serious collectors bring to the table. But I think I personally enjoy watching more than I would enjoy participating.

I have no idea what winchesterpoor paid for the rifle, and I honestly don't care to know. I do know it will be fun watching him shoot it and learning if the rifle is good at doing what it was built to do.

I have taken a "chance" on a couple guns one still has me stumped! it is a National Match but the action is NOT clip slotted, I have taken the gun apart and the trigger is stamped " TARGET" the action is hand honed and slick as butter, the barrel ramp is without a doubt National match, The target stock is without a doubt a marksman National Match, and I can tell all it is scarey accurate with the irons that are on it! I am happy as a pig in sh#t with the gun! BUT according to Mr Rule who is the last word to me ,all National Matches were clip slotted! Could one have been ordered without the clip slot? You can bet your ass! Ive talked to enought old timers including one who ran and owned a 3 story hardware store in my hometown, when he retired it to several days to auction most of his stuff, from mule collars to a big room and monster safe FULL of NIB guns, thousands of case pocket knives ect. A good Winchester sales rep and MONEY would and could get DAMN NEAR anything you wanted!!!! very best WinPoor

Winchester pre 64 mod 70 loons, I got this SG ,GS, Fwt home and after 3 trips in the SW GA sunlight, with my gunsmith visor magnifier, I'm not so sure its a 'put together gun' I bought many guns out of the same collection and all have been very nice some NIB guns, The old Winchester lover knew a Winchester mod 70, I took another fwt. out and compared the barrel channels ect. At any rate if this one shoots as good as the fwt. I already have it will not be for sale, it will be my whitetail hammer when I'm to old to hold the target in sporter stock(Carlos)still any more.... very best I will try and post more photos WinPoor

winpoor: It was probably as simple as ..."Hello Winchester? I want a 30/06 FW Super Grade with no iron sights. I have money. Can you make me one?"

"Yes sir that's a special order from the custom shop but I'm sure we can get one together for you....but since it's a custom shop item we may have to charge you $275-$300 bucks for the rifle. I know it's expensive but....."

I think back in the day when the customer truly was king you could get whatever you wanted from any of the major manufacturers. I know with parker shotguns never say never is the rule. Fortunately some records survive for them but alas not so for the M70.
WinPoor congrats on yet another great M70.

I am very happy with the gun and I already have a cousin that wants my other fwt that I just got back from having bedded!I will let em' worry about counterfeit in 20 yrs! It all depends on how well this one shoots, I'm putting Leupold DDs and a 4.5 X 14 on her!I will say again in the strong S GA sunlite it is a beauty!!! very best WinPoor

Some 150-165 grain NBT's should prove very effective on your deer population. It's been to damn cold here (18 this am) to shoot but I have some test loads ready for the 243 when it gets a little warmer.
Rich

Mr. GSP, your Varminter shoots the 70 BTs so well I never shot anything else in her, I just smiled for my pals! I save all brass ans boxes but I am 99% sure they were gold box Federal Prem,70 gr BT's.. I called it a 3/4 " half drunk and a 1/2 gun sober! I still think it is a late CM barrel as well, very best winpoor