The Winchester Model 121 is a single-shot

Single-shot

Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded after each shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, and many centuries passed before multi-shot designs became commonplace...

 bolt-action

Bolt-action

Bolt action is a type of firearm action in which the weapon's bolt is operated manually by the opening and closing of the breech with a small handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon...

 .22 caliber rimfire rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

 that was produced from 1967 to 1973 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...

. The 121 can fire .22 Short

.22 Short

.22 Short is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. Developed in 1857 for the first Smith and Wesson revolver, the .22 rimfire was the first American metallic cartridge....

, .22 Long

.22 Long

.22 Long is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. The .22 Long is the second oldest of the surviving rimfire cartridges, dating back to 1871, when it was loaded with a 29 grain bullet and 5 grains of black powder, 25% more than the .22 Short it was based on...

, or .22 Long Rifle

.22 Long Rifle

The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...

 cartridges from its 20¾" barrel. The barrel rifling

Rifling

Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...

 is 1 turn in 16 inches with a right-hand twist. The bolt is a controlled-round feed design (like that of the Winchester Model 70

Winchester Model 70

The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt action sporting rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". The action has some design similarities to Mauser designs and it is...

) and utilizes dual locking lugs on the front. The rifle also has an automatic safety

Safety (firearms)

In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling....

 that is engaged each time the bolt is cycled, so any time a round is loaded the safety is on and has to be manually turned off before the rifle is ready to fire. The Model 121 came with iron sights

Iron sights

Iron sights are a system of shaped alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm, crossbow, or telescope, and exclude the use of optics as in telescopic sights or reflector sights...

, with the rear sight being adjustable for elevation

Elevation (ballistics)

In ballistics, the elevation is the angle between the horizontal plane and the direction of the barrel of a gun, mortar or heavy artillery. Originally, elevation was a linear measure of how high the gunners had to physically lift the muzzle of a gun up from the gun carriage to hit targets at a...

 and windage

Windage

Windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object.There are two causes of windage:# the object is moving and being slowed by resistance from the air...

. The receiver

Receiver (firearms)

In firearms terminology, the receiver is the part of a firearm that houses the operating parts. The receiver usually contains the bolt carrier group, trigger group, and magazine port. In most handguns, the receiver, or frame, holds the magazine well or rotary magazine as well as the trigger mechanism...

 is also grooved to accept a scope

Telescopic sight

A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...

 if one is so desired. The Model 121's stock

Stock (firearm)

A stock, also known as a buttstock or shoulder stock, is a part of a rifle or other firearm, to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, that is held against one's shoulder when firing the gun. Stocks are also found on crossbows though a crossbow stock is more properly referred to as a...

 is a one-piece modified Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo stock

A long gun stock with the comb dropping downward near the heel, in order to allow better contact between the butt of the gun and the shoulder. "They are designed to provide a raised surface on the weapon's stock where shooters generally rest their cheek."...

, made of American hardwood with a Walnut finish.

Variants

The Winchester 121 was also available as a Deluxe model or a Youth model. The 121 Deluxe featured a stock with a fluted comb, sling

Sling (firearms)

In the context of firearms, a sling is a type of strap or harness designed to allow a shooter to carry a firearm on his/her person and/or aid in greater hit probability with that firearm...

 swivels, a front ramp sight with a dovetailed bead, and a deluxe trigger mechanism. The 121 Youth used a shorter length-of-pull stock that measured 12¼ inches and a shorter overall length of 38¾ inches that was suited for smaller shooters.