Winchester Model 67
Encyclopedia
The Winchester Model 67 was a single-shot
, bolt-action
.22 caliber rimfire rifle
sold from 1934 to 1963 by Winchester Repeating Arms Company
. Based on the earlier Model 60, the Model 67 was the mainstay of Winchester's inexpensive single-shot rifle lineup. A rare variant, the Model 677, was produced with a telescopic sight
and no provisions for iron sights
.
had to be manually drawn rearwards to cock the action after closing the bolt, but the design was improved to incorporate a wing-style safety
. The Model 60 had a similar rotating safety but the "SAFE" and "FIRE" indications were read through oblong holes in the bolt; the wing safety made the setting more readily apparent from a distance.
The Model 67 had a 27 in (685.8 mm) barrel with a simple post front sight
and a buckhorn rear sight that was drift-adjustable for windage. When it was first introduced, the rifle could chamber .22 Short
, .22 Long
, or .22 Long Rifle
cartridges interchangeably. The rifle featured a stock
made of plain uncheckered walnut
with a pistol grip and finger grooves, and was a takedown
design; the barreled action
was easily removed by turning a screw under the stock using a penny. A composition buttplate was used.
Several variants of the Model 67 were produced.
market. The Model 68 was basically a Model 67 with a hooded front sight and an aperture
rear sight. The Model 68 was effectively rendered redundant when its special sights became optional on the Model 67 in August 1943, but the rifle was not actually discontinued until 1944, and deliveries from inventory continued into 1945.
version intended for short-range varmint control was introduced, chambered for .22 Short, .22 Long, .22 Long Rifle, or .22 Long Rifle shot
cartridges interchangeably. Other than the absence of rifling
, it was largely similar to the standard model.
s were first offered in January 1937 with the introduction of the Model 677. This model featured integral scope bases mounted on the barrel and no provisions for iron sights. Options were a 2¾-power scope or a 5-power scope with crosshairs; a 2¾-power scope with a vertical aiming post was added in November of the same year. The scopes were boxed separately and attached to integral bases on the barrel by the rifle's buyer. Other than the scope and the absence of iron sights, the Model 677 was identical to the Model 67, and various design changes were made in parallel with its parent.
Also in November 1937, the same three scope options became available for the standard model, and the post scope was offered on the Boy's Rifle. Open sights were retained and could be viewed through special split scope bases.
All telescopic sights were formally dropped in 1942 when supplies of optical glass were diverted to meet World War II
arms production demands. Production of the Model 677 had actually ceased in 1938 due to very poor sales. The Model 677 has the lowest production total of any Winchester single-shot rimfire model with only 1,400 produced.
shotgun.
Sources: Houze 1993, p. 160 & Henshaw 1993, pp. 104–105.
Approximately 383,597 to 652,538 Model 67s had been produced when production ceased in 1963. The Model 67 was never produced with serial number
s for the American market because they were not required on American firearms prior to the Gun Control Act of 1968
, but an unknown number bound for foreign markets had serial numbers applied.
Prices of the Model 68 on today's collector market remain reasonable due to the model's high production numbers. The Boy's Rifle commands a slight premium, while the relatively rare .22 WRF and smoothbore versions are worth more than double the standard rifle, and the very rare Model 677 is worth nearly ten times standard value.
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...
sold from 1934 to 1963 by 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.-...
. Based on the earlier Model 60, the Model 67 was the mainstay of Winchester's inexpensive single-shot rifle lineup. A rare variant, the Model 677, was produced with a telescopic sight
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...
and no provisions for 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...
.
Origins and design
Due to intense competition for entry-level single-shot rifle buyers, Winchester embarked on a program in the early 1930s to reduce the production costs of the entry-level Model 60, which was itself a reduced-cost version of the earlier Model 1904. As with the Model 60 from which it was derived, the cocking piece at the rear of the boltBolt (firearm)
A bolt is a mechanical part of a firearm that blocks the rear of the chamber while the propellant burns.In manually-operated firearms, such as bolt-action, lever-action, and pump-action rifles and shotguns, the bolt is held fixed by its locking lugs during firing, forcing all the expanding gas...
had to be manually drawn rearwards to cock the action after closing the bolt, but the design was improved to incorporate a wing-style 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....
. The Model 60 had a similar rotating safety but the "SAFE" and "FIRE" indications were read through oblong holes in the bolt; the wing safety made the setting more readily apparent from a distance.
The Model 67 had a 27 in (685.8 mm) barrel with a simple post front sight
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...
and a buckhorn rear sight that was drift-adjustable for windage. When it was first introduced, the rifle could chamber .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 interchangeably. The rifle featured a 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...
made of plain uncheckered walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
with a pistol grip and finger grooves, and was a takedown
Takedown gun
A takedown gun is a long gun designed to be taken apart significantly reducing its length, making it easier to store, pack, transport and conceal. A variety of barrel, stock, and receiver designs have been invented to facilitate takedown. For example, the hinged design of many break-action...
design; the barreled action
Firearm action
In firearms terminology, an action is the physical mechanism that manipulates cartridges and/or seals the breech. The term is also used to describe the method in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism. Actions are generally categorized by the type of mechanism used...
was easily removed by turning a screw under the stock using a penny. A composition buttplate was used.
Several variants of the Model 67 were produced.
Model 68
The Model 68 was conceived as a replacement for the slow-selling Model 60A which was designed for the competitionShooting sports
A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
market. The Model 68 was basically a Model 67 with a hooded front sight and an aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
rear sight. The Model 68 was effectively rendered redundant when its special sights became optional on the Model 67 in August 1943, but the rifle was not actually discontinued until 1944, and deliveries from inventory continued into 1945.
Boy's Rifle
In August 1937, acting on a suggestion by Adolph Topperwein, Winchester introduced a smaller version intended to be marketed as a child's first rifle. This barrel was shortened to 20 in (508 mm), the length of pull of the stock was reduced by 1.19 in (30.2 mm), and its weight was 4.5 lb (2 kg), 0.5 lb (0.226796185 kg) lighter than the standard model. This model was known as the Junior Model or, perhaps more popularly, the Boy's Rifle.Smoothbore
In September 1937, a smoothboreSmoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
version intended for short-range varmint control was introduced, chambered for .22 Short, .22 Long, .22 Long Rifle, or .22 Long Rifle shot
Lead shot
Lead shot is a collective term for small balls of lead. These were the original projectiles for muskets and early rifles, but today lead shot is fired primarily from shotguns. It is also used for a variety of other purposes...
cartridges interchangeably. Other than the absence of 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...
, it was largely similar to the standard model.
Telescopic sights and Model 677
Winchester-branded telescopic sightTelescopic 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...
s were first offered in January 1937 with the introduction of the Model 677. This model featured integral scope bases mounted on the barrel and no provisions for iron sights. Options were a 2¾-power scope or a 5-power scope with crosshairs; a 2¾-power scope with a vertical aiming post was added in November of the same year. The scopes were boxed separately and attached to integral bases on the barrel by the rifle's buyer. Other than the scope and the absence of iron sights, the Model 677 was identical to the Model 67, and various design changes were made in parallel with its parent.
Also in November 1937, the same three scope options became available for the standard model, and the post scope was offered on the Boy's Rifle. Open sights were retained and could be viewed through special split scope bases.
All telescopic sights were formally dropped in 1942 when supplies of optical glass were diverted to meet World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
arms production demands. Production of the Model 677 had actually ceased in 1938 due to very poor sales. The Model 677 has the lowest production total of any Winchester single-shot rimfire model with only 1,400 produced.
Miniature target bore
In April 1940, Winchester introduced a special smoothbore version chambered for the .22 Long Rifle shot cartridge, featuring a 24 in (609.6 mm) barrel and bead sights identical to those used on the Model 12Winchester Model 1912
The Winchester Model 1912 is a hammerless slide-action, i.e., pump-action, shotgun with an external tube magazine. Popularly-named the Perfect Repeater at its introduction, it largely set the standard for pump action shotguns over its 51 year high-rate production life...
shotgun.
Production
The Model 67 was introduced alongside the Model 68 in May 1934 and immediately proved popular. As with other Winchester models, various design changes were made over time.- The finger grooves in the stock were eliminated in late 1935.
- The bolt retaining spring was eliminated in August 1937.
- The stock was enlarged in October 1937 so the takedown screw would fit flush with the bottom, the forearm was changed to a semi-beavertail shape, and the pistol grip was made more pronounced.
- The sear and extractor were modified in January 1938 to throw ejected cases farther when the bolt was opened.
- An optional .22 WRF chambering was added in April 1938 to the standard rifle.
- The same sights used on the Model 68 were offered as options for the Model 67 starting in August 1943.
- In an effort to render Winchester products more visible when stored vertically on retailers' racks, an inlaid bronzeBronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
stylized "W" logo was added to the trigger guardTrigger guardA trigger guard is a loop surrounding the trigger of a firearm and protecting it from accidental discharge.Some assault rifles can have their trigger guard removed or positioned as not to impair firing with gloves for example in Arctic conditions....
in March 1944. The logo was changed to red paint at an unknown later date. - In place of the earlier chrome platingChrome platingChrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
, bluedBluing (steel)Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface...
finish was used on the bolt, trigger, and cocking piece starting in October 1944. - The firing pin design was changed in January 1946.
Sources: Houze 1993, p. 160 & Henshaw 1993, pp. 104–105.
Approximately 383,597 to 652,538 Model 67s had been produced when production ceased in 1963. The Model 67 was never produced with serial number
Serial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
s for the American market because they were not required on American firearms prior to the Gun Control Act of 1968
Gun Control Act of 1968
The Gun Control Act of 1968 , by president Lyndon Johnson, is a federal law in the United States that broadly regulates the firearms industry and firearms owners...
, but an unknown number bound for foreign markets had serial numbers applied.
Prices of the Model 68 on today's collector market remain reasonable due to the model's high production numbers. The Boy's Rifle commands a slight premium, while the relatively rare .22 WRF and smoothbore versions are worth more than double the standard rifle, and the very rare Model 677 is worth nearly ten times standard value.