Winchester Model 70 Featherweight Rifle (mfg 1961), .243 Win, 22 inch Barrel

The Winchester Model 70 Featherweight manufactured in 1961 and chambered in .243 Winchester is a premier example of a "Pre-'64" Model 70, widely celebrated by collectors as "The Rifleman's Rifle." Introduced to the catalog in 1952, the Featherweight configuration was engineered to significantly shave down the weight of the standard model, creating an exceptionally balanced, quick-handling wood-and-steel mountain rifle. Because Winchester radically altered the design of the Model 70 in 1964 to lower manufacturing costs, factory specimens built in 1961 hold massive collector appeal and a distinct mechanical status.