In House Shipping:
Make: Winchester
Model: 61
Serial Number: 81768
Year of Manufacture: 1947
Caliber: .22 Short, Long, or Long Rifle
Action Type: Pump Action Tubular Magazine Fed
Barrel Length: 24” Round
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a beaded blade dovetailed to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a "U"-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece walnut with a correct 17-groove post-war first variation slide handle, semi-pistol grip, straight comb, and checkered steel buttplate. The stocks have a few scattered compressions, draglines, scratches, scuffs, and minor scrapes. The LOP measures 13 3/8" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has some light wear around the edges. There is some finish loss around the bottom edge of the grip. There are no cracks. Overall, the stocks rate in about Very Good to Fine Condition.
Type of Finish: Blue
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion in the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 10 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 95% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at some edges. There are a few scattered light marks. The action shows minor operational wear in which some of the finish has thinned on the mag tube and sides of the barrel where the pump grip slides. There is thinning on the muzzle with some minor scuffs at the outer edge. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle rates in about Fine Condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Our Assessment:Winchester was the first American company to offer a practical .22 pump-action rifle, the Model 1890. Designed by gunmaking genius John Moses Browning, the Model 1890 was patterned after Winchester's iconic lever-actions with a tubular magazine under the barrel, an exposed hammer, and top ejection. It was an instant success and set the standard for all .22 repeaters that followed. In 1909, Remington introduced a pump-action .22 that used an internal hammer, allowing the receiver to be streamlined and well sealed against moisture and debris. In 1915, Marlin introduced a similar hammerless .22 rifle. The innovative designs made Winchester's pump guns look a bit "old fashioned", and in an attempt to attract new customers during the depths of the Great Depression, Winchester decided to introduce their own "modern" hammerless .22 pump-action. The resulting Model 61 hammerless rifle was released in 1932, and produced until 1963.
This Winchester Model 61 was made in 1947 and is in Fine Condition. It features a 24” barrel, 95% of its lustrous, original blued finish, elegant two-piece walnut stocks with a correct 17-groove post-war first variation slide handle, and a bright bore with sharp rifling and no erosion. This is a beautiful Model 61 from the immediate post-war era.