US 1968 Palma Trophy Match Winchester Model 70 .308 Win. Bolt Action Rifle
SOLD FOR: $1925
LSB#: 220112WG004
Make: Winchester’s Custom Shop
Model: 70, 1968 Palma Trophy Match Rifle
Serial Number: 868692
Year of Manufacture: The serial number indicates that the receiver was made in 1967. This rifle was made for the 1968 Palma Trophy Match.
Caliber: .308 Winchester
Action Type: Bolt Action Rifle with Internal Hinged Floorplate Magazine
Markings: The left side of the barrel is marked “-MADE IN U.S.A.- / -WINCHESTER PROOF STEEL”, “-WINCHESTER MODEL – 70 308 WIN.-” and at the rear with an ovalled “WP” proof. The left side of the receiver is marked “WINCHESTER / -TRADE MARK-”. The right side of the receiver’s chamber ring is marked “868692”, found again hand-scribed on the bottom of the bolt. The right of the barrel is marked “- PALMA TROPHY MATCH -“.
Barrel Length: 26″, Extra Heavy Profile with Counter-Bored Muzzle. Approximately 1.14″ at the front edge of the receiver tapering to 0.90″ at the muzzle.
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a Redfield International Match globe-style sight mounted to a sight block at the muzzle. The sight accepts interchangeable inserts, only the installed donut insert is included. There is a longer sight block screwed to the barrel toward the rear and another short sight block screwed to the chamber ring. The bridge has a pair of drilled, tapped and filled holes. The left of the receiver has a Redfield WB-490 mount with a Redfield International Match aperture sight installed, adjustable for windage and elevation.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stock is a Marksman-style one-piece smooth walnut with beavertail forend, pistol grip, straight comb, serrated black rubber Winchester buttpad, a sling swivel mounted under the butt and an inlet 4″ accessory rail in the forend with a sling swivel & hand-stop installed. The receiver and chamber section of the barrel are glass-bedded with the barrel free-floating forward of the chamber. The butt shows a thin faint scratch on the left and 2 small thin compression marks on the right. The right side of the grip shows an area of small light compressions. The bottom of the grip shows a scratch at the trigger guard and a compression mark on the edge of the base. There are other light handling marks on the wood. There are no chips or cracks. The LOP measures 13 1/4″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttpad. The pad shows infrequent light wear. The screws are visible and the pad spacer shows light discoloration consistent with its age. Overall, the stock is in Fine condition.
Type of Finish: Blue, Black Anodized Bottom Metal
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright with sharp rifling. There is no erosion in the bore. Our gauge shows an ME of about 0.7.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 97% of its metal finish. The action shows minor operational wear. The controls have minor handling wear. The top of the barrel shows light thinning to the rear of the globe sight. The top of the receiver shows a light scrape and a spot of thinning. The trigger guard and barrel shows scuffs and light handling marks. The screw heads show use. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in about Fine condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
There is a safety mounted on the rear of the bolt. Pushed to the front, the safety is OFF. Rotated back all the way, it locks both the bolt and the trigger. If pulled back half-way, it blocks only the trigger.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: The installed sights are included.
Our Assessment: The Palma Trophy Match is one of, if not the most prestigious long-range rifle competitions in the world. Its history goes back to 1873, when the first International Long Range Rifle match was hosted by the Creedmoor Range in Queens, New York. Teams from Ireland and the United States participated in this first match with a second match held in 1874 at the Dollymount Range in Ireland, with the United States winning both matches. The National Rifle Association of America organized the first Palma Trophy Match in 1876 to celebrate the American Centennial, commissioning a massive seven and a half foot trophy from Tiffany’s for $1,500 (nearly $40,000 in 2022!). The name was taken from the trophy, a replica of a Roman standard which had “PALMA” replacing “SPQR” across the top of the standard, Latin for “victory/valour”.
The matches consist of strings of fire at distances of 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. The first matches were fired with muzzle-loading rifles and there were simple overall weight and trigger weight restrictions. Matches were held intermittently with the rules for the 1901 match updated to require each nation’s team to use a domestic military rifle and in 1968 the rules were updated again to require that the team’s rifles be identical guns provided by the host nation. In 1968, 1971 and 1976, the United States hosted the Palma Trophy Match and selected the Winchester Model 70 for the rifle to be used by all competitors.
These rifles were not standard Winchester Target models, but rather rifles specially built by Winchester’s Custom Shop. The Palma Trophy Match Model 70 was never cataloged and never offered for sale to the public, only provided to the teams at the U.S. hosted Palma matches. The barrels used for the 1968 rifles were longer, heavier profiled and had counter-bored muzzles. Their actions and the chamber area of the barrels were glass-bedded to the stocks with the remainder of the barrels free-floating. Intriguingly, their receiver’s are slotted for clip-loading and the bolts were factory-jeweled. All of the observed 1968 Palma Trophy Match Model 70 rifles have been in the 86878 to 868733 serial range with a minimum of 40 rifles necessary to provide each of the shooters with a separate rifle, which strongly indicates that the rifles were all consecutively serial numbered. This rifle has all of the correct features, markings and falls into the proper serial range of the 1968 Match rifles as well as being one examined by Bill Grant in an article he provided to the Winchester Arms Collectors Association about the Winchester Palma Match Rifles.
This Palma Trophy Match was issued to Bill Newman, who competed in both the 1968 and 1971 Palma Matches as a member of the winning U.S. team (he is listed as Bill L. Newman for the 1971 team). This information comes from the October 1968 and October 1971 American Rifleman magazines. His score was 222-27V out of a possible 225-45V in 1971.
This is an impressive target rifle. It will make a great addition to a Winchester collection or a collection of long range competition rifles. With approximately 60 rifles made for the 1968 Match, an opportunity such as this doesn’t come by every day. Please see our photos and good luck!