Winchester Custom Shop Model 70 International Army Match .308 Bolt Rifle
SOLD FOR: $1,226.00
LSB#: WY240714SE004
Make: Winchester Custom Shop
Model: 70 International Army Match
Serial Number: G1380904
Year of Manufacture: 1978
Caliber: .308 Winchester
Action Type: Bolt Action with Internal Hinged Floorplate Magazine
Markings: The left side of the barrel is marked “-WINCHESTER MODEL 70 – 308 WIN.- / MADE IN NEW HAVEN. CONN. U.S.A. WINCHESTER PROOF STEEL”. The top-rear of the barrel and top-left of the chamber ring are marked with a circled “WP”. The left side of the receiver is marked “WINCHESTER / -TRADE MARK-”. The right side of the receiver’s chamber ring is marked “G1380904”, the bottom of the bolt body is hand-scribed “1380904”.
Barrel Length: 24″, Counter-Bored Muzzle, Tapered from approximately 1.138″ at the front edge of the receiver to 0.821″ at the muzzle.
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a globe-style sight with spirit-level and aperture insert mounted to a sight block at the front of the barrel. The barrel has a pair of drilled, tapped, and filled holes over the front of the forend. There are pairs of drilled, tapped and filled holes on the chamber ring and bridge of the receiver. The left-rear of the receiver is drilled and tapped with a Redfield Palma receiver sight installed, adjustable for windage and elevation.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stock is one-piece smooth walnut with a deep, stepped, and fairly narrow forend, contoured pistol grip with a palm-scoop for a right-handed shooter, straight comb with cheekpiece, serrated black rubber Sure-Grip buttpad, and a 6 1/2? accessory rail inlet to the bottom of the forend which has a handstop/sling swivel assembly installed. The pad is mounted to an aluminum buttplate assembly adjustable for drop and LOP. The stock is not the typical International Army Match configuration (see Our Assessment). There are only a few scattered minor marks. There are no chips or cracks. The LOP measures 13 3/4? from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttpad with the plate assembly fully collapsed, it can be adjusted out to 15 3/4″. The pad shows little in the way of wear. Overall, the stock is in about Fine-Excellent condition.
Type of Finish: Matte Blued & Black Alloy Trigger Guard Assembly
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright with sharp rifling. 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 96% of its metal finish. There are a few minor nicks and scratches, mostly on the sides of the barrel at the chamber. The action has minor operational wear and there is light handling wear on the knurling of the bolt-knob. The screw heads range from sharp to lightly tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Fine condition.
Mechanics: There is a three-position safety on the right-rear of the bolt. Pushed forwards, the safety is OFF. If pulled back all the way, it locks both the bolt and the trigger. If pulled back half-way, it blocks only the trigger. As currently adjusted, if the trigger is pulled when the safety is engaged, the firing pin will fall when the safety is disengaged. This should be adjusted before firing the rifle. Otherwise, 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.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: The International Army Match is the rarest of the post-1963 Winchester Model 70 cataloged configurations. Available only on special order basis and constructed by Winchester’s Custom Shop, there were only 179 of these rifles made in the 10 years they were offered (1970-1979). Designed specifically to conform to the International Shooting Union’s Big Bore Standard Rifle specifications, the International Army Match has a couple of rare features found only on a few other Model 70 configurations and a very unique stock.
Like the Palma Trophy Match and the Ultra Match rifles, the International Army Match had an externally adjustable trigger. Its heavy barrel has a deep counter-bore to protect the crown. Given its blind magazine, somewhat necessary due to the depth of the forend, it is nice that the receiver has a clip-guide allowing feeding via stripper clips. The only chambering offered in the Winchester catalog for the decade this model was produced was .308 Winchester, though there have been at least four examples known to be chambered for .30-06, each built on a pre-68 receiver with the “G” prefix added when the rifles were assembled.
This example is something special as it was not only made by the Winchester Custom Shop, it was not made in the standard International Army Match configuration. The rifle is chambered for .308 Winchester, but has a non-standard stock configuration. The consignor asserts that the rifle was purchased from a former Winchester executive associated with the Custom Shop, which may explain this unique stock. The rifle is in Fine condition, appearing to have seen some handling and manual operation, but there is little sign that the rifle was fired outside the factory. The rifle will make an exceptional addition to a Winchester collection or a collection of long range competition rifles. With such a limited number of these rifles made, an opportunity such as this doesn’t come by every day. Please see our photos and good luck!
Please forgive any typos, I was educated in California. -Bud