Winchester Model 70 US 1971 Palma Trophy Match .308 Bolt Rifle NRA C&R
SOLD FOR: $2900
LSB#: 230716SE001
Make: Winchester Custom Shop
Model: 70, 1971 Palma Trophy Match Rifle NRA Centennial
Serial Number: G925544
Year of Manufacture: 1971. This rifle was made for the 1971 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 “-WINCHESTER MODEL 70 – 308 WIN.- / MADE IN NEW HAVEN. CONN. U.S.A. WINCHESTER PROOF STEEL”. The top-rear of the barrel is marked with an ovalled “WP”. The left side of the receiver is marked “WINCHESTER / -TRADE MARK-”. The right side of the receiver’s chamber ring is marked “G925544”, the bolt is hand-scribed “925544” on the bottom. The right of the barrel is marked “PALMA MATCH / NRA CENTENNIAL 1871-1971”.
Barrel Length: 26″, Extra Heavy Profile with Counterbored Muzzle. Approximately 1.14″ at the front edge of the receiver tapering to 0.89″ at the muzzle.
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a Redfield International Match globe sight. The sight accepts interchangeable inserts, only the installed aperture 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 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 to the butt and an inlet 4″ accessory rail in the forend with a sling swivel and hand-stop installed. The receiver and chamber section of the barrel are glass-bedded with the barrel free-floating forward of the chamber. The wood shows scratches and compression marks. Most of these marks are small or light. The LOP measures 13 1/4 from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttpad. The pad shows infrequent minor wear. Overall, the stock is in Very Good Plus to Fine condition.
Type of Finish: Matte Blue, Black Anodized Bottom Metal
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright with sharp rifling. There is a small amount of light pin prick erosion in the grooves at the muzzle. Our gauge shows an ME of about 0.0.
In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates a 9.5 out of 10.
Many military and C&R eligible weapons have bores that will show erosion. This is not only due to age but to the fact that corrosive primers were commonly used in ammunition worldwide. For example, the U.S. used corrosive ammunition throughout WWII. The U.S. military did not begin to phase out corrosive-primed ammunition until the 1950s.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 98% of its metal finish. The metal shows scuffs and light scrapes. The barrel shows a few small thin scratches. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are intact. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Fine condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. 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. We did not fire this rifle.
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/valor”.
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 1971 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 receivers are slotted for clip-loading and the bolts were factory-jeweled. The 1971 model differed from the 1968 by having an upgraded front sight, a matte finish on the barrel, and an externally adjustable trigger. It also received a new Palma Trophy Match roll-mark on the right of the barrel celebrating the National Rifle Association’s Centennial.
This example of the 1971 Palma Trophy Match rifle is in Fine condition with a strong bright bore. It should be noted that the United States hosted at Camp Perry in 1971 and also won. We have not been able to find documentation of whether this individual rifle was used by the American or the visiting Canadian, Australian or Great Britain teams. The rifle has all of the correct features and markings of the 1971 Match rifles. This will make a nice addition to a Winchester collection or a collection of long range competition rifles. With approximately 100 rifles made for the 1971 Match, an opportunity such as this doesn’t come by every day.
…Now go shoot something!