Winchester Model 70 Jack O’Connor Tribute Rifle

The official SHOT Show / Gun Broker Rifle auction this year is for a beautiful Winchester Model 70 chambered in .270 Win.

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As a key component of celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the iconic Model 70 bolt action rifle, Winchester announced the production of a very limited edition Tribute Rifle to honor the tremendous career of outdoor writer Jack O’Connor. The very last rifle produced in that series has been set aside and specially engraved to serve as a 2013 SHOT Show rifle.

For generations, O’Connor was a leader in the gun writing community as gun editor for Outdoor Life magazine. It’s been said that no gun writer in history ever did more for a rifle and caliber combination than Jack O’Connor did for the Model 70 in .270 caliber.

Winchester executives made the decision to set aside the very last rifle in the tribute series so that it might be made available to Jack O’Connor fans and .270 caliber Model 70 fans as a featured 2013 SHOT Show auction rifle.

The special Model 70 has been hand-engraved by the artisans at Baron Engraving under the watchful eye of Winchester executives. In addition to a majestic whitetail buck on the butt plate, the rifle features a rendition of the North American Sheep “Grand Slam” on the magazine floor plate. O’Connor’s signature is re-created in gold on the trigger guard and the rifle features the inscription “If the hunter does his part, the .270 will not let him down” emphasizing O’Connor’s great respect for the .270 cartridge.

The Stock for this SHOT Show rifle was hand-selected by Winchester executives and is AAA Grade Claro Walnut with Ebony forearm tip and Shadowline cheekpiece.

In addition, the rifle has been equipped with a vintage Leupold Mountaineer 4-x rifle scope, identical to the scope that O’Connor had mounted on his favorite Model 70 more than a half century ago. The scope was donated by Leupold.

In his letter of authentication for the rifle, Travis Hall, Winchester Repeating Arms President, wrote, “It is my pleasure to provide this Letter of Authenticity attesting that the 2013 SHOT Show rifle, a .270 caliber Winchester Model 70, Serial Number 35CZY12559, is the very last Jack O’Connor Tribute rifle manufactured by Winchester Repeating Arms.

“We are also able to attest that the Leupold 4X Mountaineer rifle scope mounted on this rifle is an original 1950s-era Mountaineer scope from the vaults of Leupold and was made available for this project by Leupold & Stevens, Inc.