Did USRAC/Winchester make any CLASSIC action rifles in 250-3000 Savage, 257 Roberts, 7x57, or 300 H&H? Custom shop rifles not withstanding.

I have a XTR version (push feed) in 300 H + H. I bought it in the early 80's and have never seen another one. I have never seen a CRF in 300 H + H that was not pre 64.

I they did, but very few guns. I saw a 300 H+H back in 1993. I seen a couple of 7x57's. I have a 7 x 57 feather weight and I know of one 257 Roberts. that rifle is not for sale, I tried to buy it.

CM,

Don't know about custom shop offerings, but I seriously doubt any of the calibers you are interested in were ever offered by Winchester in the Classic action. All were offered "pre-Classic", but if any Classic was ever produced in those calibers, I'm not aware of it. Classics were first produced, in what, 1995? If any one has info regarding any of these being offered in the Classic action, I would be interested in knowing about it. One of the rarest production calibers that I am aware of, is a 270 Weatherby, at least in the stainless/synthetic Classic. I own a 300 Weatherby in a stainless/synthetic Classic, which is also quite rare.

quote:

Originally posted by George Semel:
I they did, but very few guns. I saw a 300 H+H back in 1993. I seen a couple of 7x57's. I have a 7 x 57 feather weight and I know of one 257 Roberts. that rifle is not for sale, I tried to buy it.

A .257 Classic Featherweight. Now that would be nice! I ran across one in a 6.5X55 the other day. It's in the safe now

Terry

Uncatalogued - I've seen the Classic Sporter in .264 Win Mag, 26 in Bbl. They offered the same caliber in the Super Grade for a year, while the super grade was advertised I don't believe the Classic Sporter was.

Rare - These have been catalogued I believe, but are becoming increasingly difficult to find. .300 Weatherby, .270 Weatherby, 7STW, .300 RUM. All of the above are CRF, classic style rifles.

quote:

Rare - These have been catalogued I believe, but are becoming increasingly difficult to find. .300 Weatherby, .270 Weatherby, 7STW, .300 RUM. All of the above are CRF, classic style rifles.

Funny, but the 7 STW and the 300 RUM in a Model 70 have been for sale at my local BiMart for the price of $429.00.... because they bought them cheap as Winchester couldn't sell them... they also stayed locally at the BiMart store, not moving real well either.....

I also remember in the early 1990s that a shop that I bought a couple of Brownings in.... 30/06. 338 Win Mag, and 300 Win Mag.... had a batch of 270 Weatherbys and 300 Weatherbys for sale.. they couldn't get rid of... this was in Metro Minneapolis... they were as cheap as the discount on the Brownings were, which was $299.00 at the time... 1992....

At an estate sale up in Roseburg Oregon for the estate of Pete Serafin... who evidently was a gun dealer... they sold some 250 Savages, 257 Roberts in both the Classic and the Featherweights from the 1980s... brand new and in the box, because they had never moved.... They also sold about 6 each of the same thing, from the factory, with no stock..just the barreled actions.....

That is what had caught my eye and I went up to the auction to try and get one of each.....

The barreled actions went for something between $600.00 to $750.00....
The Classics went from $900 to $1200.00 most bought by some guy from up in Portland ( see why we southern Oregon people don't like people from Portland, Salem or Eugene.. on top of their leftist liberal politics )

So that is what I have seen that existed... just in hindsite, wish I had of bought those 270 and 300 Weatherbys in Minneapolis... and that 7 STW and 300 RUM here locally.. and could have been around and away from my first wife who hated guns... and had a crack at the Model 70s in 250 Savage and 257 Roberts....

I do have a 7 x 57, in a featherweight that I bought for $300.00 in Roseburg a few years ago, since it wouldn't sell.. because the locals thought it was an odd ball caliber... I will pass that one on to my son....alng with the rest of my winchesters now.....

I also bought a 1980s built Featherweight, with a Laminated factory stock, marked XTR on the barrel...chambered in a 30/06... with a shot out barrel and a 6.5 x 20 Leupold on it.....Price was like $399.00.. as it was priced for a quick sale back in 1995....

That rifle ended up with a 27 inch PacNor barrel in 6.5 x 55.... Another one I would never sell..

I remember those Laminated stocks that were sold as WinTuff stocks.... Factory rifles in 250 Savage, 257 Roberts with a Win Tuff laminated factory stock!!!.... now that really floats my boat.... but even if I ever find one, I am sure they will be waaaaay beyond my price range...

If only we could go back in time with what we know today!

cheers

and great post!


seafire

nyrifleman,

The M70 Classic Sporter in .264 WM, 26" bbl. was definitely a catalogued item. They were listed in their catalog for several years. If I was at the house, I would look through all the Winchester catalogs and give the specific years. At one time I called Winchester to ask why they didn't make a .264 in the stainless/synthetic Classic action. They, in effect, told me not to hold my breath!

Now, if I could find that .270 Weatherby in a stainless/synthetic Classic, I would have all four of the calibers you mentioned!

seafire,

Yeah, that is generally how it works, the calibers that don't sell, eventually become the ones that collectors covet! Lesson to those interested in some of the current calibers that don't sell!

Possibly there is a little miscommunication going on here? I have been laboring under the impression we were discussing the Classic action M70, that is, a pre-64 style CRF action, which was introduced by USRA circa 1995. Anything before that date is not a Classic action. Cheers! This is an interesting thread!

Yes, Mudstud, this thread is about CRF model 70 classics made with the last 12 or 13 years. Push feed model 70's not included.

The 7x57 was never offered in a classic action. (Pre-64 rifles excepted). I tried to get the custom shop to make me a custom featherweight in 7x57 and it was a no-go.

The "classic" action being referred to here was intro'd in the late '80s or about 1990 in the Super Grade model. It came with a nicely checkered straight comb stock with no black forend tip. I purchased several of them as did some of my hunting partners. The 300Win mag was the first chambering, followed by the 338.

If I remember correctly USRAC first came out with the new controlled round feed rifles about '91 or '92. They were available as the safari express and the featherweight. Then the supergrade followed shortly there after. Late '94 was when the whole line shifted to the classic CRF nomenclature as the '95 models.

Matt,

I'm pretty sure that Dean's in Lakewood had a CRF Supergrade in .300 H&H in late '93. But who knows as I had just started college at that point! I remember they always did have a good selection of the M70's the less plentiful chamberings like .270 & .300 WBY, 7 STW, and .264 WM. Thay had a few really nice supergrade .264's the only year they were offered. That was '99/2000... I should have bought one of them.