Make: Winchester

Model: 61

Serial Number: 21191

Year of Manufacture: 1937

Caliber: .22 Short, Long, or Long Rifle

Action Type: Pump Action Tubular Magazine Fed

Barrel Length: 24” Round

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a King mirrored beaded blade dovetailed to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a "U"-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. The rear sight leaf is slightly bent at the riser.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece walnut with a correct 11-groove pre-war slide handle, semi-pistol grip, straight comb, and checkered steel buttplate. The stocks have a few scattered compressions, draglines, scratches, scuffs, and minor scrapes. The LOP measures 13 3/8" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has some light wear around the edges. There is a crack on the left side of the grip. The bottom of the grip and forend are both marked “18 / CP”. Overall, the stocks rate in about Good Condition.

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is very faint erosion sparsely found in the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 8 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 65% of its metal finish. There is finish loss around the leading edges. The action shows mild operational wear in which some of the finish has been lost on the mag tube and sides of the barrel where the pump grip slides. There is thinning on the muzzle. There are scattered scratches and nicks. There is freckled and mottled corrosion throughout where some of the exposed metal has taken a patina. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle rates in about Good Condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Our Assessment:Winchester was the first American company to offer a practical .22 pump-action rifle, the Model 1890. Designed by gunmaking genius John Moses Browning, the Model 1890 was patterned after Winchester's iconic lever-actions with a tubular magazine under the barrel, an exposed hammer, and top ejection. It was an instant success and set the standard for all .22 repeaters that followed. In 1909, Remington introduced a pump-action .22 that used an internal hammer, allowing the receiver to be streamlined and well sealed against moisture and debris. In 1915, Marlin introduced a similar hammerless .22 rifle. The innovative designs made Winchester's pump guns look a bit "old fashioned", and in an attempt to attract new customers during the depths of the Great Depression, Winchester decided to introduce their own "modern" hammerless .22 pump-action. The resulting Model 61 hammerless rifle was released in 1932, and produced until 1963.

This Winchester Model 61 was made in 1937 and is in Good Condition. It features a 24” barrel, 65% of its original blued finish, rugged two-piece walnut stocks (there’s a crack on the left side of the grip) with a correct 11-groove pre-war slide handle, a checkered steel buttplate, an installed King bead front sight with mirror (a design that was very popular in the 1930s through the end of WW2), and a bright bore with sharp rifling (there’s very faint erosion sparsely found throughout). This rifle could take its place in a collection, but could also still serve as a fun plinker.