At www.gunsmagazine.com, there’s a spot on the bottom of the main page where you can click on old classic editions of GUNS magazine from fifty and more years ago.  In an article on semiautomatic rifles, the great Col. Charles Askins, Jr. in the August, 1968 issue, had this to say about the Winchester Model 100 hunting rifle:

“The rifle was first announced in the popular .308 caliber and later has been chambered for the .243 and the .284 cartridges. It is a light, handy and exceedingly useable sort of self-shuffie model. It weighs only 7 ¼ pounds and has a 22″ barrel. The stock is one-piece and this is a good thing.  Accuracy from the Model 100 in .308 caliber is among the best of any of the current crop of automatics. Groups will run around 2.50″ at 100 yards, 10 shots. The trigger pull on the 100 is invariably bad. The same is true of the Model 88, the (lever action) forerunner, and efforts to improve them are difficult to achieve. Both rifles are essentially woods rifles and for snap shooting where time is of the essence the pull should be gilt-edged. The Model 100 has never been as popular as it deserves. Why it has not caught on, whereas the Remington 742 auto is the most popular of all Remington center-fire high-powers, is impossible of explanation. It might be argued that the receiver on the Winchester should have been lengthened sufficiently to accept the ’06 cartridge. Unquestionably this is a factor. The Remington in its beginning was chambered for the most popular load and this contributed immeasurably to its prompt acceptance.”

This was indeed a pleasant trip to the past because the year before that article came out, at nineteen, I had bought a Winchester Model 100 .308, trading in the Marlin Model 336 SC in .35 Remington that had been my deer rifle since my early teens.  It was the first gun I bought myself, with money I’d earned in a summer job at Sprague Electric in Concord, NH.  Until then, all my guns had been gifts from my parents.

It was the first gun I won with in shooting matches, turkey shoots in New Hampshire where the format was three shots at a time on running and standing deer targets at a hundred yards. Military surplus 7.62mm NATO ammo was cheap and worked fine in the Winchester .308, and the Model 100 helped me bring home a bunch of frozen Butterballs.  I found it would hold about 1.5” at 100 yards, which was extraordinary at the time for a semi-automatic rifle. The Remington 742, usually in .30-06, was much more popular among my friends just as Col. Askins said, and did have a crisper trigger than the Winchester. However, I found the Winchester much more accurate than the Remington and not so muzzle heavy, which I greatly appreciated.

Reading the old article inspired me to take the old rifle out to the range for the first time in ages.  And it still shoots great.

A good, old gun is a joy forever.

I bet you have some similar stories about old favorite firearms. You are all invited to share here.

My old Winchester wears a budget-priced Bushnell Banner 1.5-4X variable scope, bought circa 1970, and still working fine. 

The Winchester Model 100: a classic symphony of streamlined blue steel and walnut.

This rifle brings back a lot of memories…

13 COMMENTS

  1. Walnut, red flannel and a leather sling – perfect!

    Its attire is similar to that of the Remington 700 BDL (.30-06) that recently followed me home from a pawn shop. I wish I knew its history, but it’s getting reacquainted this season with the local Bambi Blacktails.

  3. I made my model 88 in .308 into a Scout Rifle, by shortening the barrel to 17″, adding an AR-10 flash hider, rubberizing the stock, and adding a 2 x Leupold pistol scope. 1/2″ @ 50 yds. Can send pics if anyone wants…

  4. Mas,
    I enjoyed the article. A deer hunting partner 40 yrs ago had a 100 in 308 and loved it. In all the years hunting with him, I never knew it to jam or misfire. Great rifle! Can you believe that the billionaire gun grabbers have an initiative on the ballot here in Washington that makes the 100, along with the Ruger 10/22 and all semiauto rifles, “semiautomatic assault rifles” with a bunch of additional fees, taxes, training, and bureaucracy applied.

  5. My mom recently gave me her Model 100 in .243 and although I’d handled and even fired a few rounds through it on the range one day, I didn’t really notice what a really nice looking rifle it is until after she’d given it to me. It was with this rifle that mom downed her first and only mule deer back in 2005 at the age of 67. It would sure be nice if Winchester would bring back this one, even if only for a few years.

  6. My dad had a model 88 in 308 he used to harvest deer, antelope and elk. The trigger seems fine to me, and I recently took a hog with it.

  7. Thanks, Mas! Thanks a whole big bunch! I consider myself to be fairly educated on makes and models of firearms, but never knew this to even exist. And now, dammit…I want one. Guess I’ll file it away for future pursuits along with the Rem model 8 and a vintage Savage 99 in .300. Should probably start saving for a bigger safe.

    • I had a very accurate Remington 7400 in 30-06 that didn’t fail. I went to bolts, levers, or pumps after finding that Canada didn’t allow non-residents to transport semi-auto high-powers.
      Looking at reports on the most recent, unfortunate death-by-grizzly-attack in Wyoming. Looks like pepper spray failed the hunting guide, who was then killed. The injured hunter tells in a video that he tried to toss a handgun to the guide during the attack. Could have been a best alternative given unclear limitations in the moment, who knows? A Win 100 or Rem 7400 in 30-06 loaded with premium bullets would have been immeasurably useful, given time to react with it. Sudden attacks like this, though, are why proficiency on horseback with a top-grade, single-action hand-cannon can be essential. .475 Linebaugh is a great choice of round if you can handle the awesome recoil and noise. A life-saver vs. bears.

      • My S&W model 29 44 Magnum, Is always with me when just in the woods, Or out Deer Hunting, Black Bears have been a big problem the last few years in the North East, Nothing like a good Magnum, when running into Bears etc.

  8. Wow that does bring back memories of my Grandfather and his favorite hunting rifle. AND that my folks worked at Sprague Electric in Worcester MA in the 70’s, lol. About that time my Dad gave me his Winchester single shot 22LR. Many happy returns!

Comments are closed.