Dating a Winchester model 67

[campergeek]

...so this little bolt-action .22 and I have become emotionally involved. She's older than me. Do you think our relationship is weird?

Seriously, I have a couple of Winchester model 67 rifles, and I'm seeking clues as to how to determine roughly when they were made - considering that there are no serial numbers. Are there any particular clues I can look for that can help determine a range of dates of manufacture? Below are some of the details of the guns:

67 #1:
Stock is narrow, with finger grooves. The screw holding the stock & barrel together is not flush and can be turned as a thumb screw. The barrel is marked:

MADE IN U.S.A. WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO.
NEW HAVEN, CONN.

MODEL 67-22 SHORT
LONG AND LONG RIFLE

WINCHESTER (using trademark letters)
TRADEMARK

The safety is marked U.S.A. PAT PENDING, and the bolt & barrel are both marked with proof marks which line up (top of breech & front of bolt) when the bolt is closed & locked. The proof mark is not distinct in either location. The left edge of the receiver, about 1/4" behind the breech, is stamped with a number "7", visible from above between the bolt & the stock.


67 #2:
Stock is wider (almost bulbous at the fore) than #1, with no finger grooves. The screw is slightly inset, and the stock has strap swivels. The barrel markings are identical, with the exception of the number on the receiver (there is none). The same proof markings are present on the barrel & bolt, and the safety is also stamped U.S.A. PAT. PENDING.

 

[Old Fuff]

Best I can do is to say they made 383,000 between 1934 to 1963. They are hard to date because none were serial numbered.

 

[BADSBSNF81]

The takedown screw head didn't protrude after 1937.

After production of @ 125,000, the triggers were grooved.

After production of 134,000 the tirggers were ungrooved.

Early guns had bolts, triggers, safeties, cocking pieces and trigger guards chromed.

Earlier guns had finger grooves on forends.

I believe the sling swivels are not OEM.

HTH

 

[scrapper46]

The Model 67 was introduced alongside the Model 68 in May 1934 and immediately proved popular. As with other Winchester models, various design changes were made over time.

The finger grooves in the stock were eliminated in late 1935.
The bolt retaining spring was eliminated in August 1937.
The stock was enlarged in October 1937 so the takedown screw would fit flush with the bottom, the forearm was changed to a semi-beavertail shape, and the pistol grip was made more pronounced.
The sear and extractor were modified in January 1938 to throw ejected cases farther when the bolt was opened.
An optional .22 WRF chambering was added in April 1938 to the standard rifle.
The same sights used on the Model 68 were offered as options for the Model 67 starting in August 1943.
In an effort to render Winchester products more visible when stored vertically on retailers' racks, an inlaid bronze stylized "W" logo was added to the trigger guard in March 1944. The logo was changed to red paint at an unknown later date.
In place of the earlier chrome plating, blued finish was used on the bolt, trigger, and cocking piece starting in October 1944.
The firing pin design was changed in January 1946.
Sources: Houze 1993, p. 160 & Henshaw 1993, pp. 104–105.

Approximately 383,597[1] to 652,538[2] Model 67s had been produced when production ceased in 1963.[8] The Model 67 was never produced with serial numbers for the American market because they were not required on American firearms prior to the Gun Control Act of 1968, but an unknown number bound for foreign markets had serial numbers applied.[1]

Prices of the Model 68 on today's collector market remain reasonable due to the model's high production numbers. The Boy's Rifle commands a slight premium, while the relatively rare .22 WRF and smoothbore versions are worth more than double the standard rifle, and the very rare Model 677 is worth nearly ten times standard value.[7]