Winchester Model 69 and 69A rifles **UPDATED 12/03/12**

[PALADIN85020]

My model 69 cocks on the bolt going back making it an earlier year model, maybe '35. but it does NOT have a rear buck horn sight on the barrel, it does have a rear sight that is adjustable for windage and elevation that is set in a dovetail behind the ejection port. Does anyone have any idea how or why it is configured like this? The barrel shows no work being done to fill in any sight attachment point at the point where it normally shows the rear sight in pictures i have seen of "standard Model 69's". To me it appears the the sight on mine is not original to the rifle, but my question is what would normally be on this as a rear sight?

Perhaps this will help. 69s and 69As had two particular versions of rear sights. The standard was the normal open sight mounted in a dovetail in the barrel. The second was a peep sight (Winchester 80A sight in the catalog), made mostly of stamped metal. Here are two views of this sight, which was mounted behind the ejection port. This one is on a 69A, but the 69 setup was identical. This sight was also used on the Model 72 and the 72A as an option. See the OP for an overall picture of a 69A with this sight.

Elevation was adjusted by loosening the large thumbwheel knob on the left, raising or lowering the sight, and then tightening the thumbwheel. The little screw on top could then be screwed down to contact the receiver; this would enable the owner to easily return to that elevation point.

Windage was adjusted by loosening the peep itself slightly, moving the sight right or left, and then tightening the peep, which was knurled to assist in turning it.

The zero scale could be adjusted with the 3rd screw on the right, to match the zero mark on the sight body once zero was accomplished.

If your sight matches this one, then it is correct. The 69s and 69As with the adjustable 80A rear sight had a ramped front sight (Winchester 97B); the ramp was made of stamped steel and was removable.

Hope this helps.

John

P.S. 69s cock when the bolt goes forward; the 69As cock when the handle is lifted.

 

[dilusion]

Hi, I'm new to this forum, was looking for some info on my model 69 that I bought from a garage sale for $90. It was missing the magazine, and the old guy that I bought it from said that he had it somewhere, but never found it. I had never had one of these old rifles, so when I bought it, without having the clip, I didn't notice that the magazine release assembly was missing. I thought that maybe the hole was for a screw until I went online and checked it out. I have had this gun for about a month and have not been able to find that release assbly ANYWHERE! I found a picture of it somewhere, (but out of stock) that's how I found out how much was missing, and the name of it. I think that they called it the "magazine release plunger spring assembly" or something like that. He probably had that somewhere too, but it wasn't with the gun. It was kinda hard to deal with the guy cuz he had Alzheimer's and kept losing focus on the conversation (his daughter takes care of him), so it didn't take me long to see that he wasn't going to be able to find the parts.
This is my first post, so I'm going to TRY to post some pics. Maybe one of you fine enthusiasts might be able to tell me more about it, and whether I got a good deal. Also, if anyone has or knows of the parts that I need, please let me know. I hope that this gun doesn't end up being a money pit.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Hi, I'm new to this forum, was looking for some info on my model 69 that I bought from a garage sale for $90. It was missing the magazine, and the old guy that I bought it from said that he had it somewhere, but never found it. I had never had one of these old rifles, so when I bought it, without having the clip, I didn't notice that the magazine release assembly was missing. I thought that maybe the hole was for a screw until I went online and checked it out. I have had this gun for about a month and have not been able to find that release assbly ANYWHERE! I found a picture of it somewhere, (but out of stock) that's how I found out how much was missing, and the name of it. I think that they called it the "magazine release plunger spring assembly" or something like that. He probably had that somewhere too, but it wasn't with the gun. It was kinda hard to deal with the guy cuz he had Alzheimer's and kept losing focus on the conversation (his daughter takes care of him), so it didn't take me long to see that he wasn't going to be able to find the parts.
This is my first post, so I'm going to TRY to post some pics. Maybe one of you fine enthusiasts might be able to tell me more about it, and whether I got a good deal. Also, if anyone has or knows of the parts that I need, please let me know. I hope that this gun doesn't end up being a money pit.

You have a gun worth saving, as the original Model 69s have become collectible. The magazine release mechanism is a bit hard to get out of the stock, and is difficult to re-insert, as it involves a tiny U-shaped retaining spring that is hard to get to. However, it is common to the 69, the 69A, the 75 Target and the 75 Sporter. A call to Gun Parts Corporation should get you what you need, and the magazines are also commonly available. Those marked with a "W" on the baseplate are reproductions, but work fine. The originals have the Winchester logo on the baseplate and work with any of the guns mentioned above.

Here are the four varieties of magazines:

Left to right: Single loading adapter, .22 short mag, standard 5-shot mag, 10-shot mag.

Hope this helps.

John