The Winchester Model 61 remains one of the most popular Winchester .22 caliber rifles and is regarded by many Winchester collectors as one of the company's most attractive pre-World War II designs. This incredibly significant rifle is serial number 1, the first of these rifles to come off the line in 1932 before the design was even patented! It was designed to update Winchester's line of .22 caliber slide action rifles with a sleeker hammerless design that could compete with the popular hammerless rifles of Remington, Savage, and others during the Great Depression but carried a rather hefty price tag for the time: $24.65 (about $450 adjusted for inflation). It was specifically meant as a man's rifle rather than a boy's rifle like many .22s, and production finally ended in 1963. John Browning had developed a hammerless design as well, but his design was licensed to Fabrique Nationale in Belgium. Winchester and Browning had ended their fruitful relationship in 1902 over disagreements regarding what became the famous Browning Auto-5. The company instead turned to its own talented employees to come up with a winning design. The Model 61 was designed initially by Harry L. Crockett of Winchester's Research & Development Department in the early 1920s and improved by Crockett and Frank F. Burton before release in 1932 in part to avoid infringing on Browning's patents. The design's patent was not filed until January 13, 1933, and was not granted until March 19, 1935. Both Crockett and Burton patented other designs that were incorporated into Winchester firearms. For example, one of Burton's designs became the innovative Winchester-Burton Model 1917 automatic rifle which is considered a significant early predecessor to the assault rifles. The department was led by prolific arms designer Thomas Crossley Johnson whose name appears on 124 firearms patents including the designs for some of Winchester's most famous firearms such as the Model 12 shotgun. The fact that the Model 61 was styled similarly to the popular Model 12 was highlighted in Winchester's advertisements. See "Winchester Slide-Action Rifles- Volume II: Model 61 & Model 62 by Ned Schwing for an in-depth breakdown of the rifle's history and development. The Model 61 remains among the most popular of all of Winchester's beloved .22 slide action repeating rifles and can be found in multiple configurations. This rifle, serial number 1, has a beaded blade front sight, an elevation adjustable notch rear sight, the first style barrel inscription, Winchester "WP" proofs on the barrel and receiver at the breech, the matching serial number "1" on the receiver and trigger guard assembly (trigger guard number is perpendicular to the receiver number), smooth trigger, correct checkered hammer catch, magazine tube with collar, un-drilled upper tang, and the correct early 11-groove slide handle and smooth pistol grip stock with checkered blue steel buttplate.

Very good with patches of blue remaining, patches of oxidation and surface pitting throughout, and mixed artificial brown patina on the receiver and magazine tube. The wood is also very good with a number of small dings and scratches overall, larger dent on grip end, and chipping finish on the buttstock. Mechanically excellent. This is quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own serial number 1 Winchester Model 61!