Jack O'Connor Tribute Rifle is a Top Gun at the 2012 SHOT Show.
During the recent SHOT Show in Las Vegas the announcement was made that a special Winchester Model 70 would be produced in 2012 to honor and commemorate the incredible career of the outdoor writer Jack O'Connor. For generations O'Connor was a leader in the gun writing community. He had a unique way of communicating information and advice about guns and hunting that normal people like us could understand. Many made lifetime firearms and hunting decisions based on his advice in the columns of Outdoor Life magazine.
The fact is that no gunwriter in history ever did more for a rifle and caliber combination than Jack O’Connor: Of course I’m talking about the Model 70 in 270 Winchester. Equally true is the fact that no rifle ever served a legend better than did the Model 70 for Jack O’Connor.
For nearly the entire SHOT Show Jack O'Connor's son, Bradford (and his wife) stayed in the Winchester Repeating Arms booth to greet his dad's admirers. On the wall was mounted the most famous of all of Jack O'Connor's go-to Model 70s: the rifle that the new special edition rifles are based on. Anyone at the show was allowed to pick it up, inspect it and work the action. The photo above shows Bradford explaining his dad's rifle to an admirer.
Jack O'Connor's son Bradford is the one who really helped make the Jack O’Connor Tribute guns happen. In fact, a few years ago he began posting trophy images of himself and his dad together from various hunts around the world on the Winchester Repeating Arms Website’s Trophy Room. Since then the Winchester product manager, Glenn Hatt, made contact with Bradford and began work on what is destined to become one of the most historic Model 70s ever.
For many of us at Winchester Repeating Arms this is a dream project. We hope it is for you as well.
Jack O’Connor passed on many, many years ago. But his legacy of great hunting and firearms knowledge, combined with the courage to say it like it is, made his style of journalism uniquely enjoyable for generations. Bradford accompanied his dad on many hunts and he works hard to keep the Jack O’Connor legacy alive. It is a privilege to have him associated with Winchester Repeating Arms on this Tribute to his father.
