Winslows were made in three stock styles, and in six grades. The Bushmaster was the basic stock, a slimmed-down version of the Weatherby Mark V stock.
The Powermaster was a Bushmaster with a fluted, rollover comb and a flared recoil pad. The Plains master was the Powermaster to the 10th power; all lines swooped, flared, dipped, and dived. It looked like a prop from a Buck Rogers movie.
Grades ran from Commander (plainest) to Imperial. Regardless of grade, all Winslows shone like mirrors.
The stocks were finished in some kind of synthetic that was polished like glass, and the metalwork was polished and blued by a secret process that involved a cyanide hardening bath, and resulted in a brilliant black finish that I’ve never seen duplicated.
But what really set Winslows apart was the checkering, carving, and inlay work you could have lavished upon them.
This was done by a fellow named Nils O. Hultgren who was, simply, a master.
You could get basketweave checkering or oak leaf carving in place of standard checking, contrasting-wood-and-ivory inlays, metal engraving and a choice of walnut, myrtle, or maple for your stock wood.
But this scarcely conveys the effect of seeing an all-out Winslow in person.
It was like a Christmas tree gone berserk, or a laser light show. As a hunting rifle, it was as wildly impractical as you could get.
And yet…in their own overdone way, they were fine guns, works of art, even. And if you can find one of the high grades today, it will fetch over $6,000, which is nearly five time what it cost in 1966.
So someone must appreciate them. Can Pamela Anderson act? Who cares?
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