Just purchased a 1712 feather weight (with grey stock); a one owner gun. I have been unable to discover much about the when and why of this model. If anyone knows how many were produced, what years etc. I would love to learn more about them.

First question........... What type of safety, is it on the back of the bolt or beside it.

the safety is a lever on the left side of the bolt with an F and S marked on the bolt.

According to the stamp on the barrel IK, the rifle was mfg in 1989. I am trying to find out how many years they were in production; how many were made; and what purpose were they originally made.

Thanks for any info

I am not up on the history but; The 1700 with the long bbl and plastic stock and large trigger guard was the first. The light stocks are made by McMillan and thew were mated to bbl actions here in the states. The eirler 1712s hat the lever safety on the back of the bolt and now they have changed the bolt and the safety is on the side. The old bolt took one spring and came apart with a quarter twist and the newer one takes two, a long one and a short one. It un-screws. That is as much as I know about the 17 serries rifles and I suppose dosn't answer your question.

I am not sure when the rules changed. In my 1983 rule book the max weight was 7.5 pounds and was called light smallbore silhouette rifle not hunting rifle. The trigger pull was 2 pounds. All other things were the same as standard rifle. With a scope the Feather Weight just makes it. I hope this helps.

JIM PENDLETON

Their not rare collector guns, from what I've been told Anschutz bought McMillian stocks and put them together in Germany. They were utilitarian rifles made specifically for hunting rifle silhouette, most people that bought them were serious silhouette shooters and as such most have probably been rebarreled after this many years. The barrel contour is slightly smaller than the current models as well as the saftey placement change.

One more thing to consider is that sometime in the 90's we went from 7.5 lbs to 8.5 lbs in SB Hunter but the silhouette shooters in Europe and other countries that shoot the Worlds are still competing with SB Hunting rifles that are less than 8 lbs. so they may have been the main reason for Anschutz making the 1712 Feather Weight rifles.

All I know for sure is I love mine. I did change the stock to an older-style Wooster, the McMillan had my trigger finger having to stretch quite a bit (or I had to twist my hand up the grip a little, both were a little awkward).