The Quality Of Present Production Winchester Model 70

22 January 2022, 20:06

What have you all found to be sound, and lacking, in the newest Winchester Model 70?
How many different lengths of action are being offered?
Do you know the maximum cartridge length, for each length of action offered?
What year was the present design first offered to he public?
Thank you.

24 January 2022, 04:29

Stalkerjack the only thing i can tell you is on my new m 70 Alaskan.
Fit and finish is very good. Very good blue job and action is very smooth.
Calber is 30-06 and shoots very well.

24 January 2022, 05:59

StalkerJack

ho,

Thank you for offering up your experience with your rifle!

quote:
Originally posted by ho:
Stalkerjack the only thing i can tell you is on my new m 70 Alaskan.
Fit and finish is very good. Very good blue job and action is very smooth.
Calber is 30-06 and shoots very well.

24 January 2022, 09:57

Cougarz

quote:
Originally posted by StalkerJack:
What have you all found to be sound, and lacking, in the newest Winchester Model 70?
How many different lengths of action are being offered?
Do you know the maximum cartridge length, for each length of action offered?
What year was the present design first offered to he public?
Thank you.

Well I think they are the best M70’s ever. I assume you mean the CRF models but there’s nothing wrong with the pushfeed models either. Smooth action and generally very accurate. They have made steady improvements through the years.

Maximum length is .375 H&H.

Two lengths I believe, long and WSM size but bolt stops and mag boxes make up everything in between.

First year offered? Sometime in the early to mid 1990’s for the CRF models.

24 January 2022, 20:13

ColoradoMatt

Any of the post 2006 Model 70’s, whether US made or Portugal have much better quality control than any previous Model 70 production. The box trigger is pretty good, but I would have preferred a nicely tuned original model 70 trigger. The pre-2006 CRF model 70 CAN be good or very bad. A craps shoot really.

Matt
FISH!!

Heed the words of Winston Smith in Orwell's 1984:

"Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right."

24 January 2022, 20:29

LHeym500

We have over half a dozen. They are all uniform very good.

270 SuperGrade/SC
375 Alaskan/SC
338 Alaskan/Portuguese
375 Alaskan/SC
30/06 Alaskan/Portuguese
338 SuperGrade/Portuguese

I prefer from an engineering standpoint the Pre-64 trigger. However, the Post 2006 triggers have been uniform excellent to me. My USRA’s tiggers range from excellent to dismal.

Everything is inlaid in the stocks very uniform. I like them better than any version of the Ruger Hawkeye, which I do like.

24 January 2022, 23:40

Palladin8

I bought a 270Win featherweight about 2 years ago. Mine doesn't have nearly as nice of a finish/bluing as friends of mine have purchased in the past. The gun shoots though so I can live with the finish. I guess if I want a really nice one I would have to buy a Super Grade. I'm happy with what I have for now.

25 January 2022, 00:22

LHeym500

The Sporters, FW, and even SuperGrades that get shipped to the Sportsman’s and Cabela’s as a rule have less nice wood and bluing.

I do not know why, but even the department store Supergrades have less than eye noticing wood.

Dealers seem to get much better wood.

27 January 2022, 22:48

StalkerJack

That's an excellent collection of feedback to my question men, and I thank you all for responding!

28 January 2022, 03:01

Atkinson

A pox on most, Have you lost your loyalty to the sportsmans gun, the pre 64 winchester and the 98 Mauser still win among those gray haired souls that lived in the time and place of Americas best guns built on lathes and not like lead bullet, cast!!

I assume it the newbie same cult that thrive on "black rifles"!

28 January 2022, 06:26

LHeym500

The FN Model 70s are not cast actions. They are forged and very smooth. Mine feeds spent cartridges if you ever need to feed a fired cartridge. Humor.

28 January 2022, 09:59

Cougarz

quote:
Originally posted by Atkinson:
the pre 64 winchester and the 98 Mauser still win among those gray haired souls that lived in the time and place of Americas best guns built on lathes and not like lead bullet, cast!!

Just another one of the pre 64 fables that get passed on endlessly.

As already said model 70’s have always been forged, never cast or for that matter made on a lathe from scratch.

28 January 2022, 10:10

Cougarz

quote:
Originally posted by Cougarz:
quote:
Originally posted by Atkinson:
the pre 64 winchester and the 98 Mauser still win among those gray haired souls that lived in the time and place of Americas best guns built on lathes and not like lead bullet, cast!!

Just another one of the pre 64 fables that get passed on endlessly.

As already said model 70’s have always been forged, never cast or for that matter made on a lathe from scratch. They would have gone broke fast!

28 January 2022, 20:02

LHeym500

The PRE64 was milled. How they mulled them, I am unable to articulate.

28 January 2022, 20:55

Big Wonderful Wyoming

quote:
Originally posted by LHeym500:
The PRE64 was milled. How they mulled them, I am unable to articulate.

Maybe with apple cider mulling spices.

The best M70's ever made are made in the past 10 years in SC and Portugal.

Everything from 1963-2010 or so sucks. I had a David Miller deisgn genre supergrade that was inletted with a chainsaw by a drunk blind folded monkey.

The pre-64's are not as good as the newest ones.

28 January 2022, 21:53

LHeym500

I see that. Good catch. It sure is cold for mulled and spiced cider.

29 January 2022, 00:32

devere

If I were wondering about the over-all quality and reliability of the current M70, and how it compares with all the previous ones, I would ask some folks who have WORKED on model 70s for a long time. There is a man on the winchester collectors portion of the 24 hr. campfire forum who provides good solid info on M70s based on TONS of experience working on them. I've spoken to him more than once and he knows M70s. He goes by the name of "redneck." On this forum, probably Jim Kobe who is on the custom rifle section seems to have lots of M70 experience smithing on them as well as building using M70 actions. The last thing I'd do is put much stock on anyone who says they have a couple or 3 and they all shoot little groups. If you intend to use the rifle for serious hunting, especially in wilderness hunts, there are far more inportant things than how small a group the rifle will shoot off the bench or how pretty the wood is.

29 January 2022, 03:02

dpcd

Ok, for the record:
Pre 64 Model 70s were NEVER FORGED! Another myth, as is/was the quality of them. It varied.
(They were made from solid stock.
Model 70s were never cast, although that has been well proven by now to be a good technique.
Post 64 Model 70s were, and are, forged.
Pre 64 receivers were only made in 30-06 length.
Post 64s long actions are all 375 length.
Precision of the post 64s is better than any.
The fit, finish, wood quality all has varied over the years.

29 January 2022, 03:31

Grenadier

It seems the new versions operate smoother and are, generally, finished better. That's kind of weird because I would think a well used pre-64 would be pretty well smoothed out by usage. Additionally, I must admit to a preference to the XTR versions of the push-feed models. They operate smoothly and are finished nicely. I've owned many mausers. I currently own four. I like them. But I think the controlled round feeding thing is hyped up. I can't think of one modern military rifle that uses a long claw extractor. One of my favorite rifles is a great shooting and very nicely made push-feed XTR in 300 H&H. But if I was going to purchase a new M70 I think it would be a Featherweight. I looked at several of those at the local Cabelas before the shelves were bare and they seemed to be very nice rifles.

10 February 2022, 04:47

StalkerJack

I just want to thank everybody for their posts. I
am looking to learn what people have experienced.
Thanks again!

11 February 2022, 09:52

dougfinn

I currently have two, both recent manufacture.one is a stainless/walnut featherweight in .270 win. The other is a Safari Express in .375 H&H. Both excellent rifles with very good fit and finish. I also had a Super Grade in .243 but was disappointed in the wood it came with. Dark with not much grain or figuring. Heavy but not what I’d expect from that grade of rifle at that price.

11 February 2022, 22:02

450 Fuller

Can only 2nd Ray Atkinson on pre-64 Model 70s-as
I only have 7 Model 70s and 2 M-54s.
Two of these are almost wildcat 338-06 and 35 Whelen, with the ORIGINAL barrels. A rifle on a wilderness or African hunt without back up iron sights may be useless -or get one KIA.
Opinions, however must differ-and pre-war M-70s are rare. We dinosaurs even tote 86s and Model 71 450 Alaskans in Canada and Alaska.....

17 March 2022, 23:30

Atkinson

Ok, I know that but wrote too fast, intended the post to make reference to firearm production in general..

That said Im still loyal to the pre 64 and Mausers for custom rifles and their resale value is more than recent firearms by the better known custom gun smiths!!

Its certainly the buyer choice..

17 March 2022, 23:32

Atkinson

Bless you Fuller!!

09 April 2022, 06:41

chuck375

Heresy! But I like my CZ550 action better than either the pre-64 Model 70s or the 98 Mausers. It is heavy, but oh so solid. Too much for the little calibers like 375 H&H and such.

09 April 2022, 18:10

ColoradoMatt

The post 2006 South Carolina FN model 70 was made in an ISO-9001 production environment. I believe I’ve read that the metal is still machined in the U.S., with the finishing and assembly taking place in Portugal. No quality assurance program will guarantee absolute perfection, but compared to New Haven, the improvement was VAST!
If I won the lottery, I’d have D’Arcy Echols build me a couple of his ultra-fine rifles based on remediated Classic 70 actions. Since that ain’t gonna happen, I’ll have to settle for the South Carolina models that are built correctly right from the start. The argument can be made that one shouldn’t rely on a couple of folks positive appraisals, but I’ve read many, many positive words about the post 2006 guns with almost no criticism from folks who actually own them. I own a “Classic Compact” model from the early 2000’s. It happens to be a fine rifle all the way around, but I’ve examined a great many New Haven Classics with big problems. I lament the demise of the New Haven plant, but (objectively) the model 70 is now better for it.

10 April 2022, 00:19

Kolo-Pan

I have owned 13 of them. All except one have been those that have the little screw in the bolt sleeve. My experience with that model has been excellent!

13 April 2022, 01:37

dogcat

quote:
Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
quote:
Originally posted by LHeym500:
The PRE64 was milled. How they mulled them, I am unable to articulate.

Maybe with apple cider mulling spices.

The best M70's ever made are made in the past 10 years in SC and Portugal.

Everything from 1963-2010 or so sucks. I had a David Miller deisgn genre supergrade that was inletted with a chainsaw by a drunk blind folded monkey.

The pre-64's are not as good as the newest ones.

I have been saying this for a few years.
I have owned several pre-64's. Most are not as accurate as the current factory guns. Most of the current fame for a pre-64 is that the action is used on customs with new barrels, bedding and triggers. So, it is not a pre-64 anymore but a new gun with new attachments.

They all work fine - pre 64 and post 64. I have one push feed made in the middle 1980's that is a .5 MOA gun everyday.

So, get what you like. Shoot it. If it is not accurate, sell it here. Someone will buy it...

13 April 2022, 01:38

dogcat

quote:
Originally posted by dpcd:
Ok, for the record:
Pre 64 Model 70s were NEVER FORGED! Another myth, as is/was the quality of them. It varied.
(They were made from solid stock.
Model 70s were never cast, although that has been well proven by now to be a good technique.
Post 64 Model 70s were, and are, forged.
Pre 64 receivers were only made in 30-06 length.
Post 64s long actions are all 375 length.
Precision of the post 64s is better than any.
The fit, finish, wood quality all has varied over the years.

YES. Finally the truth. You must have voted for Trump...