Anybody seen a new Winchester yet? What did you think about it?

The American Rifleman show on the Outdoor Channel last night had a special on the new Model 70. Seemed to be the same rifle but with a new totally redesigned trigger and in very limited calibers. Have not actually seen one yet.

you forgot double the cost over last retail.

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
you forgot double the cost over last retail.

Not quite double but yes a significant increase none the less. It's seems though that they are trying to have an increased level of quality to coincide with that increase. We'll have to wait and see. I hope they can back up their guaranteed MOA claim.

Seems that everyone was bemoaning the poor quality of the Winchesters before they went bellyup. And they are selling in the $1200 to 1300 range now, probably close to the new prices.

How can one expect to have quality and low price and then bemoan them going broke is beyond me.

I saw two of the FNH tachtical models in .308 several months ago, in a local shop. They had been ordered for a police group of one kind or another. The dealer had been told by the rep to expect groups in the neighborhood of 2 in. at 300 yds. That may be more brag than fact, even for a target grade weapon in a super accurate cartridge. I guess we'll all find out soon. From what I have been told, the rifle will be competing more with Kimber, Weatherby, & the like, than with run of the mill Rugers, Remingtons, etc.

MSRP's being shown are $1000 for standard and $1150 for Super Grade, with magnums carrying a $50 premium. I would expect retail to be around 20% or so less after the dealers get supplied.

Anxiously awaiting a 375 H&H Safari model...

yeah, I'm not missing out this time!

If the new Winchesters are like the FN special police rifles produced at the South Carolina plant, there is not much to worry about. I bought an SPR a few years ago and it is incredible. Trigger had to be lightened and that is all -- it is really incredible. I don't really see any difference in powder selection or seating depth with loads on the rifle. I just keeps making tiny clusters of holes and puts down groundhogs at long ranges.

I'll echo Will sentiment. Search the forums here and see how many people bitched about the WSM and other "wasted R&D" fiascos, when what was really needed was better QC and finish. Well, if you want a well-finished CRF rifle made in the US, expect to pay $850+ for it. Now if they can deliver a good rifle for that price, I'll buy another one. Maybe two. I love the M70, truly, and bemoaned its demise, but I also saw them struggling to keep up with the M760 and Savage's low-dollar packages, while strangely unable to sell their own version of PF action. So, you want a Winchester and you want it CRF? Pony the frik up!

quote:

Originally posted by 390ish:
I bought an SPR a few years ago and it is incredible. Trigger had to be lightened and that is all -- it is really incredible.

Is the trigger in your rifle the new one, or an improved version of the original?

I recently read and article in a hunting mag,
And the guy got to shoot several versions in many chamberings and said all rifles were easy to get below an inch off a field rest.
Also mentioned 2 screw floor plate trigger guard setup.
I hope its steel !
I saw a show on the military channel that showed the plant in SC making M-16s for the military. It is a state of the art facility.
I expect good things.
The great coincidence is we should all be getting our federal economic stimulis checks about the same time the new model 70 hits the street.
that might work real well for FNH, and , ...tj3006

I hope they chamber it in 375 Ruger.

quote:

Originally posted by luv2safari:
I hope they chamber it in 375 Ruger.

LOL!!!

But seriously that would be cool.

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
The American Rifleman show on the Outdoor Channel last night had a special on the new Model 70. Seemed to be the same rifle but with a new totally redesigned trigger and in very limited calibers. Have not actually seen one yet.

The one thing that had remained constant throught the production of the "old" Model 70's, from 1937 to 2006, was the trigger design. It was excellent the way it was. I wonder why they "fixed" it, since it was not in the least broken??

quote:

Originally posted by El Deguello:

The one thing that had remained constant throught the production of the "old" Model 70's, from 1937 to 2006, was the trigger design. It was excellent the way it was. I wonder why they "fixed" it, since it was not in the least broken??

El Deguello, as usual--right on point!!!

Yup. I had the same thought. That trigger is so simple to tune, not many parts, wonder if they've gone and wrecked it with some overengineered contraption that works "better" out-of-box but impossible to tune. Here's hoping you can at least still retrofit a M70 trigger.

I heard tell somewhere, that it was Browning that insisted on the new trigger, against the better judgment of others. The new Model 70 trigger closely resembles Brownings new trigger, but they are not interchangeable. Furthermore, the old style trigger will not retrofit to the new Model 70 actions.

The trigger was a point of attention when the FN tactical rifle was being developed. Does anyone know when this new trigger was introduced? A logical progression would be that the new trigger was introduced concurrently with transfer of production to the SC plant, and then incorporated into the re-introduced Model 70. It's speculation, but if that is the case, Browning copied the FN trigger.

Anyone have any thoughts? Input? What has been provided on the FN tacticals for the past few years?

I understand that the FN's have the old style Md 70 trigger and will continue to have that trigger.

Seems to be around the same price as before.

h ttp://wholesalesports.com/onlinestore/control/category/~category_id=11693/~pcategory=11689

I liked the old triggers too.
But I won't knock the new one till ive tripped it...tj3006

While the old trigger was great after being tuned, many people weren't comfortable doing it themselves. I suspect the new trigger may not be as good after tuning, but better out of the box. Just a guess, though...

(Personally, I didn't find the old M70 trigger that easy to do properly. I could set the let-off weight easily enough, thanks to my two small quarter-inch wrenches, but removing creep was harder - it took several disassemblies/reassemblies. Re-doing the legendarily bad Ruger M77 MkII trigger was much easier. The M70 ended up much better, however.)

$50 to a gunsmith who knows what he's doing will make your old model 70 trigger better than any factory trigger on the market. Once it's done, it's done and you'll never have to worry about it again. The trigger change is a major disappointment to me and I won't be buying any for that reason. I'm hoping that the new M70's coming to the market will drive the prices of the old models back into line. I've got a safe full of M70's and only need one or two more which will be custom built so I don't care if they're new in box. The old ones hade some quality control issues but nothing that a good gunsmith can't take care of when turning it into a custom. I don't want one with the new trigger, it's a step backward in functionality.

quote:

Here's hoping you can at least still retrofit a M70 trigger.

Out of the 10 Mod 70 I've owned, they all needed adjusting but were excellant after that. I sent a rifle to the "big green" boys on a warranty call and they charged me for a new one cause I adjusted their's. Well, the old one wasn't much good and the new one was better so I didn't complain too much. I hate it when folks "fix" something that wasn't broke. Maybe it will be better some how.