Other than the bolt handle being drilled to was there any difference between the actions of the pre-64 fwt. and std.? Was the featherweight action any "leaner"? I am aware that the the barrel of the fwt. was shorter and lighter in contour, that they used aluminum butt plates and floorplates, and that the stock was somewhat trimmer, but I am wondering about the action. I'm wondering, in building a lightweight rifle, if it would make any difference in the final weight between starting with a std. action or a fwt. action. I doubt that there are any differences in dimensions, etc., but I have not put them side by side, so I wanted to ask someone with more experience than I.

Thanks again,
Bob

P.S. Just to be clear I am talking about M70 Winchesters! I've seen people throw around "pre-64" in a lot of places it doesn't belong!

[ 06-03-2003, 20:27: Message edited by: bobvthunter ]

No difference at all.

In fact, I believe the dimensions of the Pre-64 actions are all the same, regardless of caliber (except that the pre-war actions have the clover leaf tang). The only difference is in the bolt face (standard or magnum or 22 Hornet) and the magazine box and follower.

For the long magnum actions (375H&H and 300H&H) they opened up the loading/ejection port by removing some metal in the front and back and then they drilled the rear bridge holes (for the scope base) closer together.

I have a few Pre-64 M70s. My shooter grade .338 Win Mag had difficulty feeding from the right side of the magazine if there was only one round in there. It would feed from the left hand side (when there were 2 rounds in the magazine) and it would feed from the right hand side when the magazine was full (3 rounds). I took it to my gunsmith to get it fixed. I asked him about doing rail work to get it to feed and he suggested that I make sure I had the correct follower (short mag).

I tracked down a Pre-64 short mag follower, installed it, and now that rifle feeds as smoothly as you could ever hope for. When I got the rifle it did have a standard follower in there. When you put the standard follower next to the short mag follower, it is very difficult to see any difference with the naked eye. However, it made a world of difference in how the rifle functioned.

Tim

The featherweight had a different contour barrel, and no sight ring on the barrel. It had an aluminum floor plate and butt plate. I also believe that they drilled a hole in the butt section of the stock to reduce the weight of the stock. I hope that I am correct in these differences, as I may not be.