I have a friend that wants to sell a M-70 westerner (26") pre-64 M-70 It's rough but shoots well.

I can have it reblued but am told some of these barrels are stainless with a iron plating to retain bluing.

How do I know if this barrel can be normally hot blued as chrome moly?

Just dab some cold blue on a worn part of the metal.

Most of the coated/blued ss barrels I've seen were quite greyish and with wear they become mottled and patchy.

Also understand that rebluing will decrease its value if you ever want to sell it.

The old Remington M721 chambered .264 Winchester Magnum wore a blued stainless barrel. I don't think the M70 Westerner did.

Some, but not all, stainless Model 70 barrels are actually marked "stainless" or "ST" on the bottom by the cartridge stamping. The best way to tell is the appearance of the bluing. Because Winchester had to iron plate the barrel before bluing, it takes on a rougher appearance than a CM barrel.

I have afriend with numerous as new pre 64 264 Win Mag barrels @ $200 each. All pre 64 264 barrels are stainless. The very latest ones have Dulite Blueing and are not iron plated. They would be up in the 500,000 sn range. My friend can fix you up if your's is an older one.

quote:

Originally posted by aliveincc:
Also understand that rebluing will decrease its value if you ever want to sell it.

Trust me here, this rifle is so rough that it's value is decreased about as much as it can go. The stock has been refinished and the checkering is filled with finish and the stock looks almost like it was painted some brown color. The action has had the serial # ground off (the serial number however is retained on the bolt) and the overall metal finish is about 5%

It's only saving grace is it shoots very well and the bore shows no erosion at all.

If you purchase this rifle, you will be in possession of an illegal firearm according to ATF Regulations. The serial number on the bolt does not qualify as the serial number. It has to be on the receiver. I would not touch the rifle with a ten foot pole.

There is a reason the serial number is ground off. Perhaps it is a stolen rifle. I'll tell you one thing, it sure as hell is not worth going to jail for and a 10,000.00 fine as well as having yourself being a convicted felon and never being able to own a firearm again.

I'm a sucker for every 3-legged dog pre-64 that comes along. I think it's a sickness. But that s/n is over the line for me. I wouldn't allow a rifle with a ground off s/n in my shop. The last thing an FFL holder needs is a rifle like that in the shop during an ATF inspection. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a reputable rebluing shop that would disagree.

I'm with Hoot, I'd stay far away from it.

There are chemical kits out there to "raise" that serial number and then you better get that number stamped or engraved to the minimum depth and height YESTERDAY!!!

You may also want to run that serial number through the state police to see if it is stolen. The bolt number may or may not be the correct number, but run it to see if clean.

This is bad news on this post!!! You need to act.

I am/was fully aware of the serial # issues. I do understand the seriousness of same. Additionally there is no wish or desire to be a party to anything illegal here as it's simply not worth the risks!

The issue of resurrection is also important as it's of no value to correct the serial # if the rest of the rifle is not salvageable at a reasonable cost. I can put a .264 barrel on a 7mm Mag if I really want a .264

If it's the case that all .264 barrels (pre-64) are stainless then it makes the rebluing job more than a simple reblue and the splotchy surface of this barrel is quite assuring of a plated over stainless blue job from Winchester.

It's becoming quite apparent that the resurrection of this old Winchester is beyond what I'm willing to spend to have a .264 in the gun rack, even if it's a pre-64 M-70.

The seriousness is a big federal offense to remove or have a gun with the serial number removed/obliterated.

Yeah...besides that, lots of these pre 64 264's have been used in drive-bys lately!!!

Drive-by bayonettings are on the rise again as well! They need to remove the bayo lugs again. LOL