Any reason not to use the M70 for a long-range rifle? I just got a long magnum action and I want to build a rifle for plinking at extreme ranges (no animals). I'm thinking barrel-blocked .300 RUM IMP.

Why not in the original M-70 long range target caliber that the action is made for.....the 300 H&H.

It would be a shame to butcher a pre-64 mag action to make it feed the short n wide cartridges. It'll take a lot of cutting of the receiver to make it feed right.....and VERY risky cutting at that.

Thanks Mr. Belk-

The action is a brand new one. I want it to be a free-floating action and feed it single shot. I'm just wondering if a 'smith can true it up the way so many people do with Remington 700s.

LDO--

Of course. A Model 70 makes a great target rifle. They can be trued just like a Remington.....it's just harder to do because the action is a part of a square instead of the much simpler to machine round tube of the Remington.

Also-- the new Model 70s don't have a formed feeding rail, they depend on the lips of the mag box for guidance. I'd mill the sides out square and make a SS block to solder or epoxy in place.

You'll need a target (multi-lever) trigger.... You get verticle stringing by pulling the trigger on the unsupported action if it's more than a few ounces. Set triggers set up so much vibration that rounds might go anywhere......I saw a guy put three barrels on a glue-in before he tried a 2 ounce trigger. Groups went from grape shot to bug holes.

Mr. Belk-
Cool I checked and Jewell makes a trigger for the M70. I have a Jewell on my Stolle Polar 1kBR rifle. "Buy the best and cry once", eh?

I use M70s for my "F" class rifles and they work fine. I solder a block into the bottom to make them a single shot on the new actions. The Pre-64s I use as is.
The truing is really no more difficult than with the 700s once you have the jig made up. Regards, Bill

I have a M70 Laredo that was trued and rebarreled by Mark Bansner in Adamstown, Pa. I sent him the action, a 1/10 twist Lilja #7 taper .30 cal SS barrel and the HS stock the rifle came with. The trigger is original (tuned to 1.5lbs). He did a min spec chamber and added one of his brakes.

This gun is a .300Win Mag. Using Norma brass, IMR 7828, and 210gr Berger VLD bullets, it will shoot 1" 300yard groups. 1/3 MOA!!! This is my "Big" gun for long range.

Ummmmmmm......In case I forgot to mention it, the action is in a stock with trigger and barrel (.300 Win Mag)

I bought it planning to strip down for the action. I fired it today for the first time. I used 52gr of 4895 with 200gr MKs and got a 1/2" 5-shot group. I think it will do just fine as is for a while.

I'm in New Mexico for a year and hunting here isn't outrageously expensive like in Texas. I think the Win Mag will do just fine for deer.