A guy owed me money. To satisfy the debt he gave me a Pre 64 Win. 300 H&H. The wood looks like it was drug behind a truck from here to town. The steel looks pretty good. The bolt shows very little sign of use. I think the floor plate has been reblued. It's a 6 digit S/N and made in 1954. I've never owned a Pre 64 because I use my guns for a tool. Prybars, crutches, canoe paddles, occasionally shoot something with them, etc. The toe of the stock works great as a rudder or brake when you slide down an ice field when goat hunting. It will play hell with the butt plate screws though. Pulls them right out. I didn't want to screw up a good gun.
Here's my questions.....
1. This gun has no checkering on the stock. I though all Pre 64s had checkering? Am I wrong?
2. The safety is EXTREMELY hard to actuate. Can I fix this? Or, do I need a competent gunsmith, which we have none of around here.
3. When you close the bolt, just as the face touches the front ring on the action, it moves to the left before completely closing. The bolt seems pretty sloppy side to side.
4. When you open the bolt, when the swell in the ejector hits the rear receiver ring, the bolt gets harder to open. Nothing serious, but it sure isn't smooth.
Did I get screwed, or are these common problems with Pre 64s?
I'd like to keep the rifle and take it to Africa next year. If I can't fix it to my satisfaction, I guess I'll just haul my old beat up Browning A Bolt over there again.
Thanks for any help.

My 1952 300 H&H doesn't have any of those maladies and the stock is checkered. My safety got a little hard to operate while I was in Zim last year, but after a cleaning one evening, it was back to being very easy to operate.

The bolt moving to the side just as it is closed doesn't sound right to me. Mine doesn't do that. The bolt doesn't have a lot of play in it either.

If you trust it enough to shoot, give her a try and see what it's like in action.

I would not shoot that gun; it is flat out dangerous. I will send you a check to take it off your hands.

Seriously, the problem with the safety is minor and only needs a tuneup, easy work. If the bolt is "sliding" to one side when you close it, it is probably due to the extractor bottoming out in the groove in the bolt. As for the "swell" in the extractor, this can be remedied by tightening the collar that holds it on. All of the 70's I have seen have been checkered.

Wann sell it? Fix it? Email me

Jim

TJ

Be careful if you send that rifle to Kobe becasue in addition to everything else that you think is wrong with it he will tell you its been in a fire or something else in order to attempt to get it for next to nothing.

You just couldn't resist could you. I will say, that for a fact, you are a real asshole.

For everyone else, that was a bit tongue in cheek.

I've got a transition model 70 (cloverleaf tang-?1949???) that was a 300 H&H, which I turned into a 340 Wby, and the bitch can shoot. 200gr Sierras were a cloverleaf and 250gr TSX are under 1/2in.

Keep the gun and get it worked over, you won't regret it!

TJ, first , all mod 70's except the target stock came with checkering. Not 100% sure but even the custom orders had checkering. The only exception was the heavy barreled target model.
The safety will need to be checked and cleaned, should be ok after that
The other two problems have been explained well by Jim Kobe

Thanks folks. I preciate the help. The stock has probably been replaced sometime in the last 50 years. The lack of checkering doesn't bother me, so I'll probably bed it and keep it. It had a Pachmayr white line pad, that was harder than a preachers heart, so I put a Decelerator on it.
I tweeked the trigger a bit, and now, it's good.
The bore looks good. No rust or pits and the edges are sharp.
I'll fool with it this winter and see what I can do about the bolt.
Jim:
I preciate your concern for my safety and the generous offer. However, if this gun is unsafe, I sure wouldn't want to unload it on some unsuspecting Pilgrim!

Thanks for your consideration.

The saga continues.......
I showed the 300H&H to my friend today. This guy has more Winchesters than any sane man should! He's been collecting them for about 30 years. He has one or more of every caliber except one. I forget which one it was!
He has two Pre64s with no checkering. One of those he bought new for $135. He bought it in 1954 somewhere in Mt. It does has a montecarlo cheekpiece. I guess it's hard to make a solid statement about what they had, when they were sold.
I found the hard opening bolt problem. It was the ring attached to the ejector and circling the bolt. It was oblong. The high parts were on the top and the bottom. They hung up when they hit the rear receiver ring. A pair of slip joint pliers fixed that.
I found an old box of 300 H&H in my loading room. Forgot I had them. The box is Winchester unprimed brass, price marked on the box. $3.45.Somewhere along the way they were reloaded with what, I have no idea. I chambered one to see about the offcenter bolt on closing. No problem, they chamber fine. I think Jims got it correct. The ejector is spring loaded in that direction and if it was bottoming out, it would push the bolt in that direction.
Next job is loosening up the safety.
Hey Jim: When I fix that safety does that make me an internet gunsmith?
Thanks for your help.
PS....My friend is always looking for Pre64 338WM, if anyone knows of any, I'll let him know.

The uncheckered stock might have been a Winchester custom order.

TJ,

May I call you TJ? How big a population is Nikiski, Ak? How many guns would you say that need fixin there? Could a gunsmith, say, make it worth his while traveling to that part of the world to fix guns for a couple of months a year? Is there any good fly fishing or SCUBA diving nearby? If you were to take that beater M70 to Africa, would you consider taking a gunsmith with you to keep it working? Would there be any fly fishing or SCUBA diving near where you would be hunting? Any sharks in the water where the gunsmith would need to bring his wifes Glock? If you answer yes to any or part of this, I may know just the guy who would do it.

Given the stated condition of the wood and without pictures, it is hard to say whether the stock was ever checkered or if it is even the original stock. I have seen "refinished" M70 stocks with the factory checkering sanded completely smooth.

quote:

PS....My friend is always looking for Pre64 338WM, if anyone knows of any, I'll let him know.

TJ:

I saw one at the gunshow last weekend. It was pretty nice but someone had chopped the barrel to 22" and remounted the front ramp site. It was done very well. I may know where it is.

quote:

I've never owned a Pre 64 because I use my guns for a tool. Prybars, crutches, canoe paddles, occasionally shoot something with them, etc. The toe of the stock works great as a rudder or brake when you slide down an ice field when goat hunting.

Sounds like you've acquired another tool. Judging by your condition description, that's about all it'd be good for............

deguello.....I got the thing for hunting, not hanging on the wall. If it keeps them on a paper plate at 100 yds, that's good enough for me.

I own a pre64 mod 70 300H&H and have for years. It is horrible, no self respecting person would own one: so, being the considerate person that I am, send it to me and it will keep mine company