BHP9
April 20, 2003, 06:57 PM
A fellow shooter showed up today at the range with Winchesters latest variation in the long line of M70 variations.
It at first appeared to be the standard post-64 push feed but on close examination it was a new model that was converted to controlled feed with a fixed ejector (not the plunger type).
The fellow that owned it was a sly and savvy shooter. He was shooting it loaded down to .308 velocities and at this velocity it printed 3 shot groups of around 3/4 of and inch and some were even smaller than that.
He said that he would only fire the full power stuff for hunting and I agreed with him that he had a great idea for making the gun last beyond the usually 2,000 round barrel life of a lot of magnums. Did I say 2,000 rounds? Well yes if we are not talking about the ultra mags that burn darn near 100 grains of powder. I have seen those burn out at 800 in the calibers like the 7mm stw.
I did not think much of the plastic stock , as it had no swing down floor plate and the recoil pad was what I would call medium stiff, certianly no Pachmyer deaccellerator.
He had reworked the trigger down to a nice 2 lbs. I do not think he would have shot such small groups without thise modification but for someone familiar with the M70 trigger it is no big deal to rework them to this poundage.
I was quite amazed that it shot this well with no glass bedding but these groups were only for 3 shots not 5. I think if it were my gun I would go ahead and glass bed it.
The blueing was of the satin type.
He had a weaver mount and quick detachable rings which I agreed were probably the best for such a heavy recoiling gun. I doubt if this gun weighed much over 6 pounds. The weaver rings have a lot of gripping surface on the scope and if you need to remove the scope for travel or if you have auxillary iron sights put on (not a bad idea) you can remove it and put it back on with a return to zero of about only a 1/2inch off a 100 yards. Plenty close enough for hunting at reasonable ranges.
All in all his idea of loading the caliber down made a lot of sense. His idea was to have his cake and eat it too. Longer barrel life for recreational shooting and for hunting a real hellbender of a caliber when loaded up to full power.
The bolt travel was typical M70 , super slick and fast. NO surprises there and easily stripped for cleaning by twist of the wrist so to speak.
Me, well I will still stick with my favorite the 7x57 but thats me. I like the almost natural super accuracy and mild recoil of this caliber. When an animal like a moose crashes to the ground with one shot from a 175 grain Nosler partition thats good enough for me.
It at first appeared to be the standard post-64 push feed but on close examination it was a new model that was converted to controlled feed with a fixed ejector (not the plunger type).
The fellow that owned it was a sly and savvy shooter. He was shooting it loaded down to .308 velocities and at this velocity it printed 3 shot groups of around 3/4 of and inch and some were even smaller than that.
He said that he would only fire the full power stuff for hunting and I agreed with him that he had a great idea for making the gun last beyond the usually 2,000 round barrel life of a lot of magnums. Did I say 2,000 rounds? Well yes if we are not talking about the ultra mags that burn darn near 100 grains of powder. I have seen those burn out at 800 in the calibers like the 7mm stw.
I did not think much of the plastic stock , as it had no swing down floor plate and the recoil pad was what I would call medium stiff, certianly no Pachmyer deaccellerator.
He had reworked the trigger down to a nice 2 lbs. I do not think he would have shot such small groups without thise modification but for someone familiar with the M70 trigger it is no big deal to rework them to this poundage.
I was quite amazed that it shot this well with no glass bedding but these groups were only for 3 shots not 5. I think if it were my gun I would go ahead and glass bed it.
The blueing was of the satin type.
He had a weaver mount and quick detachable rings which I agreed were probably the best for such a heavy recoiling gun. I doubt if this gun weighed much over 6 pounds. The weaver rings have a lot of gripping surface on the scope and if you need to remove the scope for travel or if you have auxillary iron sights put on (not a bad idea) you can remove it and put it back on with a return to zero of about only a 1/2inch off a 100 yards. Plenty close enough for hunting at reasonable ranges.
All in all his idea of loading the caliber down made a lot of sense. His idea was to have his cake and eat it too. Longer barrel life for recreational shooting and for hunting a real hellbender of a caliber when loaded up to full power.
The bolt travel was typical M70 , super slick and fast. NO surprises there and easily stripped for cleaning by twist of the wrist so to speak.
Me, well I will still stick with my favorite the 7x57 but thats me. I like the almost natural super accuracy and mild recoil of this caliber. When an animal like a moose crashes to the ground with one shot from a 175 grain Nosler partition thats good enough for me.