Where do you find info on Winchester rifles?

[Jonny2guns]

Bought a model 70, and was wondering when it was manufactured.
As well as any other info would be appreciated, I don't think the scope mounting bases are original to the rifle.

 

[I6turbo]

Here: https://winchestercollector.org/dates/
Looks like yours was made in 1959.

 

[silicosys4]

2nd on Winchestercollector.org's forum. Bert over there has helped me with a few lever guns. He's extremely knowledgeable and he's always been a pleasure to interact with.

 

[Jonny2guns]

Here: https://winchestercollector.org/dates/
Looks like yours was made in 1959.

Does that mean I scored one of the holy grale pre 64 models?

 

[sage5907]

There were 24,248 Model 70 rifles manufactured in 1959 and you have one of them. The 1959 serial numbers went from 440,793 to 465,040. I personally really like the Model 70 featherweight for hunting and you have bought a very choice rifle. You didn't say what caliber you have but it doesn't have any sights so the sights either have been removed or the barrel replaced. There was a period of time where Winchester manufactured rifles without open sights and they were called "gopher specials" but I doubt if this is one. Your rifle may have a late model take off barrel from a "Classic" and and you can tell that if it says "Classic" on the side. Also, your barrel seems to be slim and about 20 inches long and that says "classic." Your rifle has the old Weaver top mounts for a scope and that tells me the scope hadn't been updated for many years so the rifle probably hasn't been shot very much spending much of it's life in a closet or gun cabinet. When I look for a rifle like this I always like to see these mounts because it shows the rifle has been lightly used. Your rifle has a very desirable high comb stock that has been shortened some and looks to have a length of pull about 13 1/4 inches. That doesn't take anything away for me because I like a length of pull about 13 3/8 inches. the recoil pad is a Packmayr field pad that is probably old and hard so a good choice is to replace it with a black 1 inch Pachmayr Decelerator. The checkering on the stock is very desirable and if you look at the forend you will notice the checkering wraps around the bottom and that is great. Your rifle is basically a shooter and not a collector. If you will tell me the caliber I can tell your more about the rifle.

 

[Jonny2guns]

There were 24,248 Model 70 rifles manufactured in 1959 and you have one of them. The 1959 serial numbers went from 440,793 to 465,040. I personally really like the Model 70 featherweight for hunting and you have bought a very choice rifle. You didn't say what caliber you have but it doesn't have any sights so the sights either have been removed or the barrel replaced. There was a period of time where Winchester manufactured rifles without open sights and they were called "gopher specials" but I doubt if this is one. Your rifle may have a late model take off barrel from a "Classic" and and you can tell that if it says "Clacssic" on the side. Your rifle has the old Weaver top mounts for a scope and that tells me the scope hadn't been updated for many years so the rifle probably hasn't been shot very much spending much of it's life in a closet or gun cabinet. When I look for a rifle like this I always like to see these mounts because it shows the rifle has been lightly used. Your rifle has a very desirable high comb stock that has been shortened some and looks to have a length of pull about 13 1/4 inches. That doesn't take anything away for me because I like a length of pull about 13 3/8 inches. the recoil pad is a Packmayr field pad that is probably old and hard so a good choice is to replace it with a black 1 inch Pachmayr Decelerator. The checkering on the stock is very desirable and if you look at the forend you will notice the checkering wraps around the bottom and that is great. If you will tell me the caliber I can tell your more about the rifle.

It is 30-06. Would the sites have been soldered on, or dovetailed, there are ever so slight marks where I would expect the rear sight to be. I like the way the rifle fits me, so I will look for a decelerator. Thank you very much for your input!

 

[sage5907]

I'm really interested in these rifles so I am glad to help. A 30-06 is a good cartridge and I have carried a Winchester 70 featherweight 30-06 rifles many miles and taken many deer with them. Does the barrel say Winchester on the side? The word Winchester will be on the left side of the barrel slightly in front of these marks that you see. The rear sight on a normal factory Winchester barrel would have been dovetailed into the top of the barrel and the front sight brazed onto the barrel. If the two slight marks that you see go across the barrel about a third of an inch apart a blank was probably put into the dovetail by a gunsmith and then rounded to match the contour of the barrel, and after the front sight was removed the barrel would have been re-blued. If you want a new recoil pad have a good gunsmith do the work and a Pachmayr Deceleration will look great. Attached are pictures of a barrel with the sights removed. A blank was put into the slot but not filed down. The front sight was removed and the barrel re-blued.

 

[Jonny2guns]

Heres the barrel
And now I can see where they filled in the rear sight.

 

[sage5907]

You sure can. And you can tell by the color of the barrel that the gunsmith took the sights off and re-blued the barrel. He did a super fine polishing job polishing the barrel. Good pictures. I like the barrels better without sights and that one looks good. The only down side to a barrel without sights is that if you grab the front of the barrel with one hand it can slip through your hand. It's happened to me when I was wearing cloth gloves.

 

[Jonny2guns]

Looking forward to working up some loads and heading to the range....gotta get some glass first.

 

[sage5907]

A 3-9 x 40 Leupold is a good choice and it works with a Winchester 70 because the distance between the eyepiece and objective ends are just right for the spacing of the Leupold rings. And, there's an old saying about a 30-06 that's still true. "If a 30-06 won't shoot a good group with a 150 grain bullet and 52 grains of IMR 4064 it won't shoot a good group with anything." One of my favorite loads was a Sierra GameKing 150 with 51 grains of IMR 4064. But, as time went by that load was replaced by the same bullet with 57 grains of Reloader 17 with the back of the bullet set flush with the rear of the case neck. It would shoot MOA in several rifles. And, if you like 165 grain bullets work up to 57 grains of IMR 4350. That same IMR 4350 load also works good with a 150 grain bullet. They caution reloaders to start low and work up but with the long established loads what they are really saying is that you need to measure your powder correctly. For serious big game hunting you can't do better than the Nosler Partition 165. It may not be as accurate as some bullets but performance on game is everything.

 

[Jonny2guns]

A 3-9 x 40 Leupold is a good choice and it works with a Winchester 70 because the distance between the eyepiece and objective ends are just right for the spacing of the Leupold rings. And, there's an old saying about a 30-06 that's still true. "If a 30-06 won't shoot a good group with a 150 grain bullet and 52 grains of IMR 4064 it won't shoot a good group with anything." One of my favorite loads was a Sierra GameKing 150 with 51 grains of IMR 4064. But, as time went by that load was replaced by the same bullet with 57 grains of Reloader 17 with the back of the bullet set flush with the rear of the case neck. It would shoot MOA in several rifles. And, if you like 165 grain bullets work up to 57 grains of IMR 4350. They caution reloaders to start low and work up but with the long established loads what they are really saying is that you need to measure your powder correctly. For serious big game hunting you can't do better than the Nosler Partition 165. It may not be as accurate as some bullets but performance on game is everything.

Well, I have 4064 and 150gr sp bullets, so that sounds like a good starting point.
I'll start looking for glass tomorrow.

 

[sage5907]

Another thing I need to tell you is about your rifle stock. The stock on your rifle is made of Missouri American walnut and the wood in your stock is quarter sawed. That means that you can see the growth rings of the wood from each side of the stock and this makes a really solid stock for a hunting rifle. A quarter sawed stock is my favorite for a hunting rifle because it makes a very accurate stock. The other method of sawing the wood for a stock is called slab sawed and that is where you see the growth rings from the top and bottom of the stock and you are looking at flat wood from the side. This makes the prettiest stock but most slab sawed stocks are more often seen on high grade rifles. Winchester made some really high grade walnut stocks for their rifles.

 

[Bazoo]

Nice rifle, congratulations.

 

[Jonny2guns]

Another thing I need to tell you is about your rifle stock. The stock on your rifle is made of Missouri American walnut and the wood in your stock is quarter sawed. That means that you can see the growth rings of the wood from each side of the stock and this makes a really solid stock for a hunting rifle. A quarter sawed stock is my favorite for a hunting rifle because it makes a very accurate stock. The other method of sawing the wood for a stock is called slab sawed and that is where you see the growth rings from the top and bottom of the stock and you are looking at flat wood from the side. This makes the prettiest stock but most slab sawed stocks are more often seen on high grade rifles. Winchester made some really high grade walnut stocks for their rifles.

Thank you for the information, you really know your stuff on Winchester rifles. I'm liking this rifle more and more, and I haven't even shot it yet.

 

[sage5907]

The pre 64 Model 70 featherweight is my choice of hunting rifles and I have tried several others. When you install your scope the easy way to make sure it is level with the rifle is to point the vertical line of the reticle straight down toward the center of the bolt. The firing pin is in the center of the bolt so what I am saying is to point the vertical line of the reticle straight down toward the center of the firing pin. To do this you have to hold the rifle away from your eye so you can see both the reticle and the back of the bolt at the same time.

 

[Jonny2guns]

The pre 64 Model 70 featherweight is my choice of hunting rifles and I have tried several others. When you install your scope the easy way to make sure it is level with the rifle is to point the vertical line of the reticle straight down toward the center of the bolt. The firing pin is in the center of the bolt so what I am saying is to point the vertical line of the reticle straight down toward the center of the firing pin. To do this you have to hold the rifle away from your eye so you can see both the reticle and the back of the bolt at the same time.

Not a problem, I understand what you are saying.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Kuddos to @sage5907 for his 'sage' advice!

 

[sage5907]

One way you can increase your enjoyment in shooting a rifle like the 30-06 is to double up on your hearing protection. As I got older I started using both ear plugs and ear muffs at the same time and it was a big improvement in handling the noise. Also, I shoot a 338-06 often that has sharper recoil than a 30-06 and to take away the impact on the side of the cheek I wear a mouthpiece like athletes use. Doing this may not be important if you're only firing five rounds but if you fire 20 rounds you will notice the difference.

 

[Jonny2guns]

One way you can increase your enjoyment in shooting a rifle like the 30-06 is to double up on your hearing protection. As I got older I started using both ear plugs and ear muffs at the same time and it was a big improvement in handling the noise. Also, I shoot a 338-06 often that has sharper recoil than a 30-06 and to take away the impact on the side of the cheek I wear a mouthpiece like athletes use. Doing this may not be important if you're only firing five rounds but if you fire 20 rounds you will notice the difference.

Yep, on my bolt action rifles I usually were both plugs and muffs. The ARs the muffs get in the way. And if I'm going to the range, I'm shooting more than 5 rnds.

 

[sage5907]

There was a noted gun writer named Jim Zumbo who lived and hunted around Vernal, Utah who bought a Model 70 just like yours in the 1960's and hunted with it for many years. He wrote a book named "Hunting America's Mule Deer" that was interesting and I liked to read what he wrote. As he got older he said that although he had owned many rifles that original Model 70 was still his favorite hunting rifle. I was hunting mule deer in Colorado with a Model 70 every year back in the 1980's and out of curiosity I visited Vernal to see where he lived and hunted. Another noted gun writer who liked the Model 70 was Jack O'Connor who hunted with and spent a big part of his older years touting the Model 70 in 270 Winchester. I liked to read what he wrote and actually visited the Speer Bullet Factory and the area around Lewiston, Idaho where ole Jack lived. Although the visit to Lewiston was quite accidental on my part my wife to this day says I planned it ahead of time. As a Model 70 owner and hunter I'm not at the level of either of these people but I have really enjoyed hunting with, carrying and shooting the pre 64 Model 70. I have rifles in 270, 280, 30-06 and 338-06 calibers and will hunt with them as long as I can see, walk and shoot.