Gunsmithing Building a Win 70 pre 64 rifle...

[The Godfather]

My father has a 90's vintage Winchester 70 pre 64 that I would like to do a custom build on/with for his next birthday (10 months). From the research I've done online it looks like a lot of shops do not like to work on non Rem 700 receivers.

Any recommendations for shops that would do a nice job on a 70 action tune / new barrel?

Will I have to spend a lot more to tune a 70 action vs a 700?

Thanks in advance for your time!

 

[BPaulk]

The Godfather, Pre 64 means before 1964 manufacture good luck with your build.

 

[Powermac]

For tuning up a M 70 action look up Chad Dixon@Longrifles inc.
Hes got experience with the M 70's and does some outstanding work.

As for a Tune up the M 70 works just as well as a Remington, you do have less options for accessories available though.
The builds should'nt be too far away in price, the Win might be slightly more expensive to build.
It does have a internal recoil lug though, and save any work associated with it or price of buying and fitting a new one as is quite common practice with the 700's.

As for what action to choose i would personally go with the M 70 every time, but both will work.
The m 70 does have some beneficial design feautres i don't see in a Remmy though.

 

[ShakenNotStirred]

The Godfather, Pre 64 means before 1964 manufacture good luck with your build.

"The Model 70 action offers Pre-’64 style Controlled Round Feeding..."

Just out of curiosity, why are there so many posts (and not just on this board) correcting the usage of "Pre-64" when it doesn't really matter unless someone is trying to pass off a newer rifle as a vintage one? Even Winchester uses the term to differentiate between Controlled Round Feed and Push Feed/Controlled Push Feed rifles.

Just sayin'.

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The Godfather, best of luck with your build and please show us the results (with both BEFORE and AFTER)!! I am a huge fan of the Win70 and really don't prefer to buy anything other than Win70/Pre-64* or Win70-style Pre-64* actions.

I'm working on a Stealth right now and my next project will be a custom Win70 Safari rifle (likely a Win Mag rechambered for 416 Ruger).

* Pre-64 meaning, "Controlled Round Feed"

 

[The Godfather]

Thanks for the correction on the pre-64 meaning. The rifle was purchased new in the 90's and I just wanted to make sure posters would realize an extractor cutout is needed when chambering.

Thanks for the recommendation for Chad (long rifles). I've been following his Group Buy for 700 actions and was thinking about giving his shop a call. However, it looks like they are really busy and I'm not sure they would be interested in a single unit build like this.

So it appears that if I find a good shop the accuracy potential should be close between the different actions...

 

[LRI]

I am always interested in Winchesters!

Gimme a call when you can.

C.

 

[kennygss]

I will recommend Chad at Longrifles with no hesitation. Here is a link to a M70 oldster he built for me. The rifle has exceeded every expectation. It is a hammer for sure. The workmanship is beyond top notch.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...6-san-diego-kens-bad-ass-p64-winny-build.html

I have said this before; It is rare to meet a Gunmaker that says what they will do, then does it. Class always shows. Good Luck with your build!

 

[jetmd]

One thing worth considering is your location....why you might ask?

There are many very good smiths around the country, and NO this is not a post against anyone, but if you can have someone local build your rifle it sure has it's benefits.

With that said you can search the Hide and find the location of all of the top rifle smiths and maybe one of them is within easy driving distance.

I can not say enough good things about the crew at GAP, and the fact you can call ahead and stop by with your rifle in hand if you have any issues.

If I lived in Iowa, South Dakota, Georgia, Louisiana, California, Ohio and the list goes on of local smiths that can build an awesome piece for you.

Just my .02 worth

And before someone says "they don't work on Winnies at that shop" call and ask them, then stop by and meet with them to discuss your build.

Respectfully.....Good Luck!

 

[The Godfather]

Ken, thanks for the link. It looks like the rifle turned out great! I'm in the same predicament with this build in that I'm torn with going first class on this hunting rig (300wm) or just getting a new barrel and the action trued. I would need to sell a couple rifles to float the bill but I'm a real sucker for quality workmanship.

Jetmd - Honestly, I've had three really bad experiences with local gun smiths… Not going into the details but things were damaged, poor quality, and IMO overcharged for the time invested. This time I'm doing some research … takes me too long to save up for this type of work.

 

[Mike Stolfus]

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