Current production Winchester m70

FN model 70's are good to go.

Fit, finish, accuracy.

Bugin

Bought the father in-law a Mod 70 in .243 a few weeks ago. I thought the fit and finish was great. Smooth action and nice trigger

I owned a M70 of 2018-2019 vintage.

Overall assessment: an attractive gun, built on a solid receiver, with a so-so bolt, and a scrap tier barrel.

The good:
- Action itself was "true" per WGW, no additional work required there
- Bluing was applied evenly, not prone to rust in either North Carolina or south Georgia
- Quite an attractive rifle (mine was a Supergrade Maple)

The mediocre:
- Factory "hot glue gun" style bedding is better than nothing, but done with cost saving rather than quality in mind
- MOA trigger is just "OK," limited aftermarket options (a pre-64 this is not, in that sense)
- Only one bolt lug in contact, required lapping (which I did, wasn't a huge deal)
- The bolt was loosey-goosey, not nearly as smooth as a Tikka costing roughly half as much

The bad:
- The extractor was out of spec, required filing/grinding to address function issues (bought a spare just in case)
- Mine had only a 3.4" mag box (.30-06), but if you buy a magnum, you should be G2G (understand those are 3.6" iirc)
- The factory barrel was good for an average of 1.5-2 MOA depending on the ammo - simply atrocious**

**I first bedded this rifle properly. Didn't help. Swapped in a Timney, didn't help. Swapped into a McMillan stock, didn't help. Bedded that stock as well, no bueno. Had WGW install a Bartlein CF barrel - group average magically shrunk to about .65 MOA (for 5 shots) with factory Hornady 150 and 165 SST and Norma 180 Bondstrike and hand loads. Sadly, after changing the stock and the barrel, everything about the rifle I liked was dead... the mag length restriction was just the final nail in the coffin for me.

Admittedly I am a Model 70 fan so no denial of that here. The Model 70 has a certain mystique and is known as the rifleman's rifle as it was very robust and dependable. Winchester had plenty of issues in the late 90's and 2000's as they fought with the unions and relocated their factories a couple of times before shutting them down completely and now they are made in Spain I believe. The machining is good and the look is great but there is almost zero aftermarket support as there is for the Rem 700.
If you are shooting factory ammo it may not be an issue but in my 300 WM I cannot seat anywhere near the lands and still be magazine length. Truly beautiful rifles but may require more effort to shoot well and all work has to be done by a smith.

Go handle a Model 70 and see if the feel is satisfactory for your wants/desires. It is going to be up to you if the end product is worth the $$$. You may want to buy a used gun and have somebody like LRI rebarrel it with a custom barrel. Now you have exactly what you want and it becomes an heirloom - at least to those who appreciate the Model 70. You can probably find a used Model 70 for around $700 and you already have everything you need to build a nice hunting rifle. I'm not sure how many smiths want to set a factory barrel back as they can't guarantee the barrel quality.
I've rebarreled a couple and they are awesome rifles. Probably cost $250 more than a Remington but a much nicer rifle once completed. I love mine.

I have a 2006ish m70 featherweight. It's a 1moa rifle for 3 shots. As it's a 300wsm any more than that and it opens up a little. Handloads will do better.
I'm my mind for hunting I would rather be $200-$400 more into a built win 70 than a built 700. Honestly if you don't already have a 700 just go custom action over a remington. Its custom or M70 for me. Built M70 would be best.

If you are dead set on a current production M70, I would suggest looking for a New Haven build M70 instead.

Having fondled a few newer/current production FN/South Carolina and BACO build models, I am not a fan.

That said, you will be paying a healthy up charge for novelty/availability etc.

Since you are looking at the AW model, have you considered a Kimber Montana?

Control round feed they are and the ones I have owned shot well enough with factory ammo to put meat in the freezer.

The M70 that I have will be buried with me!

I may be on my ass about mimber rifles but their 1911s have soured me on the brand. I guess you’re always paying for marketing but they are BRCC level.

I have a Featherweight in .243 that I've owned for a couple years now. Not a bit of trouble, fit and finish are good and it's accurate.

Wouldn't hesitate to buy another model 70.

BugIn762 said:

FN model 70's are good to go.

Fit, finish, accuracy.

Bugin

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My Featherweight is a piece of art. Shoots better than it should.

Unless CRF is a requirement, I’d go with a Bergara or (GOD I hate to say it) aTikka. If CRF is a requirement, get a Ruger 77 and have Shaw put a barrel on it for you. I got a junker 77, had Shaw rebarrel it in 35 Whelen, put a Houge stock on it and had a trigger job, all for not much more than a box stock New Model 70 and this is the result

silentnswift said:

No real crf requirement. I own or have owned about every major rifle out there. Rem, Begara, weatherby, savage, ruger. Current hunting rifle is a 700 cdl in .25-06. Love the rifle just hate setting out in the rain and snow with it. Having never owned a model 70 it caught my eye. But just like Remington I’ve seen numerous poor reviews and comments on them. If I have to buy a factory rifle and get rebarreled and blue printed, than I just as well start with a custom action and build from there it sounds.

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In our case, we purchased a real beater rifle for a song and rebuilt it. As you say, not much point in purchasing a brand new rifle and putting a new barrel on it. In my case, my favorite hunting rifle is a Weatherby Vanguard in .25-06 in the cheapest grade, that I don’t mind carrying. It shoots one inch groups starting from a cold barrel, with immeadiate follow up shots (no waiting for the barrel to cool again as in, needing a second shot on game)

That’s me, $500 rifle, with a $1200 scope. Shoots great, kills deer and all my custom’s sit in the safe.

I’m going to go out there and say don’t buy any of the Winchester model 70 classics from new haven. (Just because I want them all to myself)

In all seriousness though the classics and even the normal push feed 70’s are great rifles.

I'll second the New Haven. I found a deal on my first stainless m70 that was in 270wsm. It shot ok, but I wanted more. So I sent it to LRI to install a proof barrel, I ended up finding a NIB McMillan HTG Edge stock on here. So all in it was pretty reasonable for the first one. Loved it so much I built a twin.