Odd Winchester Post '64 Model 70... Possibly Custom Shop?

[oneshot onekill]

I have a Winchester Model 70 I bought on an auction site several years ago. I was told by the seller that it was once an FBI Sniper Rifle from somewhere in the Northeast. It's a 30-06 with a Heavy Barrel and Parkerized looking finish with a recessed crown. It has a Redfield 3-9 "TV Lens" Accu-range scope and the elevation turret is exposed. When I got it I shot it once and it made a 3/4 MOA group with Ammo I plucked out of an old Garand Clip (definitely not match grade ammo). I looked around online back then but I never really figured out what I had. Yesterday I did a deep-dive and discovered it has "some" of the features of an Ultra-Match but not all of them

. Everything on the rifle is original as far as the rifle itself. The scope and mount, who knows. The bore is almost like new. It is clip-slotted but there are no external adjustment screws for the trigger and it appears to have never had different sights on it. Any information would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

[Terry Cross]

Beautiful rifle.

The receiver was manufactured in 1977.
Does the barrel have any roll markings or stampings to indicate that the barrel is what it left the factory with?

 

[oneshot onekill]

Yes, it's definitely the original Barrel to the rifle.

 

[Aftermath]

VERY nice looking rifle!

 

[bpd459]

That’s a box stock post 64 M-70 Target. The barrel mounted scope bases and front sight base are missing. Rear receiver bridge is clip slotted.

 

[oneshot onekill]

That’s a box stock post 64 M-70 Target. The barrel mounted scope bases and front sight base are missing. Rear receiver bridge is clip slotted.

With all due respect. This rifle has two features my research says is not found on a "Box stock post 64 M-70 target". The muzzle has the deep counter-bore and the action is glass-bedded. I had ruled out "Standard Target Model" because of these features. I also owned a post 64 model 70 target model years ago and I remember the finish being shiny blued. Admittedly, I knew little about rifles back then so the finish may not have been original.

 

[Lange Carabine]

 

[KYAggie]

That scope looks like a Redfield Accu-trac. I bought one around 1980 and had it on my Ruger M77 7mag for over 20 years. I sold it ,but as is often the case, wish I still had it. Does it have two horizontal lines in the reticle used for bracketing an animal and a moving yardage post that is controlled by moving the power ring?

RedField AccuTrac 3x9 Wide Field w/ External Turret Adjustment ( M40 Vietnam )

Rare Redfield Wideview 3 x 9 Accu-Trac Scope. This optic model was designed to be used on the M40 rifle for USMC/ARMY snipers in Vietnam and was sold to civilians in the 60's and 70's before being bought out by Leupold that ended this line of scopes. This optic has external adjustable elevation...

www.theoutdoorstrader.com

 

[oneshot onekill]

That scope looks like a Redfield Accu-trac. I bought one around 1980 and had it on my Ruger M77 7mag for over 20 years. I sold it ,but as is often the case, wish I still had it. Does it have two horizontal lines in the reticle used for bracketing an animal and a moving yardage post that is controlled by moving the power ring?

RedField AccuTrac 3x9 Wide Field w/ External Turret Adjustment ( M40 Vietnam )

Rare Redfield Wideview 3 x 9 Accu-Trac Scope. This optic model was designed to be used on the M40 rifle for USMC/ARMY snipers in Vietnam and was sold to civilians in the 60's and 70's before being bought out by Leupold that ended this line of scopes. This optic has external adjustable elevation...

www.theoutdoorstrader.com

Yes, that's exactly the scope.

 

[KYAggie]

Yes, that's exactly the scope.

Cool find! Did it come with different elevation drums? If I remember right, there were at least three marked A, B, and C for different drops. It was the best thing on the market at the time. I was 13 when I bought it and didn’t have a long range to test it, so I’m not sure how well it worked or how repeatable it was, but I didn’t have any trouble with hitting West Texas whitetails out to 400 yardsish with it. I wish I still had it, it would be fun to test it.

 

[oneshot onekill]

Cool find! Did it come with different elevation drums? If I remember right, there were at least three marked A, B, and C for different drops. It was the best thing on the market at the time. I was 13 when I bought it and didn’t have a long range to test it, so I’m not sure how well it worked or how repeatable it was, but I didn’t have any trouble with hitting West Texas whitetails out to 400 yardsish with it. I wish I still had it, it would be fun to test it.

No, it came on the rifle. I read up on how to use that reticle back when I first got the rifle but then COVID hit and it has mostly hung on the wall in my office at work. As I said earlier, all I had in 30-06 ammo when I got it was in bandoliers in Garand clips so I plucked a few rounds from a clip and shot them. It shot very well given the unknown ammo.

 

[Chris F]

Late to the party, but I'm going to put this out there for anyone trying to figure out what their Model 70 Target actually is. Yours is a very nice Rifle. Sadly, yours is not an Ultra Match or other product of the custom shop such as the International Army Match or Palma rifles. The biggest tell is the absence of the trigger screw. The M70 Targets had different muzzle treatments over the years. I have one with a flat muzzle and I have one exactly as yours with a deeply recessed crown. Mine is not an ultra match or any other product from the custom shop. Glass bedding was probably done by the previous owner. Unaltered Model 70 Targets are fairly uncommon since their intended purpose was to be shot in Highpower Rifle Competition and they were typically modified to suit the owner and ridden hard. Glass bedding was usually one of the first things done to accurize these rifles.
Bill Grant wrote a well researched, scholarly article in the Winchester Collectors Magazine about the Custom Shop Target rifles including the Int'l Army Match and Ultra match rifles. It's worth a read if you're interested in the history of those special rifles.
The 3-9 Redfield Accutrac scopes were not used on the USMC M40. AccuTracs were not introduced until the late 1970's. The scopes used on the M40 had the "Tombstone" rangefinding scale and were called Accu-Range by Redfield. Similarly, the Widefields were not contract scopes either. Widefields weren't introduced until the early 1970's.
Again, nice rifle, but not a product of the custom shop.

 

[Haney]

With all due respect. This rifle has two features my research says is not found on a "Box stock post 64 M-70 target". The muzzle has the deep counter-bore and the action is glass-bedded. I had ruled out "Standard Target Model" because of these features. I also owned a post 64 model 70 target model years ago and I remember the finish being shiny blued. Admittedly, I knew little about rifles back then so the finish may not have been original.

With all due respect.... This is a factory factory , not a custom shop rifle . Truth hurts some times .

 

[sinister]

For comparison, a Winchester (Army contract) production rifle:

 

[roostercogburn98]

I found this one in the dumpster. I am 100% certain it came from an ultra top secret cia stash used in the Air America project. Dont need nobody telling me nothing different. Thanks for looking

 

[DFOOSKING]

The 3-9 Redfield Accutrac scopes were not used on the USMC M40. AccuTracs were not introduced until the late 1970's. The scopes used on the M40 had the "Tombstone" rangefinding scale and were called Accu-Range by Redfield. Similarly, the Widefields were not contract scopes either. Widefields weren't introduced until the early 1970's.

My dad has been running a wideview 3-9 Accutrac with BDC turret since I was born or slightly before on a LH Weatherby MKV in 270WBY MAG. His has the tombstone reticle in it as well.

He said to me when I was young (pre-internet obviously) he bought it because "it was what the Marines used" (obviously he was slightly mistaken). Fast forward about 28 years later and I ask dad if he ever used the BDC or the reticle as intended. He's like, "What's a BDC? I don't need to range find anything.". He lost or threw away the other two drums.

I myself finally shot the rifle in my 30's. It's basically got a point blank range of 300 yards with factory loaded 140gr Spires on a 5" steel. Dad back in the day always ran 180gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claws on everything.....deer, coyotes, skunks. Everything got a fist sized or bigger hole.

So yeah, he doesn't range find for deer sized targets in his comfort zone. The laughable thing is dad's fellow fudd hunting buddies telling me how good of shot dad is. I'm like, "LOL ...No he's fucking not. He's never thought more than put crosshair on meat....pull trigger."