Gunsmithing Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

[tmshot]

Gentlemen. I do not post often, as I can usually find what I am looking for by searching. I could not find anything else about this gun. It is my Dad's gun and he has had it for over 25 years. I noticed When I took it out hunting varmints that it was missing at 100 yards and closer. We shot factory junk ammo and it would not group at all.
So far this is what I did.
I cleaned the barrel with some Sweats and made sure the scope and bases were tied down tight.
I reloaded him some hand loads of 52 gr SMK's over 4064. The results were not much better.
The gun has a new Bushnell 4200 elite which did not help either.
It did not pass the dollar bill test.
Does this gun need bedded?
Pillar, glass, both?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
here is the rifle and a group... its like 1 inch between each shot!!!

 

[tmshot]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

Really no help??
Should I be posting this under "bolt action rifles"?

Is it possible that the barrel is just worn out?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[dmg308]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

That looks like vertical stringing.Possibly a barrel/action stress indicator.Floating the barrel first check it and then if still no joy a bedding job from someone that knows what they are doing.While they are at it check the crown to to be shure of no issues.

 

[patriotoutlaw]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

+1 on floating the barrel 1st. Bedding it will kind of negate the FTW.

 

[Bugs Bunny]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

Nice little Win70 - as stated float the barrel
Also check the frt & rear mounting screws are torqued to spec - that middle bolt they use on those I would just snug enough to hold the front of the guard - doubt that has a one piece floorplate.

Have someone else fire a group to rule out yourself as the cause (not an insult, I have my children check me)

Good luck on that

 

[tmshot]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

Thanks for the tips. I will start with floating the barrel and torque it up good. It is a nice looking rifle. hope to get it shooting as good as it looks for pops.
Thanks guys!

 

[tmshot]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem


Started working on the stock to float the barrel. It is taking longer than I thought. I am using sand paper to slowly work down the stock.
Does anything need to be applied to re-seal the wood? Is this something I should be concerned about. The gun is nice and I do not want to ruin the stock.

Thanks

 

[19Scout77]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: patriotoutlaw</div><div class="ubbcode-body">+1 on floating the barrel 1st. Bedding it will kind of negate the FTW. </div></div>

A little Devcon is not going to add very much weight to the rifle.

 

[the gman]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TMshot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Started working on the stock to float the barrel. It is taking longer than I thought. I am using sand paper to slowly work down the stock.
Does anything need to be applied to re-seal the wood? Is this something I should be concerned about. The gun is nice and I do not want to ruin the stock.

Thanks </div></div>

Once you have the barrel free floated (& yes, using sand paper will take a lot longer than if you had the proper tools for the job but you will get there) if you haven't already, mask off the rest of the stock around the barrel channel with some blue painters tape. Don't worry if you over lap into the channel, just VERY carefully use an exacto knife or similar to carefully (did I mention doing this very carefully yet

) trim the tape back in the channel until you have all the bare wood exposed.

Now go down to Home Despot, Lowes or your local Ace Hardware & get some fast drying polyurethane wood sealer. You will apply this sparingly to the bare wood & follow the instructions on the can. You won't need much, so a small can will do. Don't buy the spray can or at least I don't cuz I always over spray & that means more clean up.....!

A couple of light coats should see it sealed & weather proof. Follow any of the bedding threads on here to do a decent job of bedding the rifle; it's not that hard, just take it slow & easy.

As was mentioned, take a look at the crown of the rifle; is it dinged or scratched or otherwise marked? Don't just look at the crown itself, look at where it touches the rifling. Get a yellow duster or similar cloth & wipe around the crown & see if any threads adhere to the rifling or crown. If they do, this is an indication that something may be awry & you might need a re-crown. Not a big deal & shouldn't run big $$ either.

You don't mention caliber or how many rounds down the tube? Unless it's really high mileage (like several thousand rounds) or even a thousand rounds with something like a .220 Swift, I find it difficult to believe that the tube is shot out.
I also notice you have a bipod on the rifle. Make sure that when you free float the barrel, you do the dollar bill test with someone else holding the rifle on the bipod with as much force as they do when shooting. The FTW stocks & fore ends are pretty slender & a bipod can exert upward force that negates your nice free float job.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[tmshot]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

Gman,

Thanks for the other tips. I am printing them out now and will definitely follow your instructions.

1. It is a .22-250 that has had probably less than 1000 rounds
2. I will take a good look at the crown and get re-crowned if needed.
3. I have devcon epoxy on the way. plan on pillar and bedding the rifle after I practice bedding on my own.

Once again its my dad's rifle and I would be sick if I messed anything up.
I Will certainly post an update. I have my work cut out for me!

 

[the gman]

Re: Winchester M70 XTR FTW accurracy problem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TMshot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Gman,

Thanks for the other tips. I am printing them out now and will definitely follow your instructions.

1. It is a .22-250 that has had probably less than 1000 rounds
2. I will take a good look at the crown and get re-crowned if needed.
3. I have devcon epoxy on the way. plan on pillar and bedding the rifle after I practice bedding on my own.

Once again its my dad's rifle and I would be sick if I messed anything up.
I Will certainly post an update. I have my work cut out for me!

</div></div>

Practicing on your own rifle is a good idea. I have all my late father's guns & screwing up one of them would make me ill too. It's gonna be worse for you as he's still around to give you crap about it....

My way isn't the only way to seal the barrel channel & I thought we might have seen some others chime with advice too; guess what I posted was good enough advice.

I honestly don't know if I would go all the way to pillar bedding on this rifle; I personally might stick at a good bedding job & leave it at that. For the intended purpose of the rifle & the caliber plus the nice piece of wood that it has, I would just bed it & call it good. It's sometimes easy to tear the action screw holes up when enlarging them for pillars & I don't think you wanna do that with Dad's rifle now do you? Chances of screwing up increase exponentially when the gun is nice looking, belongs to someone who can whup your ass & is only a second try at doing something....

If, after everything you plan on doing, the groups, OK, patterns don't improve, get 'er re-barreled. At least you won't have to do anything else after that!

Glad to be of some small help.