Pre 64 Mod 70 Featherweight

bigboreisbest

February 22, 2015 11:27

[img]http://imageshack.com/a/img673/3848/zMoMDA.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img538/8149/sOyvCJ.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img913/1932/IUHEaa.jpg[/img]I have a Model 70 Featherweight made in 1955 with a pretty unusual feature. This rifle has a stock with a full oval heel, serial number is 348xxx. Winchester started to produce stocks with the contoured heel at around serial number 100,000 or back between 1948 - 1951. I look all the time and have never seen another Featherweight with the full oval heel. How about it, can anyone say they have seen one, other than a Super Grade. I just got some help and I believe three photo's are now available at the beginning of this post, take a look.

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  MG1890

  February 22, 2015 12:20

  Is it a correct Featherweight stock?? Aluminum buttplate? No inletting for the barrel lump (rear sight)?
  
  Is it a Monte Carlo or no?
  
  Partial answer to your question: There are no pictures of Featherweight stocks like you describe in the Rule book.

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  CapnMidnight

  February 22, 2015 17:02

  I have a 1956 vintage model 70 featherweight in 30-06, it has the standard featherweight stock.
  W.D.

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  Cheechako

  February 22, 2015 17:18

  Some guys may not know this but the M70 Featherweight was introduced in 1952 chambered for the new 308W cartridge. Winchester initially planned to introduce the 308 in a Model 80 rifle, a less expensive (cheaper) alternative to the M70. But, pre-production testing and evaluation of the Model 80 proved to be very disappointing and the idea was scrapped and the new cartridge was introduced in the new Featherweight rifle instead. The 308 was originally called the 30-80 WCF.

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  shooter10

  February 22, 2015 20:14

  You are right. It is considered "unusual". I think I read it was changed because of tooling time and hand labor. I have a 1955 but it does not have the full oval heel. Writers on the subject consider your gun exactly what you said, "unusual", but they do exist.

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  bigboreisbest

  February 23, 2015 14:07

  I have three 1955 Featherweights, the other two each have the contoured heel. My 270 is a 98% specimen it has the Monte Carlo stock, my 30-06 has the "NRA Low Comb" and the final rifle which is what this post concerns has a Monte Carlo stock, it is definitely a true Featherweight stock, aluminum butt, two 7/8" holes in the butt and no barrel boss relief. If I could figure out how to do it I'd put a couple of photo's on. It's one of the nicest pieces of wood I've seen on a standard grade Featherweight. This rifle also has the "cross hatched front ramp" another unusual feature. My theory and it's only that is this stock was perhaps a rejected Super Grade stock that ended up in production and was used for this rifle, minus the black forend tip. Also of course, it has the standard Featherweight checkering not the Super Grade style.
  Tried to figure out to attach one or more photo's, I'm apparently a dummy, can't figure it out, sorry.

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  perry shooter

  February 23, 2015 15:06

  There is a sticky on this forum that tells a member how to use photobucket or other picture housing web site to down load pictures
  YOU have to use one of those sites

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