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winchester 70 configuration

Dokey
In the early 60's did Winchester ever offer heavy varmint barrels on the M70 with raised comb featherweight stocks? I just picked up what appears to be an early 60's stock with plastic buttplate,no toe, raised comb, machine cut checkering, and a heavy barrel channel that measures 1-5/32" at the receiver and 15/16" at the forend.
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5 comments

Date Votes
  • drl50
    Yes. They added the 220 swift to the 243 chamberings for Varmint rifles in 1959. The same year they moved to machined checkering. The stock was Monte Carlo and had no forearm screw like the FW. But the barrel was a 26" medium heavy and the butt plate was steel. The stock wasn't interchangeable with featherweights although similar.
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  • Ambrose
    FWIW: The 1959 M70 .243 "Varmint" model in my collection has a plastic (not steel) butt plate. Other than that it's as described above except I don't know what is meant by "no toe".
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  • drl50
    quote:Originally posted by Ambrose
    FWIW: The 1959 M70 .243 "Varmint" model in my collection has a plastic (not steel) butt plate. Other than that it's as described above except I don't know what is meant by "no toe".
    You are right. The Butt plates before 1959 were steel. The varmint came out in 1955 in 243.They had steel buttplates until 1959 when the 220 was added and butt plates went to composite. Reference to toe is probably the birds beak point on the classic mod 70 steel buttplate. Is that right Dokey?
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  • Dokey
    DRL50, my stock has the forend screw hole, plastic buttplate with no toe, but the plate seems undersize for the wood which measures 5-1/8" x 1-11/16". Also does the barrel measurements I listed seem correct?
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  • drl50
    I will Quote parts from The Rifleman's Rifle Model 70 Book credited to author Roger Rule (no plagiarism intended). Hope this helps.Just the parts pertinent to these questions.
    pg 80
    The Varmint Rifle ...most significant difference was its 26" medium heavy barrel. The stock was more like the Featherweight configurationthan the standard rifle (having no forearm screw).It came with standard swivels and was offered with Monte Carlo stock only.

    pg 185
    Varmint rifle stock design was was nearly identical to the Monte Carlo Featherweight design. The only difference was the barrel channel inletting. Like the Featherweight, most Varmint stocks had no provision for the forestock screw escutcheon. There were however a few examples with these screws in very late production. As parts inventories were were depleted during the transition from pre 64 to post 64, the assembler would adapt standard rifle stocks by widening the barrel channel. The forearm screw was then cut down and glued in place for cosmetic reasons.
    Butt plates: same as std rifle
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