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Winchester model 70 post 1964

dickster
Could use a brief tutorial on the post '64 model 70's. I know they went from great to not so good and then later back to good. Can anyone out there give a lesson in which to look for?
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Comments

6 comments

Date Votes
  • He Dog
    Good ones had controlled feed, the post 64 to about 1992 had push feed. A good bit of quality difference if you have a pre and post side by side.
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  • Billsdadandson
    Just about exactly 18 years ago I walked into a sporting goods store in Moscow, Idaho. They were going out of business (really) and had M70 Rangers selling at below their cost. I bought two, a 270 and an '06. These were both USRAC production and both looked good and functioned perfectly with surprising out-of-the-box accuracy. I traded them both a few years back for one pre-64 270. Nice rifle too but I really don't think the deer/antelope/bear/elk or whatever can tell the difference between pre and post '64.

    sonandfather
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  • 25-06
    Sir, without digging out some books and researching positive dates, this is my opinion on the post '64's. The first ones that replaced the pre-64's were regarded as junk by the M70 fans. There were several reasons for this, but the main one was the stock. The checkering was a pressed pattern that was ugly, the wood on most of them was a lighter, poorer grade of walnut, and the forearm was free-floated with a gap so large that they stuck a piece of red plastic between the forend and the barrel. This was actually for shipping purposes, and was supposed to be removed, but many people did not know this. Sometime in the late 60's or early 70's they changed the stock style to one similar to the Remington 700 BDL, and returned to cut checkering, but the damage was already done. Then in the early 80's they came out with the new FWT and began improving the quality of the line as a whole. Then in the early 90's they again started producing the pre-64 style action with the claw extractor and all of these that I have seen are nice guns. They still make the push feed action for the varmint rifles and cheaper Black Shadow model.
    Actually there is nothing wrong with the push feed models and some of them were very accurate, even the early ones. The push feed is actually a stronger action than the claw feed model because less of the cartridge head is exposed at the back of the chamber in the push feed model. I will probably get a lot of argument over that statement, but I have seen both types over loaded to the point of case ruptures, and there was less damage to the push feed actions.
    I have and use both types of the M70 and really have no preference. I have heard that the M70's are inaccurate and I am sure that some of them are, but you can find inaccurate rifles in all makes. My personel opinion is that the model 70's made from the late 80's to the time Browning bought out Winchester were the best ones ever made. I feel the Winchester line has taken a back seat to the Browning line and that that is by decision of the corporate management.
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  • chuck
    Winchester got greedy and in 64 made P*** Poor Rifles, High prices Cheap Gun's. Sales droped to nothing, then several years later they came out with a slogan (MADE THE WAY YOU WANT THEN) That was a slap in the face. I think Winchester is a fine exsample of what NOT to do. Kind of like a Country that does not allowed Guns buying out Smith and Wesson, They lost their B****. I have one model 70 winchester in 300 win mag, POST 64 Very acc. but kicks the heck out of me, because of the stock design. And winchester will not change that. I also have a Remington BDL in 300 win mag, No where near the recoil of the Winchester. (My 2 cents worth)
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  • elkcrazyfred
    My opinion: By a mile, the classiest gun ever made period, was a pre-64 270 featherweight supergrade and certainly one of the rarist (248).I think the 2nd most desireable gun is a pre-64 338. And 3rd is any Winchester featherweight, old model or new, in anything but 308- I have one sister and that's enough.
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  • D. Bryan
    Elk;

    I will put my M-70 .308 Classic Featherweight up against anything you have or ever seen for appearance. Bright Blue, Fiddleback Walnut, Cut Checkering, Gloss Finish, S/N G-170,XXX. The serial # would indicate it was made in the late 60s but the factory says it was shipped in 1984. It has Classic Featherweight stamped on the right side of the barrel. It is so much nicer than a Super Grade, there is no comparison.

    Active old guy who lives with two dobermans.
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