win 70 fire or retire?
pre 64 mod. 70 .270 cal. stock sevaral dings-scratches no cracks. metal blue intact some very preliminary rust. bore great- estimated 300 rounds. shoots accurately & relaibly. have access to other deer rifles that aren't as nice. should i hunt with the win. 70 or retire it? Fella tells me i should re-stock, re-blue and store it. Any idea of current value??? Don't have access to blue book.
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(Not interested in selling) but I have Win 70 Pre-64 (About '62 or '63 Dad got it at age 12 or 13, was born in 49) .270 Caliber bought and used as a deer rifle-fired an estimated 300 rounds. Very early rust appeared a few years ago near the muzzle. Has been battled back, but once it starts.... Bore-great shape. Stock in semi-rough shape- few dings one pretty deep. No cracks. When Dad gave it to me when I was 12 or so, he added a recoil pad and removed some of the stock to compensate. (not that pretty) I say fire it, but my buddy says retire it and re-blue and restock it and let it increase in value. Any ideas on present and future value? Fire or Retire? (For the record, If I retired it I would still have a deer rifle to shoot but not as nice as Pop's .270) Thanks for any opinion. 0 -
yeah, thanks for the input.. i thought the words "all original" meant something. My dad cut an inch off the stock to accomodate the recoil pad.... My first idea was to hunt with it until one of us can't go on. 0 -
hunt with it, great hunting rifle. it's been modified so no great collector value. 0 -
Even with a cut-down stock & rusty barrel, the action alone should serve as the foundation for a rebuild. Shoot it as-is & enjoy (!) or put it up for auction & see what it'll bring. Just be honest as to the condition it's in & nobody should come away disappointed (I'd make you an offer if I didn't already have too many weapons to care for properly, let alone shoot regularly!). 0 -
I have a pre-64 Model 70 Featherweight in 308 Win that was left to me by and old hunting buddy and mentor when he went to the big Elk Camp in the sky. the rifle has all the checkering worn smooth and about 60% of the bue left. The rifle still shoot three shot groups that can be coverd with a dime at 100 yards. myself I would not think of doing anything to it other than to show my respect and take it hunting ever so often. Like you I have had people tell me to resore it and all I could think of was restore it to what. This rifle means the world to me and i would not change a thing. I think that an old winchester Model 70 that shows years of wear and hunting trips is best looking rifle a guy could own. Accourding to the serial number mine was manufactured in 1952. So I guess my vote would be don't retire it take it hunting, These old Model 70's deserve it and dang near demand it.
Good Luck and Good Hunting0 -
It's your gun, do whichever gives you the most pleasure. 0 -
Your choice......but...I'd use it for what was made for, huntin' & shootin'. 0 -
Hunt with it. I inherited a model 100 from my Dad. The stock has been broken, (fell 300 feet sheep hunting in the Wrangell mountains). The blue is mostly worn off, but it is my most treasured rifle. I wouldn't do a thing to it. Re-stock it and re-barrel it? All the memories are in that old stock, and all the scratches and worn spots. BTW It still shoots well. 0 -
Thanks for the input guys. I plan to hunt it. I'm thinking of using a different one when I hunt in bad terrain. I hunt quite a bit in a river basin and I'm always in sand and/or water. Then again maybe I'll just tape the muzzle and be extra careful. One modification I do not regret: When I inherited it from my dad, it had the original (read "rusty")Weaver 2.5X scope. Looked like something out of the cowboy movies. It was fine for a close-up shot in full sunlight, but in overcast weather, or low light or anything it was terrible. First time I hunted with it, I had my younger brother with me. He was carrying a .243 with a Bushnell 4X40mm scope. We spotted several whitetails in a clearing about 100 to 130 yards away. It was grey and overcast an hour or so before sundown. In the rusty Weaver 2.5X they looked like tiny little indistinguishable fleas on the horizon. I dismissed it as an impossible shot. My little brother said he could see them fine in his scope, but he was afraid he'd miss. I took his rifle and had a look. The impossible shot looked easy. I squeezed one, dropped one. Dad got me a new scope before we went out again. Thanks for the input guys and happy hunting. 0
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