Older Win Model 70 in .30-06 Springfield

B

Bitumen

BANNED
BANNED
BANNED
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
I have a winchester Model 70 that was made back in the 1970s. It is chambered in .30-06 Springfield and it is used for hunting only. Last time I used it was 2 years ago when I shot a deer with it and messed the deer up bad.

Is it possible to get a new light barrel with open sights put on this along with a new stock? I have a sneaky feeling that the barrel is toast. Furthermore, the recoil pad on the rifle is not that good, thus I want a stock with a better recoil pad.

I am familiar with getting heavy barrels put on guns, such as Shilen and Krieger, but not light barrels. Who sells light hunting barrels and stocks for older Winchester Model 70s?
 
If you want a synthetic, you can get several brands inletted for the M70. For a drop in fit, I like the McMillans, and they come with pachmayr pads.

As for barrel, almost all manufacturers will contour a barrel in a sporter or lightweight sporter profile.
Best to talk to a barrel distributor and decide what you want. After you figure out the barrel contour, then you can order a stock to fit it.
Northshore Barrels or Mystic Precision can help with the barrels. A Shilen #2 is a good place to start.
http://www.shilen.com/contours.html

Your barrel might just need a good cleaning with a copper solvent to bring it around, like Wipe-out.
 
I'm not sure I understand, do you want to do these changes because it messed up your Deer? Could it be the bullet used or the shot placement? I highly doubt the barrel being shot out? Just change the recoil pad and try different ammo. Good Luck.
 
It would be a whole lot cheaper far less problem to sell the M-70 to someone who appreciates the gun for what it is and you go purchase something else that fits your criteria.

Be a shame to carve up a probably perfectly good M-70 for the sake of a bruised shoulder, and a messy deer.
 
I would think by the time you pay for a barrel, sights, stock and labour to have it all put together you could have bought a very nice rifle with all the features you want from any of any number of manufacturers. And it would have some resale value if you get tired of it. I wouldn't bother.
 
babine_lake said:
I would think by the time you pay for a barrel, sights, stock and labour to have it all put together you could have bought a very nice rifle with all the features you want from any of any number of manufacturers. And it would have some resale value if you get tired of it. I wouldn't bother.
Click to expand...

I have considered selling it, but the action on it is just so nice.
 
I may be the odd man out here, but I would build what you want. The pushfeed m70 is a slick action, and i dont mind spending the $$ for quality, not resale value. iv
why sell it and buy something you dont want.
 
First question would have to be what do you want?

If all you are going to do is have a tube put on in the same cal I would have to say it is likely going to leave you gasping for air once you see the final price tag.....

I recently had a 338-06 made out of a 30-06. I re stocked, had the action trued and by the time I paid for the new tube had it chambered and installed it was a bit over 2 grand.

You could sell your rifle regardless of the shape it's in for $500+. Add to that $2000 and there are ALOT of really nice rifles you can buy at that price point.....

Personally I would re-barrel the rig, but that is me. It is an expensive undertaking and you need to know what you are gettin into before you start......

Cheers!
 
Like fixing cars, go for the easy and cheap repairs first: Recoil pad and bore inspection by a smith, then most likely a really good clean with Wipe Out or another decent cleaner, bed the action, float the barrel - then see what you have at the range with a few different brands of ammo. That should all cost you less than the purchase price of a good barrel. If it still doesn't look like it'll fit the bill, then the time will be to decide on the barrel, or another rifle.
 
I doubt that your barrel has any issues that a good cleaning would not resolve. A .30/06 is not hard on barrels, and a 1970s vintage rifle that has been taken care of and used primarily for hunting shouldn't be shot out. My .30/06 is a 1950s era ZG-47 and it stills shoots MOA at 300 yards, and I shoot it quite a bit. Put up an 8.5"X11" paper target at 200 yards and shoot 5 rounds at it. If all the bullets hit the target, and if the holes are round rather than elliptical, there's nothing wrong with that barrel. But if you just want to spend $600 on a new barrel, any of the big makers, and many of the small, can produce a .30 caliber barrel in the contour you prefer.

I'm sure you could benefit from some stock work on your rifle. The length of pull (LOP) of a factory M-70 is typically on the long side so when you install your new recoil pad, see that you address that issue at the same time. The stock might also benefit from glass and pillar bedding, but if you want to dump $500 into a new McMillan, I like them myself, order it with the correct LOP and it makes sense to spend the extra few dollars on bedding your action to it.

The choice of bullet, the range to and its placement on the target all have much to do with its terminal performance. A bullet that hits the shoulder can result in greater damage than one that slips through the lungs, particularly if the bullet is on the fragile side. A quartering rear shot that stops that fragile bullet in the gut can result in an ugly wound and a long follow up. Choose a bullet and the placement that is appropriate to the game being hunted and be aware that a bullet needs to damage stuff in order to produce a quick humane kill.

Once you get your .30/06 up to the standard you want, get out and shoot it until you can be sure of putting the bullet where you intend, at the range you intend to shoot, from field positions, and on demand. Acquiring the talent for that level of shooting is every bit as important as a good rifle and the appropriate ammunition.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom