Win model 70 Ranger

vagrantonwalkabout

vagrantonwalkabout

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Does anyone know anything about the Winchester model 70 Rangers? Have one in 30-06, 20in barrel, short plain beech stock, light. Really like the rifle and I'm just curious to know about it. Tried the internet already, very little info. Most of the Rangers online have a different fancier stock then the one I have, wood has checkering and less blockie shaping.
 
A good friend of mine has one. In haven't seen it in a few yrs however. IIRC it has the lighter Beech Stock sans checkering. I’ve reached to see if he’ll send a pic or verify my memory.
 
It is in my head that the Winchester "Ranger" was the "inexpensive" version to their XTR line - I think there were Ranger in Model 94 also. I have a Model 70 "Westerner" in 22-250 - was a resurrection of that line name when USRAC was making the Winchester line of rifles - it has a "blind" magazine - so no floor plate / no bottom metal - just wood. Does the Ranger have wood bottom or does it have metal bottom??
 
Yeah, the Rangers are Win 70 Sporters and Featherweights made as cheap as can be. Not that the actual action/barrels/parts were cheap but...

Still good solid M70s just at a more everyman price point.
 
vagrantonwalkabout said:
Does anyone know anything about the Winchester model 70 Rangers? Have one in 30-06, 20in barrel, short plain beech stock, light. Really like the rifle and I'm just curious to know about it. Tried the internet already, very little info. Most of the Rangers online have a different fancier stock then the one I have, wood has checkering and less blockie shaping.
Click to expand...
I've owned a couple. 7mm Rem Mag (blind magazine) and 6,5x55 (regular bottom metal). They were the same as regular model 70's except for the stocks, which were a cheaper wood (birch maybe?). I don't recall any with 20 inch barrels, perhaps it was cut back by a previous owner. - dan
 
I had one in 30-06, but it it had impressed checkering and the barrel was 22”. Hardwood stock, and metal wasn’t polished to speak of. Sears used to sell them back in the 70s. Bought it like new in the early 90’s from an engineer who had worked in the north back then and the guys talked hin into trying hunting. He tried a Lee Enfield first and couldn’t hit anything so he bought the Winchester from Sears. Paid 200 for it with 2 boxes of shells and the Lee Enfield. Traded the 303 for a Milwakee cordless drill and lost the 30-06 in a poker game.😂
 
I bought a Winchester Ranger mod 70 in 30-06 a long long time ago. It was either from Barotto Sports or Wholesale Sports in Calgary(shortly after they opened from Brad Butler). It was a special he was running at the time.
My Ranger was a package deal...came with a Winchester logo, leather Levy's sling and a pre-mounted Bushnell Banner 4 X wide angle scope on it. Japan made..like looking thru a 30mm tube ! I do remember that I paid 329.99 for it !!!! NO TAX at all back then either in AB.

This Ranger was as plain jane as they come...smooth hardwood birch/ beech ? stock, no checkering at all, no bottom metal, I remember the barrel being perhaps a medium weight (??) seemed a bit beefier that my other rifles..plastic Winchester logo butt cap. All in all, an unbeatable price for a model 70 anything back in the day. The old rifle preferred the Remington Kor-Lokd 180 grain bullets over anything else. Less than 1 in @ 100 yds usually.

I used that rifle for a couple of years...swapped out the banner for a 3-9 x 40 Scopechief with the BDC built in, and used it for another 2 or 3 yrs off and on. That rifle had the absolute worst recoil out of all of my guns at the time !! Beat my 7mm RM and my 300 WM easily for hurt..lol
After 15 yrs of being not used (cuz I kept buying all the newest toys..lol) I decided to sell it. Got 550 bucks for it without any scope !! Good investment !
**pretty sure that 4x Banner is still archived away in my treasure trove...🤣
 
I've got one of the Ranger M70 youth rifles in 243. Not sure what year it was made but I bought it used in the 80's. Its a regular model 70 push feed in a plain wood blind mag stock with 20in barrel. Mine has spot bedding on the lug and a very nice 2lb trigger.
Its gone through my son when he was little and now my grandson is using it. I'm sure it will still be in good shape when my grandson grows up and has kids. :)
 
I've got one in .30-06 that shoots great. Beech stock, iron sights, two-piece floor plate, adjustable trigger. It shoots pretty much everything well, but the stock has had the crap kicked out of it so I bought a cheap HS Precision for it. It likes 165gr SSTs at about 2950.
 
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