winchester M70, float the barrel or not?
- Thread starter 6.5x55swm
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I have a 1980 Mod70 3006 featherweight bought new in 1980. The barrel does not free float on mine and it shoots OK, but its not a tack driver. I get 1 1/2 inch groups with 180gr factory ammo, about an inch with my best homeloads. I've never got better than 1 MOA, but I've dropped hundreds of animals with it in the 35 years I've owned it.
Sometimes free floating improves accuracy, sometimes it makes it worse. I have found that free floating tends to make the rifle keep its point of impact more consistently over time. I agree with the "shoot it first" and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought here. If you don't like what it's doing, free floating is a tactic that may help, but it is not "necessary" for every gun at all.
That is interesting. I recall, back into the 60's that Winchester was the first mainstream manufacturer to start free floating their barrel. I suspect they still do. This leads me to believe somebody had intentionally done it, or the stock has warped? The standard practice is to always free float a barrel, and if it does not shoot then put a 1 lb or so force on the barrel. Basically it is to try and minimize accuracy issues.
the original ZKK series of rifles (at least the ZKK 600, 602) all had a small bolt in the fore end that threaded into a male dovetail plate which in turn engaged a female dovetail machined into the barrel. It maintained a relatively fixed pressure on the barrel .... those rifles shot extremely well.
OTOH the early Tikka (Ithaca) M55/M65, LSA rifles were all factory free floated and they also shot very well
OTOH the early Tikka (Ithaca) M55/M65, LSA rifles were all factory free floated and they also shot very well
A quote from the current Winchester Model 70 advertising:
"Free-floating a barrel in the stock means no part of the forearm area touches the barrel. The slightest pressure from the forearm as it cradles the barrel can adversely influence accuracy. Try pulling a dollar bill under your current rifle's barrel. Does it slip all the way to the receiver without hangup? If not, you're missing the kind of accuracy that produces results in the field."
I remember adverts in the gun magazines back in the 60's showing the dollar bill sliding under the barrel in a Model 70.
My old 1973 vintage M-70 was not free floated or either was any other one I seen from that era. They worked on tip pressure. The barrel was essentially free floated except for the fore end tip which was touching the barrel on the bottom only. Grab the fore end between your thumb and middle finger and push the barrel away from the stock with your index finger. It should not require excessive force to bush the barrel and stock apart. It should be in contact only on the bottom it should not be touching and applying pressure to the barrel from either side. My 1973 model was very accurate with my hand loads. Off course I tried to make it better and bedded the action and free floated the barrel. The accuracy got much worse. I put a small card board shim under the barrel at the fore end and the accuracy returned.
So if your not satisfied after shooting it you can try checking the action screws. If memory serves it has 3 during that era. The one behind the trigger guard should be snug. the one just a head of the guard tighten it up real good. the one at the front of the floor plate should be snugged up nice but not to the point it impedes the turning of the bolt as the end of that bolt protrudes into the area just before the chamber. If all is well with the action bolts then try bedding the action and free floating the barrel.
Been there and done that with these vintage of M-70's. They were good solid accurate rifles. You just had to know there idiosyncrasies, and how to set them up to perform there best. Hope this helps.
So if your not satisfied after shooting it you can try checking the action screws. If memory serves it has 3 during that era. The one behind the trigger guard should be snug. the one just a head of the guard tighten it up real good. the one at the front of the floor plate should be snugged up nice but not to the point it impedes the turning of the bolt as the end of that bolt protrudes into the area just before the chamber. If all is well with the action bolts then try bedding the action and free floating the barrel.
Been there and done that with these vintage of M-70's. They were good solid accurate rifles. You just had to know there idiosyncrasies, and how to set them up to perform there best. Hope this helps.
Actually my recollection of that era was quite different. The Model 70's were the first to free float their barrels. The Model 70 was considered a cheaper lower quality rifle at that time compared to the Remington 700, and most believed Winchester did it to make up for their poor quality control. Free floating a barrel is much easier and cheaper to do than custom fitting each barrel. In the end, Winchester was right. A good action and good free floated barrel is now the accepted road to accuracy.
nomad 68
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I'm guessing this is a used rifle. I would torque the action screws and give it a good cleaning with a copper cleaner then try it. You could also shim your front screw with a piece of credit card or similar to temporarily float it and try a group. I did this wth a rem 700 once and it tightened up so i floated it permanently.
My newer M-70's are free floated and I have absolutely no idea when Winchester started doing it. I do know for certain that the two I owned from the 70's were not free floated and had fore end tip pressure that was not a screwed up free float. I had one in 30-06 and one in 300 Win mag both were exactly the same. I refinished stocks and recut checkering on many more that were the same as my two. And my pre 64 like H4831 states is definitely not free floated.
And Winchester products built from 1964 into the late 60's were of dubious quality, the ones however I acquired in the 70's were of decent quality for the era, complete with white line spacers. Anyways say what you may about M-70's and how they were built or not built. What I have posted are my experiences and observations over the years period.
And Winchester products built from 1964 into the late 60's were of dubious quality, the ones however I acquired in the 70's were of decent quality for the era, complete with white line spacers. Anyways say what you may about M-70's and how they were built or not built. What I have posted are my experiences and observations over the years period.
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