I ended up with a Winchester model 70 rifle in 30-06 due to an aging member of the wife's family who wanted someone to appreciate it.

Anybody got a link to a guide so I have a clue. I hear about pre 64 and various things but, what I now about model 70s is how to operate the bolt, safety and trigger. Funny thing is I came into this rifle shortly after giving one of my brothers about 300 rounds of 30-06 ammo because I had given mine to my oldest son years ago and it had just sit their since he passed a year after receiving the rifle.

Google is your friend:
MGW: Winchester Model 70 Information
Hope this helps!

Jack O'Connor:

The Rifle Book

The Hunting Rifle

Roger Rule:


The Win. Model 70

Thank you gentlemen.

Turns out it is a Featherweight from 1958 with a control feed bolt and a 1 piece floor plate/trigger guard assembly. Has a 3x9 Leopold and a nice walnut stock with some fiddle back figuring in it.

I guess I got the 30 caliber hunting rifles well covered. Remington 600 in 308. this Winchester 30-06 and a Ruger 77 in 300 WM.

Nice score indeed on your Model 70 Featherweight. I bought a new Model 70 back in 74 before the XTR line came out. Walnut stock but bluing was lackluster and the trigger pull awful stiff. Ended up with a Rem. 700 with nicer overall finish and deep glossy bluing.

One thing nice about the '06.............
is that it will shoot little 100gr Plinkers all the way to 220 grain monsters, if needed.

My light target load is with 147-150 gr ball or spritzer bullets and my rifle
likes 4895 powder for light Military Dup. loads at around 2700fps.

Easy on the rifle and my shoulder.

Of course many are using the lighter 125-130gr bullets for target work if the price is right.

Enjoy the old war horse.

I have the same rifle built in 1961 in a .243. It is in very nice condition in a desirable caliber for my uses. It had a no name cheapo scope which I replaced with a Leupold. I bought it from a friend in 2013 and paid $1100. I don't know what the values have done since then and I really don't care. I was satisfied with the deal at the time. They certainly aren't making any more of them.

I will try it with some 168 grain boat tail ballistic tips. Thats what I use in my 308, 190s in the 300WM and if I want heavier I will go to my 338WM of 350 Remington Mag. Once I get a load for a rifle I pretty much leave it alone and if I want to something else I just switch to another rifle.

I have 223s, 6mm Remingtons, 25-06, 6.5 Creedmore, 308, 30-06, 300WM, 338WM and a 350 Remington Mag. Something there for everything and every range I can hit anything at,

What rifle in 350 Rem Mag ?

The M70 Featherweight first appeared in 1952, chambered in .308. I have one of those very early .308 featherweights. It shoots a respectable group with most loads, but no one would use it for bench rest competition. I believe the .30-'06 chambering was the most popular FW caliber, but that didn't appear until around 1955 or 1956. My pride and joy is a 1938 M70 in .270. There is no .270 load I have ever tried which didn't shoot well in it. Only problem is someone D&Td the rear receiver bridge which pretty well destroyed its collectible value. All things considered, there isn't that much weight difference between the FW and the standard M70, around a pound, and I think I prefer the longer barrel of the standard rifle, even though it might be a pound heavier. I have always believed that the Remington 700 is in all respects superior to the M70, but it just doesn't have its aura.

My Dad bought a model 70 Winchester 30/06 new in the late 40's. To him it was a tool, like a hammer, saw or wrench. He used it to kill antelope, whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, moose and bear. It got done what needed to get done. I also have all kinds of different hunting rigs but if I was restricted to just one rig it would be a pre 64 model 70 Winchester in 30/06. It'll get the job done!

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It is one of the Remington Mohawk carbines. I have several of them plus 2 XP100s which is the same basic action except single shot with no magazine cut out. Great little rifles if you can find them. 1 was a 222 I rebarreled to 223, 2 are 6 mm Remington, as is one of the XP100s, another is a 308 and another was a 308 I put a heavy 6.5 Creedmoore barrel on.

Winchester has been M70 FWT's almost foreever. In fact you can by 4 different versions right now. My FWT is from the late 70's and is chambered in 280 Rem(my favorite deer caliber). I Like it over the std M70. Mine's a deer killing machine.

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S&W Accumulator

For a man living in the middle of Gods country, I am amazed that you post a question on the old Model 70. I could just see many nice rifles in the "stash" beside all those S&W pistols you talk about. You have been given what people call the rifleman's rifle and the one that all others are judged by. I grew up reading Jack O'Connor and then later Skeeter Skelton so I was a rifle nut by age 14-15, long before Skeeter got me into the 44 Special and S&W revolvers. The collection of the pre 64's has somewhat subsided, in my opinon, way too much black plastic in the rifle world. I have 4 of the pre 64's and they are all very, very accurate guns. I do not have any of the featherweights, but your '06 featherweight should be a tack driver and IMHO, one of the best hunting rifles ever manufactured on the face of the planet. Along with an 06 will handle anything out there, no question ask. I thought you were living in the middle of MT where you were living on venison and elk meat and had a boat load of other long guns to go with the S&W collection. Enjoy, you have been given one of the best ever produced in the past 100 years. Contol round feeding at the best. Take the old gal out this fall and shoot something for the table and post us a photo of you, meat for the table and the old gal.

The pre-64 model 70 FWT is a real classic hunting rifle. At the bottom of the picture is mine, a 1958 FWT in .308 Winchester with a Weaver steel tubed 4x scope in swing away mounts.

Larry

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Probably one of if not the finest production big game rifle ever made in this country. You are a fortunate man indeed.

Funny thing is rifles have never tripped my trigger as much as hand guns. I grew up around rifles, but nobody knew shot handguns. I was in my teens when my mom remarried and my step dad had a 1911. But, he wasn't into handguns really. Rifles yes. I bought a Ruger 357 after getting out of the Corps and he taught me to reload. I fell in love with hand guns. To me large caliber rifles were just something to kill antelope deer and elk with. 22s were to hunt rabbits with. I was given a sporterized Enfield when got out or the USMC by my step dad. Killed a lot of game with it, Then gave it to my son and killed even more deer and elk with a Mohawk 600 carbine in 308. Then I started messing with my step dads heavy barreled target 22 with a 20x Unertl scope. Then I bought a Mohawk in 222 and started shooting prairie dogs, then coyotes. Next, I got a 220 swift and proceeded to burn up the barrel. Rebarreled to 6mm Remington and still have it. I like rifles and still shoot them. Just like handguns more. Never had a Winchester before. Even my step dad hunted with an sporterized Enfield reamed to 30-338. My mom had a Reemington 700 in 243. My brothers and sisters all had sporterized Enfields and Springfield courteous of my step dad. I thought a sporterized Enfield 30-06 was the shoot anything gun for a long time. LOL

Here is my latest rifle 6.5 Creedmoore, Remington Mohawk action, Boyd's stock. Remington 700 barrel,( New Take off) 4x12 Nikon. Right before I did it I put a 223 barrel on another Mohawk that was a 222. Saved the original barrels

I've only ever owned one Win Model 70.
It was a 1940 production Carbine in 300 Savage caliber. Exc+ cond.
A very begrudged & very late in lieu of payment for a job many yrs ago,,lost $$ on the job at the time!

Sold a few yrs back. I think I finally did OK.

I kinda Like Mauser & Mannlicher sporters better.