A wiki entry:
1964 through 1991 Model 70
Competing as it did with the Remington Model 700, it was decided that changes needed to be made in the face of rising labour costs. Accordingly, in 1964 Winchester made a number of design changes to the Model 70. Few to none of these changes were popular with the rifle-buying public, or with the US Military. The changes included dropping the controlled round feed feature, a change to the basic stock shape and the use of impressed chequering rather than cut chequering.
Jack O'Connor, long a proponent of the Model 70, wrote about the post-'64 version that ". . .I was informed by Winchester brass that the Model 70 was being redesigned. I told them that I was glad to get the information so I could lay in four or five more before they loused the rifle up. Then I saw the pilot model of 'New Model 70.' At the first glimpse I like to fell into a swoon. The action was simplified, the trigger guard and floor plate made of a flimsy looking one-piece stamping." Despite this initial reaction, O'Connor grudgingly went on to say, "Actually the post-1964 Model 70 is not a bad rifle in spite of the fact that rifle aficionados have never taken it to their bosoms the way they did its predecessor. It is a stronger action than the pre-1964. The head of the bolt encloses the head of the case. It has a small, neat hook extractor, which is adequate. With this extractor the cartridge is not as surely controlled as it is with the Mauser-type extractor. However, the new model seldom gives feeding problems."[5]
[edit] Post '64 Model 70 Action (Push Feed)
In order to reduce manufacturing costs in the face of higher labour rates, rifles manufactured from 1964 to 1992 differed from early Model 70s in the following ways:
* The bolt was changed significantly. The bolt face was enclosed so that it fully surrounded the cartridge rim, in a similar way to the Remington 700 bolt. While cheaper to manufacture than the undercut bolt face needed for controlled feed actions, it is also stronger, providing more support to the cartridge case head, and better contains escaping gases in the event of a case rupture. The new bolt also differed from the old in that (also like the Remington 700) it was manufactured in 3 pieces (the bolt head, body and handle) and brazed together. The brazing is so well done it is very difficult to see the joints. There is no compromise in strength due to the 3-piece construction.
* The Mauser-type non-rotating claw type extractor (incompatible with a fully-enclosed bolt head) was replaced with a small wedge type extractor that does not engage the cartridge rim as it rises from the magazine to the chamber but rather pushes the cartridge into the chamber. As the bolt handle is turned down into the locked position, the new extractor clips over the cartridge rim. The new extractor is perfectly reliable, although it grips less of the case rim and is not as elegant as the Mauser-type claw extractor.
* Hammer-forged barrels were introduced.
* The machined steel trigger guard and floor plate were replaced with parts made from an aluminium alloy to reduce weight using the assembly from the pre-1964 Featherweight version.
* Some models featured walnut stocks with chequering that was impressed onto the wood rather than cut into it as on the early Model 70's, further reducing manufacturing costs.
The new action was severely criticized by riflemen for its lesser amount of control and its supposed unreliability, making the original action even more prized. In reality, many of the changes could be considered improvements, making the action stronger [6]. Any post-'64 Model 70 rifle that is not designated as a "Classic" is most likely to have the post-'64 action. For normal use, the action through its design is no less reliable, although the simplified construction is less elegant. This action has been further improved over the years, and is now generally on par with the CRF action. Because the bolt does not actively grip the cartridge until the bolt handle is turned down into the locked position, the post-'64 system is supposedly more vulnerable to jamming or being inadvertently closed on an empty breech (i.e. failing to load a new round) if operated under duress, especially if the rifle is held upside down or on its side. In design terms (enclosed bolt face, plunger ejector, 3-piece brazed bolt construction) it is fairly similar to the Remington Model 700 which has a worldwide following and is considered to be very reliable. All things considered, in normal situations there is not much to choose between them, apart from personal preference.
