The Winchester Model 70

The Model 70, introduced in 1936 was regarded as being the pinnacle of Mauser’s control-feed system. Bolt-action was the dominant feature for 27 long years, until the 1964 redesign in order to save money knocked the Model 70 off of its pedestal.

The pre-’64 Model 70s remain the rifle of choice for many hunters and collectors. The firearms that came after the year 64 have their own space, but.

History

The Winchester Model 70 is one of the most famous bolt-action rifles that have ever been made. It was originally designed for use as a hunting gun which quickly grew in the attention of hunters as well as competition shooters. Model 70s are renowned for their precision, ease of operation and high durability. The model’s high-end reputation helped it to remain the most popular bolt action rifle throughout its history. The advancement in technology made manufacturing more efficient but the market share of the Model 70 decreased to guns which were less expensive and with similar designs. Winchester implemented a series of improvements in the Model 70 in 1964 to ensure its continued competitiveness. These changes were largely aimed to make the firearm more economical to manufacture, but maintaining the features that had brought it the Model 70 so desirable.

Particularly notable was the addition of an “push feed” system. The ejector had to be removed from the bolt and replaced with a small extractor which rode on top of the cartridge extraction groove. It allowed the cartridge to be supported in the magazine and then removed from the bolt’s face without the requirement of an extended extractor of the type used by Mauser. The flat breech also introduced a new bolt handle design that made it easier to hold during the cycle of the action.

Other changes were created to lower costs. The initial milled nickel-steel model of bolts and receivers became a forged chrome-molybdenum version, and the hand-checkered barrels were substituted with press-checkering in order to cut down on labour costs. The bolt lugs were also modified from screw-ins of the previous design and a guide-lug which ran on a track inside the receiver.

Cost-saving measures have been met by a mixed response. Most people preferred the earlier Model 70 rifles prior to the war, as well as many believed that later-model rifles weren’t in the same level of quality as their predecessors. There were some improvements made on the Model 70 in an attempt to alter this view for instance, the more secure “anti-bind” feature, which was included in the left locking the lug. This helped the bolt run much more fluidly and is a welcomed upgrade to a gun that had been notorious for its slow actions.

The concept

Winchester’s Model 70 bolt-action is the weapon that’s earned the nickname “The Rifleman’s Rifle.” While a lot of centrefire rifles are also branded with this name, its status as an sporting weapon is unmatched. Hunters have placed it and the Model 70 at the top of the list when it comes to forests all over North America, as well as areas with big game like Alaska and Africa.

Model 70 was a huge success due to its superior trigger mechanism. The Model 70 also had the benefit of its Mauser-inspired two-lug extractor bolt with full control of the cartridge as soon as it was removed from to the gun until it was completely expelled from the chamber. Its breech was flat, with its built-in cartridge support made it easier to integration with the barrel’s rim and more fluid operation than competitors’ designs.

Its standing began to diminish after World War II as other gun makers cut costs in production through new production techniques. To cut down on material and labor expenses, the company took a few steps. The iconic Model 70 was redesigned in 1964, and some aspects of the original model were eliminated. The cone-shaped breech on the Model 70 was changed to a flat one with a cartridge support built in. The hook extractor is changed to a plunger ejector. The forged receiver and bolt were substituted https://buywinchester.com/ by a milled aluminum alloy version.

The new model was not for everyone. design. Many hunters were unhappy in the fact that this new Model 70 no longer featured a controlled-round push feed action. Although some people were content with the bolt’s flat face, that didn’t require any grinding of the barrel breech, others wanted a metal ring around the case head to prevent erratic ignition.

Winchester introduced the control-round feed action in response to concerns of certain customers back in 1992. The company also began using synthetic wood of McMillan Bell and Carlson that cost less to manufacture as compared to wood and more consistent with time.

The Development

Designers at Winchester set out to rework their Model 54 into a lighter and more sleek bolt-action centrefire. The Model 70 was an instant sensation and became the dominant model for decades. It was even dubbed “The Rifleman’s Rifle,” and it is arguably one of the top-selling American bolt-action rifle ever made.

After World War II, though it was a while before the Model 70 started to fall out of step with modernization in manufacturing and design strategies. Winchester battled its Model 70 because it was increasing in cost to make.

Winchester’s engineers began by improving the trigger of their Model 70, as it was a problem for their customers. They repurposed the trigger for override of their rimfire Model 52 and fitted it on the Model 70, improving its performance by better segregating the sear from the trigger. They also made their modern trigger more adjustable in the weight of the pull and for overtravel.

Another significant change they implemented was the transformation of their controlled-round-feeding system into an actual push feed. The latest Model 70 is cheaper to produce and needs less machining for the barrel’s the breech.

The stock and the forend were also modified to be more scope-friendly in the past, which was a crucial problem. The rifle was reshaped, for instance the profile of the bolt handles so that they wouldn’t interfere with the Ocular housings of the scope in the course of a cycling operation. They also changed the shape of the forend to make it wider and more streamlined on the bottom so it could be laid across the shooter’s hand support while firing.

Winchester offered new chambering options to its Model 70 over the years as well as refined and enhanced existing ones. By the late 1960s, however, it had become apparent that the public was not satisfied by some of the improvements and wanted the original look and features return. The company listened to its clients and began to add back elements of the original Model 70 throughout the next several years.

It’s the product of a production

At its beginning, in its early years, the Model 70 took the sporting world with its blitzkrieg of a. It was the most sought-after choice for hunters in the United States and beyond, as well https://buywinchester.com/ as a variety of rifles set world records in competition shooting. Even though the quality of the rifle was generally excellent, it was not lacking in its flaws. The most notable of these are the lack of select-grade walnut, pressed checkering instead of hand-checkering, and a barrel channel that was able to allow for an excessive accumulation of twigs and grass after firing. It was successful despite these shortcomings. Some individual year production numbers were greater than the twelve years of total production for the older Model 54.

In 1964, due to increased competition from sporting rifles like the Remington Model 700 and rising expenses for labour, Winchester introduced a new version that was a new version of their Model 70 with a re-designed bolt and several other improvements. The cone-shaped breech used in the previous design was substituted with one with a flat breech. the older milled nickel-steel receiver/bolt style was replaced with a forged chrome-molybdenum steel unit. As a substitute for the fully-length extractor, the receiver-mounted ejector had to be removed. Smaller plunger as well as a claw extractor were fitted to the bolt face (similar to the Weatherby Mark V).

Although these modifications did not result in major difficulties with the shooting performance of the gun However, many shooters were unsatisfied about them. Also, it was not uncommon Model 70s built after 1964 to jam during loading or fail to fully exit.

This resulted in the Model 70 Classic, a improved action that is the base of today’s Model 70. In 1992, Winchester once again revised the Model 70 action, returning to a fully-length extractor, a receiver mounted ejector along with the controlled feed option of the earlier model.

The present production of Winchester Model 70 continues at the FN/Browning factory facility located in Columbia, South Carolina. Model 70’s are manufactured conforming to ISO 9001 quality standards, using the standard control-feed system being the same. Model 70’s are offered with a range of designs that meet the requirements of shooters, competitors and hunters. shooters. They include regular grade, super grade lighter barrels, the sightless and more.