Third Time Is The Charm: THE WINCHESTER MODEL 70

Guns Magazine, Oct, 2001 by Dave Anderson

This legendary rifle has been produced in three distinct versions, and its current incarnation may just be the best yet.

Winchester's Model 70 bolt action rifle has been in production for some 65 years. More correctly Winchester has produced rifles under the Model 70 designation for 65 years. The rifle itself has gone through three major and many minor revisions.

Early Model 70s

First offered in 1935, the Model 70 reflected the influence of the Mauser 98 and 1903 Springfield, as well as its Model 54 predecessor. A Mauser-type extractor provided controlled round feeding and engaged a wide arc of the cartridge rim to promote positive extraction. Like the Springfield, the Model 70 had a coned breech which helped funnel cartridges into the chamber.

The Model 70 trigger was the first really good trigger on an American bolt action rifle -- so advanced that it remains essentially unchanged to this day. Though not adapted to producing a really light pull, it can be tuned to around 3 lbs by a knowledgeable gunsmith. Properly tuned it is extremely tough and reliable.

The handsome, distinctive swept-back bolt handle of the Model 70 provided ample clearance of low-mounted scopes. The original safety on top of the bolt sleeve would work with a low-mounted scope, but was none too easy to access and was later redesigned to its present form.

This excellent safety locks the firing pin rather than just blocking the sear. Swung all the way back it locks both pin and bolt. In its center position the firing pin is locked but the bolt can he operated to load or unload. All the way forward is the "fire" position.

The quality of materials and workmanship of the early Model 70s helped establish the rifle's, reputation. Manufacturing the original Model 70 action was by no means a simple task. Machining the receivers required a large number of complicated operations, as did producing the bolts from a single piece of steel. It was a job for highly skilled machinists.

The pre-war Model 70s made up to 1941 (serial number range 1 to 31,675) reflect the skill and pride of workmanship of those workers. Stocks were of hard, straight-grained walnut, carefully shaped, inletted, and checkered.

Actions and barrels were made of the best steels available, finished with care and properly heat-treated. Barrels were cut-rifled, one groove at a time. Every rifle received a great deal of skilled hand work. Few production rifles have ever received such tender loving care.

After The War

Production virtually ceased during the war as Winchester was fully occupied producing arms and ammunition for the war effort. The post-war economic boom changed the firearms industry, and Winchester found that its beautiful, virtually hand-built Model 70 was ill suited for the high-speed production that the postwar market demanded.

It was Winchester's arch rival Remington that took the lead in redesigning its products for the new post-war world. Remington developed new models with ease of production as a central goal. As an example, the post-war Remington 721/722 action was essentially a round bolt moving within a round receiver, with a flat plate sandwiched between barrel and receiver to serve as a recoil lug.

The bolt handle and locking lugs were made as separate parts and brazed to the bolt body. The ingeniously designed and reliable trigger mechanism was made largely of metal stampings. Inletting stocks to accept the round barrel and receiver proved easier and faster.

By 1950, a Winchester Model 70 Standard grade rifle retailed at $109.50. At the same time a Remington 721 Standard grade listed at $79.95. Set them side by side and no one would dispute that the Winchester was a more handsome rifle with its checkered stock and polished finish. But in terms of practical utility the Remington did everything the Model 70 did -- and cost some 40 percent less.

Remington delivered another blow to Winchester's profits in 1962 when it redesigned the 721/722 series into the Model 700. The 700 was very similar in design to the 721/722, but with a better looking stock and generally better finish.

Winchester was in a bind. With the technology of the era they simply could not produce Model 70s at a price that would be competitive with the Remington 700 or the newer Savage 110. They could have opted to upgrade quality and raise the price, trying to appeal to more discriminating rifle enthusiasts. However, this upscale market has never been a large one, and in any case there would have been competition from Weatherby and the new Browning bolt action rifle.

Love It Or Hate It: The Post-'64

Design of a revised bolt action had been going on at Winchester for some years. In some ways the new action was closer in design to the Remington 700 than to the pre-'64 Model 70. Its bolt was made in three pieces with the handle and locking lug section brazed on. It had a recessed bolt face, an extractor built into the right locking lug, and a spring-loaded plunger ejector. The receiver, made by a die-forging process, was flat-bottomed with an integral recoil lug. The excellent trigger mechanism, three-position safety and slanted bolt handle of the old Model 70 were retained.