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Pre War Winchester Model 70

3K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  bmcgilvray 
#1 ·
Just traded for one. SN puts it to 1940 30Gov't06. The good...the metal is about 95%. The bad...1 The stock has had some kind of heavy varnish applied. Not a huge deal. 2. It has been D&T'd on the rear ring (bridge). Not terrible since it is a common gun.

My question. It had a long rear sight with an elevator as evidenced by the blue loss there. What is the correct rear sight?
 
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#5 ·
Until 29aholic gets back with pictures, here is #8039 made in 1937. It`s also been messed with. D&T, no rear sight and rechambered from .22 hornet to K-hornet. The barrel is date stamped 1935 under the forearm so I suspect the company used a model 52 barrel and it well may be their first hornet?? I have a factory letter but it`s generic and says the rifle was made in 1937. I bought it off a private party in the early 1970`s for about $140`s. The guy evidently never shot it as he didnt know it was rechambered to hornet. It shoots just fine so I kept it and have dies for it. Havent messed with it in years though.
 
#7 ·
I have a worse story than FM. About 25 years ago I was working in a pawn shop. A kid had been coming in and selling/pawning some of the stuff he had inherited from his grandpa. One day he came toting in a rifle case. As the rifle slid out I noticed the pre 64 action of a M70, then the 6x Lyman Junior Targetspot, then the caliber 22 Hornet...I was getting a woodie, up to the point I noticed it was crudely stamped on the barrel 222 Remington. Practically broke my heart.

Apparently it was common conversion as I have seen several Hornet barrels marked that way over the years. One thing people failed to take in consideration is the Hornet's then had a .222 bore and not a .224 bore, so loading a 222 Rem to its full potential was impossible unless you used Hornet bullets. In fact when I tried to take the bolt out the release did not work. I pulled the BA out of the stock and found dozens of little discs where the firing pin dimple blew out of the primer.

I shot it quite a bit with 40gr Nosler ballistic tips and H322 but had to back it down to keep from blowing primers.
 
#8 ·
As I read it the first hornets were made for ,223 diameter bullets. Right after that they went to .224. I have a good supply of .223. Fire forming to K hornet is easy. I have a lot of cases stashed. The model 70 is a heavy rifle for that teenie weenie cartridge. I once owned a winchester model 43 in .218 bee. I didn't know what I really had and turned it over!
I own another model 70 in 300 H&H. Think this one dates 1953.
 
#10 ·
Here’s one I used to own from 1957 220 SWIFT,Supergrade. A Super idiot sold it ! The larger group on paper was at 200 yds was just under 1.5”.

 
#11 ·
Can't advise on the sight that came on your nifty new rifle acquisition. A '37 vintage .220 Swift Serial No. 4874 lives here, acquired from the original owner who scoped it early on, first with a Weaver 330C then with a Lyman All-American 6X which it's worn for decades. A filler blank is a rear sight place holder. No signs of wear are indicated where a sight used to come in contact with barrel surfaces. I can't recall the barrel's year marking.

I think the plain ol' standard rear sight was the Winchester 22G, same as on the pre-war Winchester Model 94, but some Winchester guru should come along soon and provide something definitive.

The Swifts I have here, the pre-war Model 70 and a '72 vintage Ruger Model 77V.


The Winchester Model 70 tribe. Love pre-64's best of all sporting rifles and would have a jillion of 'em to love, shoot, and care for, just as one collecting tangent. All it takes is money.

The '37 .220 Swift, a '47 .257 Roberts, a '53 .30-06 (old favorite big game rifle), and a 1980s-1990s(?) Super Express in .375 H&H Magnum.
 
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