WINCHESTER’S CURRENT MODEL 70 – STILL THE RIFLEMAN’S RIFLE?
After many reinventions, is the current Model 70 still up to the task?
After many reinventions, is the current Model 70 still up to the task?
JOHAN VAN WYK
Aside from the Mauser M98, there can be little doubt that the Winchester Model 70 is the best known and most venerated of bolt actions. For almost a century, and despite many changes, some good and others less so, the Model 70 has managed to remain in production and continues to sell well, despite fierce competition from other US and international competitors.
THE START OF THE MODEL 70
The Model 70 as we know it today went into production on 20 January 1936 at Winchester’s historic plant in New Haven, Connecticut. It was officially released on 1 January 1937, by which time the factory had produced more than 2 000 rifles. The initial price listed for a standard Model 70 sporter was a hefty $61,25. How times have changed!
Model 70 receivers were machined from chrome-moly steel and finished by hand, including the Winchester logo roll-marked on the sidewall of the action. This was followed by spot-hardening of the extraction cam behind the bridge as well as heat-treating, tumbling, and bluing before the actions could be sent for assembly.
A few things set the Model 70 apart from its competitors of the time. It was fitted with a welldesigned and comfortable stock and soon earned a reputation for good accuracy. In addition,
the Model 70’s bolt-handle was designed to clear low-mounted scopes and it had a simple, reliable and fully adjustable trigger.
Calibre-wise, the Model 70 was chambered for cartridges such as the .22 Hornet on the one hand of the spectrum up to and including the mighty .458 Winchester Magnum, introduced in 1956. The two most popular chamberings were the .270 Winchester and .30-06, and almost half of the Model 70s produced up to 1963 were chambered for either of these two cartridges. From an African perspective, however, the two most important chamberings were the .300 and .375 Holland & Holland Magnums. By chambering rifles for these two cartridges, Winchester proved the adaptability of the Model 70 action in that it could be lengthened to accommodate .375length cartridges. In addition, by chambering rifles for the .375 H&H, Winchester placed a solid, reliable, and affordable big-game rifle within reach of the man on the street. It was, in hindsight, a stroke of genius and Model 70s in .375 H&H are to this day something of an African stalwart.
THE MODEL 70 ACTION
The heart of any rifle is its action, and the Model 70 certainly has a lot of redeeming features. The most noticeable characteristic of the action is the broad, nonrotating claw extractor, borrowed straight from Mauser. The claw ensured positive extraction as well as control-feeding and has come to be regarded as a must-have for any rifle intended for dangerous game or even just rough work afield.
We have already touched on the bolt-handle that will clear a low-mounted scope, and in combination with this, the safety catch will not interfere with a scope’s dimensions either.
Another feature of the Model 70 is not so obvious: it makes use of a cone-breeching system. What this implies is that the breech end of the barrel is funnel-shaped. It is a system that certainly aids in the smooth feeding of cartridges into the chamber, but critics claim that it is not as strong as the system used, for instance, on the Remington 700 or Mauser M98 if a case fails or a catastrophic overload is accidentally fired. With ammunition loaded to normal service pressure there won’t be any problems with cone-breeching, however, and it certainly wouldn’t have remained a feature of the Model 70 for all these years if it was a weak spot.
CORPORATE TROUBLES
By the early 1960s, the Model 70 was sadly in trouble. Manufacturing costs had risen steadily through the years and by 1960, the decision was made to alter the Model 70 action to make it easier (and therefore cheaper) to manufacture. The »
» result was a much-altered Model 70 action that was introduced in 1963, starting with serial number 700 000. To say that the new action caused a major earthquake in the rifle world would be a vast understatement.
The “new and improved” Model 70 did away with the tried-and-trusted claw extractor. The magazine box and trigger guard assembly were now made from aluminium and the stock had cheap and nasty white line spacers, pressed chequering and poor inletting. The accountants had certainly done a proper hatchet job on the Model 70. To make matters worse, the public did not take kindly at all to the changes and sales suffered further still.
Winchester, however, stuck to their guns with the Model 70. In 1968 a new anti-bind rail smoothed bolt travel and a few years later, changes were made to the design of the stock. By 1984, Winchester had a shorter Model 70 action in the works for cartridges such as the .243 Winchester and in due course, stainless steel and left-hand actions became available as well.
Olin, long-time owners of Winchester, sold Winchester in 1981 to a group of investors calling themselves the US Repeating Arms Company (USRAC). In 1984, USRAC themselves had filed for bankruptcy. In 1987, a group of five investors acquired Winchester, and one of these investors was Fabrique Nationale from Belgium, who were then taken over by the giant French armaments conglomerate, GIAT, in 1991.
Notwithstanding the corporate shenanigans, Winchester made a somewhat hesitant return to the claw extractor on some models in 1987. The public immediately responded positively and during the next five years, Winchester largely shelved what had become known as the post-1964 Model 70 action.
Because of union contracts and other factors, however, the Model 70 still couldn’t come close to covering its manufacturing costs. By 2006, Winchester’s owners made the decision to close down the historic Winchester plant in New Haven. Annual losses were in the millions, and yet again, everyone thought that the Model 70 was doomed, this time finally. Luckily, it was not to be, however.
A NEW FACTORY, A NEW RIFLE
FN moved manufacturing of the Model 70 to a new, state-of-theart factory in Columbia, South Carolina, and started manufacturing a somewhat changed Model 70 rifle there in 2007. The changes to the action include a new anti-bind system, as well as a new trigger system called the MOA three-lever trigger. This last change has always been somewhat puzzling to me as the original trigger system
was easy to adjust, relatively simple to manufacture and reliable to a fault. The new system works, however, so Winchester presumably had their reasons for making the change.
In 2013, final assembly of the Model 70 moved yet again, this time to a plant in Portugal, and this is how things stand at the time of writing. The new, Portuguese-assembled rifles are clearly stamped, “Made in USA. BACO, Inc., Morgan, Utah – Assembled in Portugal by Browning Viana”. After such a marathon session of moves and shakes, the question remains: is today’s Model 70 still up to the task?
TAKING A LOOK AT THE NEW MODEL 70
In 2019, I was idly walking around a well-known Pretoria gunshop when I spotted what appeared to be a heavy-barrelled, short-actioned Winchester Model 70 on the shelf. A closer look revealed it to be a Portuguese-assembled Winchester Model 70 chambered for the .243 Winchester. It is a model Winchester calls the Coyote Light and it was clearly aimed at the huge varmint shooting market in the US. As the price was right and I had been contemplating a new springbuck voorsit rifle for some time, I went home that afternoon with the necessary licence application form and the inevitable long wait for the little white plastic card.
After what seemed like ages, the licence eventually came through and I set about putting the Winchester through its paces. The Coyote Light features a blued-steel action to which a 24” fluted, mediumheavy profile stainless steel barrel was fitted. The stock is synthetic, made for Winchester by Bell & Carson, and came with an aluminium bedding block as a standard fit from the factory. The stock is rounded off by a black Pachmayr Decelerator pad.
All in all, the empty rifle weighs in at almost eight pounds, so it was clearly designed to be used from a fixed or static position and not necessarily for walkand-stalk hunting. As mentioned, however, my idea is to use the rifle for voorsit shoots in the Karoo, so the extra heft is of no consequence to me. The barrel is threaded for a silencer, an optional extra that many South African hunters these days prefer.
The MOA trigger breaks a touch heavy for me for a rifle like this at just over four pounds but to its defence, it breaks crisply. However, it is adjustable, so I will have it lightened by a gunsmith in due course. The short Model 70 action is well machined and functions without hiccups. It feeds cartridges smoothly from the magazine and ejects empties with authority. Magazine capacity is ample at five cartridges plus one in the chamber. The safety catch is Winchester’s traditional threeposition safety catch, situated on the right side of the bolt shroud. It is one of the most copied safety catches of all time, and with good reason, too. It is positive, easy to use, and blocks the trigger as well as the striker when in the “on” position.
ON THE RANGE
I mounted a dated but trusty Leupold Tactical 4,5-14x scope on the rifle and, armed with a tin of powder and a few boxes of Hornady 87-grain V-Max and Nosler 90-grain AccuBond bullets, set about putting the .243 through its paces.
Shooting the .243 from the bench at the shooting range, it quickly became clear that the rifle was a shooter. It has a strong liking for the 87-grain V-Max bullets and at just under 3 100 fps with the help of Somchem S-385, I have no trouble in shooting half-inch groups at 100 metres and one-inch groups at 200 metres. For a rifle intended for springbuck on the open plains, this is comforting indeed. My supply of S-385 is just about finished, however, so depending on how things work out for our local propellant manufacturer, a shift to an imported equivalent is likely in the near future on the cards for me with the .243.
Also surprising was how easy the barrel was to clean after use. It takes but a few patches soaked with solvent to remove all traces of copper, and Winchester clearly went to great lengths with the barrel manufacturing process as it is smooth and shoots great. From previous experience, I know that some stainless steel barrels can be finicky, accuracy-wise, when new. The barrel on my .243 is definitely an exception, though.
CONCLUSION
Although a sample of one is perhaps not always indicative of a trend, I am of the opinion that the new, Portuguese-assembled Winchester Model 70 rifles are fine rifles indeed. I have handled a few of them and in addition to my own rifle, have some experience with a Safari Express in a larger calibre (this test report will appear in a subsequent edition of SA JAGTER/ HUNTER). It, too, handled and shot flawlessly.
In spite of all the corporate turmoil, mishaps and other troubles, the Rifleman’s Rifle seems to be on the right path again and is set to be with us for many years to come. The Model 70 is certainly worthy of a place around the campfire, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one. * Winchester rifles are imported into South Africa by Inyathi Sporting Supplies in Pretoria. You can contact them on 012808-9911 or via e-mail at info@ inyathi.net