The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker the "Rifleman's Rifle".Bolt Action Rifles by Frank de Haas, DBI Books, Northfield, IL, 1971, p. 239. . The action has some design similarities to Mauser designs, and it is a development of the earlier Winchester Model 54, itself being based on a Mauser 98–type action.Bolt Action Rifles, De Haas and Zwoll, p. 576
The Model 70 was originally manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company between 1936 and 1980. From the early 1980s until 2006, Winchester rifles were manufactured by U.S. Repeating Arms (USRA) under an agreement with Olin Corporation, allowing USRA to use the Winchester name and logo.Hawks, Chuck. "The Rifleman's Rifle: Winchester's Model 70", Chuck Hawks' Web site. Accessed June 11, 2008. Model 70s were built in New Haven, Connecticut, from 1936 to 2006, when production ceased. In the fall of 2007, the Belgian company FN Herstal announced that Model 70 production would resume. As of 2012, new Winchester Model 70 rifles were being made by FN Herstal in Columbia, South Carolina. In 2013, assembly was moved to Portugal.
The Model 70 In 1936, Winchester introduced the Model 70 bolt-action rifle to the American market. The Model 70 was largely based on the Model 54 and is today still highly regarded by shooters and is often called the "Rifleman's Rifle". In 1999, Shooting Times magazine named the Model 70 the "Bolt-action Rifle of the Century".
Throughout its life, the Model 70 has been offered in many grades and styles.
1936 through 1963 Model 70 The pre-1964 Model 70s were manufactured from 1936 through 1963, and gained popularity along with the .270 Winchester with the help of gun writer Jack O'Connor, after which time significant changes in the design and manufacture of the rifles were made. Pre-1964 Model 70s bring a substantial price premium due to a public perception that they were better, as they had several desirable features (Mauser-type controlled round feed, cut checkering) that the post-1964 version did not. The best way to identify a pre-1964 model is the serial number and the fore-end screw to secure the barrel to the stock.Barsness, John. "Shooting 70 Years of Model 70s", American Rifleman. Model 70 rifles with serial numbers below 700,000p245 Bolt Action Rifles by Frank de Haas, DBI Books INC, Northfield ILL, USA, 1971, are the pre-1964 variety. The receivers of these Model 70s were machined from bar-stock steel.
Pre-1964 Model 70 action (controlled round feed)
The original Model 70 quickly established an excellent reputation with American sportsmen. It was a high-quality action of considerable strength, with two forward locking lugs and a Mauser-type nonrotating claw extractor. The key benefit of the Mauser-type extractor compared to later versions is that it more positively extracts the spent casing. This feature is often referred to as "controlled round feeding" (CRF) because the extractor captures the rim of a cartridge as it is fed upwards from the magazine and controls its journey forward into the rifle's chamber. Later designs, referred to as push feed, only capture the cartridge by the magazine lips and the chamber, and the cartridge is not held to the bolt face until a spring-loaded extractor is pushed over the cartridge's extractor groove. The smaller extractor of the push-feed action may slip or break off a spent casing stuck in the chamber under adverse conditions. Therefore, the more positive extraction of the CRF action is favored by some shooters, especially those who pursue dangerous game, so require rifles to extract reliably. This function is necessary to allow subsequent cartridges to be fed and fired in a bolt-action rifle with only a single barrel. The ejector on the original Model 70 was of the blade type similar to that of the Mauser M 98, but considered superior, as it did not require a Mauser-type slot through the left locking lug; instead, a slot was in the bolt face below the locking lug, leaving both forward lugs solid and hence stronger. The main benefit of the blade-type ejector is it is simpler and perhaps more reliable (being considered less susceptible to ingress of foreign matter) when compared to the later, post-1964 plunger ejector in the bolt face controlled by a coil spring.
Other significant features of this action include a three-position wing-type safety (retained throughout Model 70 production), a cone breeching system that helps prevent bullet-nose damage while loading a cartridge from the magazine, machined steel trigger guard and floor plate, one-piece bolt construction, a relatively short lock time, and a trigger adjustable for pull weight and over-travel.
The pre-1964 Model 70 rifle was officially declared as a state firearm of Alaska in 2014.
1964 through 1992 Model 70 Competing as it did with the Remington Model 700, Winchester decided that changes needed to be made in the face of rising labor 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 the US military. The changes included dropping the CRF feature, a change to the basic stock shape, and the use of impressed rather than cut checkering.
Jack O'Connor, long a proponent of the Model 70, wrote of the post-1964 version, "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.
Post-1964 Model 70 action (push feed) To reduce manufacturing costs in the face of higher labor rates, rifles manufactured from 1964 to 1992 differed from early Model 70s in these ways: The receiver, for the first time, and from then on out, was forged into shape, then machined. Heat treatment of the receiver was localized to the areas where necessary, namely the cams and locking lugs, to prevent warping caused by overall heat treatment. Forging the receiver increased its strength and reduced the machining labor and time needed to achieve the final shape."The Bolt Action" Vol 1, Stuart Otteson 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 it was manufactured in two pieces (bolt-handle/collar and the bolt body)The Bolt Action Vol 1, Stuart Otteson and then brazed together. The Mauser-inspired, nonrotating claw extractor (incompatible with a fully enclosed bolt head) was eliminated, and replaced with a small, wedge-shaped extractor located within a lug of the bolt head. This type of extractor does not engage the cartridge rim as it rises from the magazine into the action, but rather clips over the cartridge rim after the cartridge has been pushed into the chamber and the bolt handle is turned down. This system is more vulnerable than the old system 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 addition, the old extractor design served to stabilize the bolt while the action was open; without it, the new bolt did not have any such stabilization, and wobbled while fully open. This has since been fixed in later rifles, but it was nevertheless an obvious departure and certainly less elegant in function than the earlier models, which allowed the rifle to chamber cartridges smoothly from any position. Barrels were now rifled by hammer forging, rather than the more costly process of being cut by hand. The machined steel trigger guard and floor plate were replaced with parts stamped from an aluminum alloy to reduce weight using the assembly from the pre-1964 Featherweight version. Some earlier models featured walnut stocks with checkering that was impressed onto the wood rather than cut into it as on the early Model 70s, further reducing manufacturing costs at the expense of a less positive grip on the rifle, particularly if the shooter is wearing gloves.
Any Model 70 rifle made since that. not designated as a "Classic" model, is likely to have this post-1964 action. In design terms (enclosed bolt face, plunger ejector, brazed bolt construction) the new action itself was comparable in design to the competing Remington Model 700, which has a worldwide following and is considered to be very reliable. When coupled with the other cost-cutting changes and compared with the previously produced and very familiar Model 70, however, it was immediately declared to be lacking. The new design of the rifle was swiftly and severely criticized by both gun writers and riflemen alike for its perceived lesser amount of control and feed issues, making the original action much more prized.
The post-1964 action has been further improved over the years. Thanks to a refined bolt head design, the bolt is now less wobbly when open, and the action is now generally considered on par with the CRF action. Under normal conditions, the action's new design is no less reliable, and although the simplified construction is certainly less elegant, some of the changes could be considered improvements, having made the action stronger.p. 244 Bolt Action Rifles by Frank de Haas, DBI Books INC, Northfield ILL, USA, 1971, Also, the pressed checkering, one of the most reviled changes, was likewise done away with as soon as machine-cut checkering became available. All things considered, in normal situations, not much to choose between the two versions remains at present, apart from personal preference.
1968 Model 70 In 1968, further revisions were made to the Model 70 in part to address consumer concerns.p244 Bolt Action Rifles by Frank de Haas, DBI Books, Northfield ILL, USA, 1971, An "antibind" feature was introduced to make operation of the action smoother, which comprised a groove in an extended right locking lug operating on a rib on the right side of the receiver. This made the action noticeably smoother to operate and has been retained to the present day. A steel floorplate and stainless magazine follower were introduced, partially revoking changes introduced in the 1964 model. The alloy trigger guard was retained.
1992 to 2006 Model 70