New to me pre-64 Winchester

[Lastmohecken]

No, it's not a lever gun this time. it's a model 70 Boltaction in .270, made in 1956. i looked at this thing a couple of times before at a local gunshop. It's really in pretty good shape, I think. But it doesn't have a front sight. It has some old Tally scope mounts on it. and it has the rounded blub for the rear sight, but has a blank in it. No front sight at all. The crown looks pretty good, and looks like factory to me. It has a 24" barrel. In 69 years who knows, maybe it had a 26 inch barrel and was cut off and recrowned. And I think that's what hurt it on price, because I picked it up, after some negotiations for $850 out the door. i figure it had been a slow mover for the shop, because of no front sight. i mean if it had a front and rear sight on it, original it would have been a 1200 dollar gun, i am sure. Anyway, shooting it will tell the story, we will see. I figured if the barrel is bad, the rifle would make a good candidate to re-barrel or rebore for 35 Whelen

The shop was speculating that the rifle might have been special order without a front sight, but in 1956, I kind of doubt. So the missing front sight is a mystery. Maybe the owner somewhere back down the road, had it removed or barrel shortened. I have done that to several rifles, myself.

I will try to post a picture, tomorrow.

[geobru]

In 1964 my dad took me to a gun shop to buy my first deer rifle with money I had earned on my paper route. I was in the market for a 30-06 and there were two on the used gun rack that caught my eye. One was a Remington 721 with open sights for $65 and the other was a beautiful Model 70 Winchester with a scope for $85. I really wanted that Winchester, but it didn't have a front sight on it. My dad pointed out that if the scope malfunctioned, there was no way to shoot it, so I bought the Remington.

The point of all this, other than to take a trip down memory lane, is that there were pre 64 Winchesters that didn't have front sights on them. As far as I know, it came from the factory like that.

[Lastmohecken]

In 1964 my dad took me to a gun shop to buy my first deer rifle with money I had earned on my paper route. I was in the market for a 30-06 and there were two on the used gun rack that caught my eye. One was a Remington 721 with open sights for $65 and the other was a beautiful Model 70 Winchester with a scope for $85. I really wanted that Winchester, but it didn't have a front sight on it. My dad pointed out that if the scope malfunctioned, there was no way to shoot it, so I bought the Remington.

The point of all this, other than to take a trip down memory lane, is that there were pre 64 Winchesters that didn't have front sights on them. As far as I know, it came from the factory like that.

Thanks for telling me about that. I know later on it was not uncommon to not have sights from the factory, but in 1956 scopes were not as reliable, and many people still relied on iron sights more than they do today. So, I just thought it odd for as old a rifle as it is. And to confuse me more, it does have a dovetail for the rear sight.

[Lastmohecken]

Here's some pictures.

Winchester pre 64 full view.jpg

Winchester pre 64 front sight.jpg

Winchester pre 64 rear sight area.jpg

[Lastmohecken]

A couple more pictures. I guess I will mount a scope on it for testing, and see if this thing will shoot. I don't like the looks of those Talley scope mounts, and will change them out more than likely. But other than that, the old gun doesn't look half bad for its age. I always wanted one of these, but they always seemed so expensive when I was young man, compared to a Remington 700 or something.

Winchester pre 64 butt stock view.jpg

Winchester pre 64 bolt action area.jpg

[geobru]

Thanks for telling me about that. I know later on it was not uncommon to not have sights from the factory, but in 1956 scopes were not as reliable, and many people still relied on iron sights more than they do today. So, I just thought it odd for as old a rifle as it is. And to confuse me more, it does have a dovetail for the rear sight.

Your comment on scopes not being as reliable as they now is exactly the reason for passing on the rifle.

That is a really nice rifle!

[Lastmohecken]

Thanks, actually I was bit scared of it, but the more I look at and examine it, the better I feel about it. When I look at the lack of wear on it, for its age, I think maybe it was a bargain compared to how much they usually cost, but I have not shot it yet, so the jury is still out.

[JOG]

The Rifleman's rifle!
Great old Winny!

[Steve in MO]

I picked up a pre-64 Model 70 .270 for my oldest son's first hunting rifle. It's a year younger than mine, but mine's 30-06. It had a Leupold scope with a frozen magnification ring. I sent it back to Leupold and they sent me a brand new scope. I mounted it back on there, then sighted it in with some .270 handloads with some 748 topped by a 130gr Nosler Accubond.

Those old pre-64s are definitely worth tracking down.

[Lastmohecken]

I picked up a pre-64 Model 70 .270 for my oldest son's first hunting rifle. It's a year younger than mine, but mine's 30-06. It had a Leupold scope with a frozen magnification ring. I sent it back to Leupold and they sent me a brand new scope. I mounted it back on there, then sighted it in with some .270 handloads with some 748 topped by a 130gr Nosler Accubond.

Those old pre-64s are definitely worth tracking down.

Yes, they are. I am still getting to know this one. It had some old Tally mounts on and I went to install a scope on it today for testing and figured out that the mounts are for 30mm instead of 1", I didn't really like those mounts anyway, so I removed them and will order some Leupold's or something for a 1" scope. I wanted to test it out before buying stuff for it, I so I decided to shoot today, without sights on it. And I am happy to say, it fed, fired and ejected flawlessly, just like I would expect a good Model 70, pre 64 to do. Recoil was very mild, I guess I have been shooting too many big boomers lately, so this one was very sweet to shoot. Time to order scope mounts, I recon.