Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 1986 Winchester Model 70 XTR Featherweight Wintuff stock

I thought I would post a pretty uncommon Model 70. I never come across these anymore and rarely see them on the net with little to no info on them.




This is a 1986 M70 XTR Featherweight 270 with the Wintuff laminate stock. I remember seeing these new back in the late 1980's Winchester catalog but not in the mid 1980's. One came through my LGS a while back and I grabbed it up simply because it was so striking looking and in excellent shape. I assumed it was a 1988-89 model but it's serial number has it early 1986. From my limited research, it appears they only made this particular featherweight rifle one year in 1986. Please fill in any details if you know of any more info.



Anyway, it is a unique looking Featherweight and the "Wintuff" laminate stock makes it notably lighter. The rifle had a horrible trigger and I could tell it was never removed from the stock. I removing the stock only to find 30 years of dust and no oil on any parts. Looks like the gun was never shot. Bluing under the stock was perfect and without any pitting. Everything looked as new. I gave it a 3# trigger job and cleaned the gun up. Trigger is a dream now.

Great shooter with Fusion 150 grain. One hole groups with letting the barrel cool down between shots.



Quality is very good for its time. The bronze trigger just adds to the overall camo look and "cool factor". The pistol grip is more slender than all my other featherweight rifles. No plastic parts or plastic trigger guards on this baby.




Today's Model 70 is most certainly a better shooting package with its target crown, MOA trigger, and CRF extractor. Probably the best Model 70 ever built.
That said, these older push feed Model 70's can still be a good shooter and a heck of a bargain with their value only going up. They have their own charm and significance in the Model 70 time line that needs to be appreciated in their own right.

I highly recommend buying one of these "Wintuff" laminate Featherweights if you see a clean one up for sale.