Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Bedding the new Win / Featherweight stock .... Yes/No ?

What is everyone doing to weather proof/accurize the Winchester Featherweight stock? I know it's floated but I am wanting to bed the action to make a strong platform. No magnums with this one just .243 Winchester short action.

No I am not trading stocks. Not yet any way. The build is coming off a stock featherweight.

Ceracoat, trigger work (springs), maybe a barrel, and whatever I can do to make the stock worthy of Oregon beatings.

I really want this rifle in my collection. I think it will be a winner.

I have not needed to touch any of my FN Winchester Model 70 Featherweights other than to adjust the MOA trigger lighter. They are the best of the M70 evolution.
I own 4. My latest 300 Win Mag Featherweight is going out tomorrow after bear. Shot it 3 days this week. It loves 180 Fusion and 180 Power points. 1" group at 200 yards if I let the barrel cool down between shots.

Same with me. Have a 270 FN that is a real shooter.
You might want to consider coating the barrel channel and action areas with some kind of sealer if you will be hunting in the rain a lot but mine certainly didn't need any tweaking other than some Ernie's springs to shoot well.

They already come half decently bedded at the recoil lug and tang from the factory.

I also left my factory bedded stock along - shoots great. A very accuarate rifle.

All I did was put in an Ernie spring.

You guys are all pretty much spot on. However, every rifle is not the same. I've had 4 or 5 FN's and all of them were bedded nice from the factory except for 1 extreme weather. I'd check to see if the action is bedded nice and tight and not stressed. If it's good, I'd leave it alone...

That's good to know as I just picked up another featherweight in 243 myself. My delema is I need to chop 1/2" off the stock

Your not alone on the "extreme weather". Oddly enough the typical wood Featherweights have all been trouble free at my local range. The only new FN M70 that had trouble shooting a exceptionally good groups was a Extreme Weather??? It shot o.k groups but the wood stock Featherweights always seemed to shoot better than 1" MOA.

I am buying a new Featherweight. Compact in .243. As I have been buying bolt actions since 1962 and have a dozen right now this is something I have been into a long time. I have an autographed copy of Jack O'Connors The Hunting Rifle which I received from Lewiston, Idaho after I was drafted into the US Army.

Current Model 70s have held the quality almost beyond belief. I would sight the rifle in and make darn sure you are not disturbing the typical 1 MOA accuracy. I have a number from Super Grades to lightweights and several special editions. They all are incredibly accurate.

As I own four .243s I know that caliber pretty well. I would be surprised if bedding the barrel was necessary!

The new compact Featherweight is a nice alternative. However cutting down the stock length of pull is very often sensible. Companies who custom build rifles rarely use the standard 13.75 inch LOP found on current Winchester Model 70s! My son and one grandson are taller than I and they like the 13 inch LOP as well as I do.

Well thanks everyone for the flowing reviews. I too enjoy several Model 70's but do not possess the knowledge learned here.

I just wanted to add a new member to the stable and have been dragging my feet on "which" .243 to buy.

The weapon will see lots of rain and bad weather but I just love that classic featherweight look.

And I don't have one in the collection yet.

Super Grade and Extreme Weather have filled all of my needs so far so I was curious to the quirks of the featherweight.

I may shorten the length of pull as I hunt with a backpack so often and that darn strap always gets in the way. We'll see. I hate chopping on something before a serious review.

Thanks again...

I have a dozen Model 70s. Amoung my all time favorites is the Jack O'Connor Tribute Win Model 70 in .270 and the Cabela's Special Anniversary .257 Roberts Deluxe Featherweight. Strangely that was the only Featherweight I owned until this new .243 Compact.

In several of his books Jack O'Connor related the introduction of the .243 Winchester and the .244 Remington. Winchester introduced the .243 in the Featherweight and Reminton introduced the .244 In a much heavier rifle. Despite the very pragmatic attributes of the .244 it fell flat on it's face and the.243 was a roaring success. I started my bolt action entry with the then popular .222 Remington. I followed the ups and downs of many calibers and kept putting off buying the .243. Today it is my most owned Model 70. The Featherweight is one of the most popular Model 70s Winchester ever made. Another Model 70 .243 I use a lot is the Ultimate Shadow SS. It is a superb field rifle.

I have found though that wood stocks hold up extremely well over time. I also own several of the Boyd Black Laminate stocks that that company calls Pepper. I am not totally convinced that stainless barrels and actions have any advantages over chromoly blued rifles. Based on price the Featherweight is an excellent way to go.I also am not a great believer in a cheek piece on Model 70s. I have yet to see any practical field hunting reason for that feature.

Totally agree. My entire family has used M70 Featherweight for 30 years in every kind of weather. They still look great. With today's clp like G96, it repels water to the point I carry any blued hunting rifle in any weather as I do my SS rifles. I wipe down all my rifles after each day of hard hunting so it's no big deal. In fact, I just came in from bear hunting today with my 300 win Featherweight and wiped it down for tomorrow's hunt.

I also do not prefer a cheek piece on my M70s. They add weight and are not needed as a carry/general hunting gun.

I can't FATHOM not bedding a stock.

If any of you guys have a LA that you are going to chop contact me first. I have one that a previous owner had cut down and I had to add 1 inch of spacers to get the LOP long enough for me. Would sure like to find one to swap/buy.

I have puzzled over the wording coating the wooden Featherweight stock!

Many wooden stocks hold up extremely well over time. I know of almost NO composite stocks being refinished and looking amazing after many years of use. Wooden stocks though are often being refinished after many years of hard use. I would stick with the Winchester's factory finish. Many years I'm the future you could refinish it with excellent results.

I would order a McMillan FW and cerekote the metal. Bed and shoot.