Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Need help removing action from stock, Winchester model 70 fwt.

I have a .270 win, fwt stock. Been having problems with accuracy and it appears the stock and barrel are touch and not free floating any more. tried the dollar bill test between the stock and barrel and it does not freely slide and gets hung up. Ive tried to separate the stock from the barrel and it will not budge. Removed all the screws and its almost as if the action is glued to the barrel.

Any suggestions on how to remove the action from the stock?

There are 3 screws- did you get the middle one??

Have you owned this since new? Is it bedded? Have you ever removed it before?

If it is of recent manufacture they use a hot glue type material around the recoil lug. That could be holding on. Make sure all the screws are removed, open the floorplate and there is likely one in there as well as the front and behind the trigger guard. If it still doesn't come out, put the front screw in several turns but not tight. Put the screwdriver in the slot and tap the driver with a mallet or handle. This should loosen the action to drop it out unless someone screwed up a bedding job and glued the action in.

I have never taken it apart and I have owned it since new, so I know that it has never been bedded.

I will try the screw driver and mallet and see if this works.

Thanks

US repeating used a thermo-setting material for a while in the 90s. Mine have come apart but I supposed it could be sticky. There is a screw under the floor plate- don't miss that one.

Put it in the freezer overnight and whack it good... not likely it will refuse. Do not use the screw to force it unless you want to replace them.

rjf,

What Sitka deer posted.

Contrary to what gzig posted, the hot-glue bedding hasn't been used since M70 production was moved to South Carolina almost a decade ago. Both the SC and Portugal M70's use epoxy bedding around the recoil lug, which is often very tight.

Don't use a screw driver and mallet. USRAC used a funky epoxy that many of us refer to as "hot glue bedding". They weren't real good about using release agent sometimes:

Lay down a bath towel, folded 2X. Remove all 3 action screws (unless it's the 1-piece unit) and the bolt. Turn rifle upside down, get a good grip on the stock near the fore-most screw and, with a rubber mallet, give the barrel a good couple taps just ahead of the fore-end tip. You'll be able to feel when it begins to let loose. And if, by some chance, it comes free all of a sudden it won't be damaged when it drops a couple inches onto the towel..