Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters JB Sports Afield Article - M70

Well......that is either the first thing you've said to surprise me, OR the most surprising thing I've read from you.

Those pre 64 stocks were THE reason I never bought any. I understand $$$ but it seems to me they dropped a turd in the churn there.

Jerry

Those 2 things could get me to subscribe and I dropped ALL my mags by 2000.

Thnx for the heads up.


Jerry

Jerry the pre 64 stocks were serviceable in their day of iron sights,and the monte carlos were not bad but hardly ideal.

The bedding was nothing to write home about but the funny thing is many of the rifles still shot well because the barrels were so good and the barreled action laid flat and without a lot of tension.

But if I'm getting together a rifle I intend to use a lot, I buy a stock for it.

Bob, I understand.

When I was 'parusing' Pre 64s, buying another stock was not an option for me.


Jerry

Bob,

I've even owned a pre-'64 or two that shot REALLY well with the forend screw tightened hard--as in 3-shot groups with all holes touching. And they would do it again and again. According to today's dogma, this is impossible!

John I had Swift like that! It shot some ridiculous 300 groups with the screw tightened.

Others have varied in whether the screw was tight or just firm or even removed,but that's to be expected.

My last 264 was a hammer with the screw just snugged.....not farmer tight!

I have two pre 64 FW's here with factory stocks,a 3006 and 270,and both shoot fine.I may leave them as is,currently having no need to change them out.


I did finally get SA and read the article which I enjoyed. You did a great job factually pulling together the sequence of M70 production and changes etc. I had forgotten lots of that myself!

I like the way you left the issue of the "best" M70 hanging out at the end...

Glad you liked the article!

The variations that work with pre-'64 forend bedding are almost endless. One of the pre-'64's I didn't own, but restocked, belongs to a local friend. Back when Reinhart Fajen was still in business (and I still had time to do stock work) I put on a nicely figured Classic, checkering it in a traditional point pattern. But instead of messing with the forend screw I removed it, and simply bedded the forend completely. My buddy had messed with the forend screw, and had the rifle shooting pretty well, but after dumping the screw it started shooting little bughole groups with 150 Partitions! In fact, I seem to recall that its more accurate than any other pre-'64 in a big game chambering he's ever owned, and he's owned dozens.

Did it stay sighted in?

Game can be taken with the first shot.

Target rifles must shoot groups.

I'm left handed. They are not. I've handled and shot them. But quite frankly it isn't hard to spot rounded corners and dished polishing. I've spent hundreds of dollars putting defined lines back where they should be on "classics" and have to laugh when I hear that the newer ones are a much better product. They are basically the same minus a good trigger.