Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors 1954 Model 70 220 Swift

Picked this one up this morning, pre 64 Model 70 in 220 Swift, no safe queen, has been well used but not abused.
Some finish loss, no major gouges, checkering still fairly sharp, the wood has pretty nice grain with light tiger striping almost the whole length.
Metal is decent, wear at carry points, barrel is a matte finish which I think is correct for this vintage.
Main concern is the bore, clean and shines but may be pretty worn, will have to see how it shoots.
Came with 5 boxes ammo, vintage Boyt sling and a Weaver K6 which is nice and clear.














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Very cool old rifle. Thanks for sharing..

Throat erosion is frequently an issue with the Swift....

That's a stainless steel barrel....

Yes, I knew that and it does have me concerned but I figured I could part it out for the 700 I got in it if I had to.

Shoot it and let us know how it does. That old scope looks great on that rifle. Looks like it's been on there for a while. My 270 fwt had one (except a K4) just like it, when I bought it. The original owner told me it had been on there for a loooooong time...

Nice old Model 70. It sounds like you bought it right!

And yes, as Poconojack pointed out, they did come with stainless steel barrels which give them a matte finish look.

donsm70

Thanks all, got to looking at it a little closer and I may have been overly critical of the bore, the problem is it shines so much that any strong light blinds to the point you can't make out the rifling, using a subdued light I can see good sharp rifling. The proof will be in the shooting.
The Weaver had a little surprise, I could not get the turret caps off with my fingers, they are o-ring sealed, when I got them off I found finger adjustable turrets, I dislike coin slot turrets.
Hope to get it out to the range Tuesday and see what it will do.

SWEET rifle, congratulations, I hope it has plenty of throat left for many years of enjoyment.

I'm done buying M70s, but I'd buy that one! Mucho nice.
Bob

Some throat erosion does not mean that's it's no longer accurate. You got a great deal. I would keep it exactly as is.

Never say never..

Nice rifle!

The condition it's in is about right to go ahead and use without trepidation, and rifles are for using...I'd have a hard time justifying NOT buying it.

I have a 1960 or '61 M70 in .264 and it shoots well. I don't want to know what the throat looks like.

Sometimes it's better to not know. I've had some where I couldn't even find the lands when trying to establish an OAL. I just load them long and they still shoot good...

I have a mint 6X Lyman All-American that would look perfect on that M70. Love the dark stock...
Bob

I think the weaver k6 looks great on there. I actually went back to my old Weaver K4 on my 270 fwt. I might even hunt it that way.... Might... Maybe...

I've always been a Lyman freak...grew up in CT, just a short distance from the old Lyman factory. I still have several minty Lymans ready to mount on rifles I'll probably never buy.
Bob

I've got a place for a 6x All-American, should you ever want to sell it.
Would look great on my '37 Gov't 06.

Those Lyman's are nice looking scopes and do look great on pre 64 model 70's. That all American would be bad azzed and retro on an old rifle...

How long is the barrel?

Vintage, period correct scopes may be great if one only plans to look at a rifle, but they leave a lot to be desired in the field. Have had two old Weaver's fog up when hunting in the rain and snow, two valuable days lost and I will no longer take a chance with 50 or 60 year old optics, ymmv....