Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Pre '64 375h&h

That's where you are wrong. Very wrong... Please go to the savage forum or the other hunting rifle forum and blabber your bs. A pre 64 is perfect the way it came from the factory. The only thing that can make it better is by going with a McMillan like the one I posted a pic of. Nothing else needs to be done to it. It will still retain its value and worth even if you do use it hard. By the way, using it hard and taking care of it doesn't mean throwing it in the mud and dragging it behind a pickup truck down a long dirt road. I've used the fu ck out of rifles and they still look good because of the care they are given... Hint...

You are on a gun forum and proclaim it is ludicrous and bs for someone to make modifications to their production rifle?, oh, except for the mods you make??

Quite a few pre-64 rifles have been modified, quite a few guild parts have been designed to improve a pre-64, quite a few smithing techniques have been developed to improve a pre-64, and quite a few guild, custom, and semi-custom rifles have been built on a pre-64.

Question I posed is valid. Outside a desirable original collector's piece, why are safety mods off limits. The pre-64 has probably the single worst gas venting design of any popular bolt rifle. I've probably shot out more barrels on pre-64 match rifles than the pre-64 s you touched. Not all, but quite a bunch were modified ala Dunlap to divert gas. My close friend is a guild member, some of the best pre-64 builds use a custom safety to divert gas. That safety is a great improvement over original. None of that is bs, and none of that is nasty and juvenile as your name calling posts tend to be if another poster disagrees to what you espouse as being collectable, or acceptable owner mods.

Let the man use that rifle as he sees fit.

PS, use and wear is measured against, and reduces 100% value, if you had a valuable collector piece. It would be impossible to hunt a collector's rifle and not reduce its value, unless it was someone like POTUS.

I'd be interested in what these diversions look like. Do you have pictures or could you describe them fully?

One was a modification to the shroud, the second was a retrofit gas block, the other was a gas deflecting safety, such as made by Ed Lapour.

I was around a number of match rifle competitors who ran a ton of reloads through unmodified gas handling pre-64s, without issue. But, if you ever experienced a primer or case let go in one, likely you make mods. I believe the shroud mods are in one of the published smithing manuals I have around, that was fairly common Roy Dunlap mod. Will dig it up. The safety is still sold through Ed Lapour, and is highly regarded. The gas block retro fit came with the invent of the classics.

Put all that aside, someone who loves a pre-64, may also love Sunny Hill mods, bridge mods, stock mods, barrel mods etc., etc. I do not believe I've ever tailored a production rifle for my regular use, without making some modifications.

See no reason a noncollectable should be off limits.

Hi Gary,

I am very interested to see those modifications to improve the gas handling in the M70 pre-64.
Some time ago I contacted Mr. Ed Lapour to buy one of the compleate bolt shroud for my original pre 64 .375 H&H. He told me that, for the Winchester pre-64, he sell this shroud exclusivelly with the instalation included. Because of the wide dimentional variations between individual rifles....
Can you upload other info, like Roy Dunlap's, and/or other with pictures? Or a link to some information, perhaps?

Thank you!

PH

Unless the price is low and you can flip it for a profit I would not buy it. There is nothing on North American continent that can't be killed easily with the .30-06. The .375H&H has twice recoil of the .30-06 with nothing to offer US hunter hunting in the United States. To add insult to injury as they said you will need to buy expensive plastic replacement stock from Mcmillan if you choose to shoot this rifle which is more wasted money.

I hunt my Pre64 375 with the original stock and have had no problems. I don't think you need a McMillan or any other synthetic stock.

Give me a few days for my next break, I'm working through the weekend into next week. When I get back, can show modified shrouds from both a match rifle and a hunting rifle.

Looking forward to it--thanks.

Thank you very much, Gary!!

PH

I have a Pre 64 in 375 H&H that was built in 1946. Serial number is 57XXX. It is all original with no holes drilled in the rear bridge but it has had an express sight added to the barrel where the original was installed. I have owned it for years and I hunt with the iron sights. I have take several head of Elk with this combo.

Hello Gary,

Is there any chance to show the modified shrouds?
Thank you!

PH

The modified shroud for better gas handling is a solution waiting for the problem.

How many model 70's have been made through the years?

If this was a problem it would have been addressed and fixed.

The modified shroud looks just like a model 70 shroud that had a flat washer welded to the front.