Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Winchester model 70 extreme weather

Was wondering if it is possible to change the stock on the above rifle to a mcmillan featherweight and it fit the barrel contour and everything like it should? I've had this gun in 7mm-08 for about 4 years now and just cant get used to the feel of the stock that's on it. The pistol grip on it is just awkward to me and my hand just cant grip it like I'd like. I'd like to change it to a featherweight that has more of a traditional feel like my ruger m77 stock because out of all my rifles it has the best feeling stock for what I like.

When I toyed with the idea of putting a FWT in a Mcm stock they said sporter and FWT weren't drop-in interchangeable (for more than just barrel contour). They might also have been tired of my questions....

Yes, but it will only drop in if it was ordered/specd that - with the EW contour - from McMillan. Otherwise you will need to open the barrel channel. Winlite takeoffs won’t be an option for your 7/08 because of action length. I’ don’t believe they are making the fw pattern any longer so you may wish to post a wtb in the classifieds. Good luck. 👍

Yes you can, McMillan will make the inlet for the EW contour barrel. I dropped my EW in .270 in a FWT Edge stock. As stated McMillan dropped the FWT stock, so I'd just get the Classic or Super Grade in edge fill.

Did the McMillan drop the overall weight of the gun any?

Figure 25-26 ounces for the featherweight in edge - so yes, they will - modestly.

Another good option is the hunters edge. Excellent stock on the EW, and yes, it drops the weight of the rifle:


Rifle: 7 3/4 pounds all up, as shown in the pic.. Shot alright too:


It changes the whole demeaner of the rifle. When I bought this 30-06, I bought the stock here and had it in hand before the rifle got to me. I dislike the original B&C stock that is on the EW. Your mileage may vary, but I seriously doubt it..

BSA,
Did that EW above have an Ernie’s spring in it?
I may know where it resides - or it’s twin, perhaps.

My 308 looks exactly like BSA's rifle. It is a Hunters Edge which I think looks better than the Featherweight. I actually bought mine used on this site. It was originally made to fit a Featherweight barrel, but I got it relatively cheap and just opened up the barrel channel to fit the EW barrel. Mine shoots great, it is roughly 1/2 lb lighter. It is my favorite rifle.

Did you have to modify the stock to fit the EW barrel or did everything just drop right in perfect?

If you order your stock from McMillan it should be correct.

Yes, I put the ernies spring in all of my BACO MOA triggered rifles. I sold it to Matt444 here. The trigger pull weight was 2.5 pounds on the nose and was very consistent.

Its an excellent combo for sure. They handle very nicely and are much lighter than most rifles I've used. Kind of a winning combination, as far as I'm concerned. However, at the time I had this one I also had 5 other 30-06 rifles and decided my trusty pre 64 fwt was the one that I'd rather hang on to. The pre 64 actually shoots better, as well.. No flies on the BACO EW though, except for the damn factory stock..

No modifications at all, except I glass bed all of my rifles. I bought this stock used here from a fire member. Got a heck of a great deal on it too. Somewhere around $350 and it was like new. The stock was meant for a sporter weight model 70 and that was just about right for a good freefloat. Keeping in mind, the EW has about the same contour as the factory sporter weight barrels... Here's another one that I had that originally had a sporter weight barrel, but had an EW barrel screwed on. Again, no mods done to the stock for the barrel:


That is another hunters compact stock, like the one I posted earlier on the EW, except it does not have the "edge" fill. I also put that style stock on some of my pre 64 model 70's. Even the fwt's:


These stocks work very well on a fwt rifle or ew because of the shorter forend length. Good ergo's as well. Some say the drop at the comb is a little much, but I don't find that at all. To each their own..