Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors MOD 70 Carbine Short Action info

Good evening everyone.
I was hoping to get some info on a rifle I have. From my research its a 83-84. M70 20" Carbine Short action in .243. It has the smaller stock with red pad and is actually marked carbine, guess this was dropped on later models. It is drilled for iron sights as well as a receiver peep. Condition is pretty good. Metal is in good shape and bluing is good. Stock has a couple of dents but no scratches through the finish.

My question is, I picked this up as a rifle for my kids to use when they get old enough. I think it would do nicely for that role and it shoots around an inch with a couple of loads. Problem is that I have several other rifles that can fulfill that role. This is my only .243 that I own and am considering moving her to cut the cartridge from my inventory. Is there any additional value added to the rifle because of it being a carbine model vs a FW? And if so what would you guys value it on the market these day? I tried looking for comps but haven't found any other ones like this. Any help/ info would be appreciated.

If I recall correctly gunbroker had a few that went from 800-1000 a month or two ago. Mostly the lower side of that range. I always thought that would be a great rifle for teen or the wife. Glws

No special value and probably less than a comparable 70 FWT. The few chambered in 250 Savage are worth significantly more. Closed GB auctions show several in .308 going in the $8-900 range. As always, value is in the eye of the buyer and yours might sell for more or less.

I saw a Winchester M70 SA in 243 WIN a couple of days ago, but it wasnt a carbine. First one I had seen in awhile, I believe it was priced $715?

Thank you everyone for your input. Pretty much confirms what I was thinking. Definitely still on the fence about it. Problem is that if I keep it Ill probably want to start rolling my own rounds for it and it will only snowball from there.

Do you need the money? If so, sell it. If not, then there’s no real harm in keeping it. It won’t go down in value. Maybe search out a set of replacement sights for it. They look cool on these carbines.

Sounds like you are on the fence. That is not an '83 though, as the first short actions came out in '84. They marked that on the barrel, as yours is. Yours was actually made in '85. Nice rifles, but most guys prefer the fwt to be honest. Even though the carbine is more rare, I don't see it as any more "valuable" than a comparable fwt. The fwt model is nicer looking. If it were me, I'd probably look for a fwt stock to throw that action into, but that is just me. As you should know, that would make a damn good rifle for a new shooter or someone that is recoil sensitive. The 243 is an excellent cartridge. You can do a lot with that rifle if you select the proper bullets. They are flat shooting, and generally very accurate. As for "value", I'd place that at or around $900.00. If you are serious about selling it, I'd start it out at that price on gunbroker and see how much it sells for. Good luck with it, whichever route you take.

It really depends on where you look too. Locally I can buy that rifle for $500.00. Here's a much more desirable model, that I bought a few months ago. Just for refernce:



One reason I always suggest listing it on gunbroker, or checking completed sales there, when assessing value..

Not being a "winchester " guy even though I love the action, have a love affair with the Kimber 84s and Ruger 77s. I have a question regarding 1 piece vs 2 piece bottom metal. Are the stocks the same/different? If I find a newer FW stock would i also have to source a 1 piece bottom set?

They sell a plastic spacer that will convert a 1 piece stock to use 2 piece bottom metal.

I’d give my left nut for one of those in 308

Very interesting rifle. I haven't see "Short Action" fully spelled out like that, I'm used to a "SA" abbreviation

I feel ya, if she were a .308 it wouldn't even be a question. Shot her again this weekend, she's a shooter for sure. Just on the fence if I want another cartridge to have to juggle.

Just aquired a 308. [img]https://i.postimg.cc/zvDm8vgP/IMG-Z32-scaled.webp[/img] [img]https://i.postimg.cc/j5MQVfj3/IMG-Z21-scaled.webp[/img]

It was common for the first year and second year short actions. I have a 22-250 fwt made in '84 that is the same way.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1034857826

223 from same era; see even fewer in this chambering.

... well I'm really trying to thin things out, but I now have a pretty irrational urge for one of these ...

Have one in 250 also.

I was in high school. Friend of mines Mom worked at Kmart. Of all places they had one like this in 250. I was hunting with a Savage 99 in 250 and wanted it bad, but high school kid and no money.

Went back to look at the 243 WIN that I mentioned and they marked it up to $850