Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Winchester model 320

Here
https://www.gunauction.com/buy/15844000

Those "Wildcats" were Russian Tula made guns from about 15 years ago..

Bert does get grumpy at times, but he’s the lever and single shot guy over there. His interests are anything made before 1964. Louis Luttrell is the pre64 guy. From what I been told few of the members over on WACA are retired/former employees from Winchester custom shops days. I need to become a member over their one of these days.

When I lived in Oregon, and went to my club in Washington, I met guys that knew Bert personally. I'm still a member at that club, but need to go and see them when the weather gets better.

For those interested. Froze my azz off earlier today:









Love the little rifle. It functioned very well. On a better day, I am really going to wring it out. Couldn't do that today because of the strong winds. I don't know how much of it was hitting me, since the berms block out a lot of it. But when the wire I put on the big target backer board broke on both sides, I called it quits!!!

Here's a pic of where the wood was relieved for the rear aperture:

The rifle cleaned up great, as you can see in the pics. Hopefully you guys are staying inside, where it's warm!!!

That looks more like a Mossberg, than it does a Winchester.

Nice 👍👍

They did a nice job on the wood removal area of the rear sight. Nice shooting in tough conditions. Your Win 320 is in very nice condition.

You may get sub 0.5" groups at 50 yards with good ammo ( SK plus, Wolf Match etc). O.71" for 10 shots in the wind is a great start.

You gotta love a nice bolt action 22 LR rifle.

That m320 looks like it is shooting well. I don't think it will have any trouble putting five rounds into 1/2" at 50 yards on demand once you get it sorted.

Based on my experience, the temperature affected your group sizes as much as the wind. The lube on most 22LR target rounds does not do well as the temps drop below 35 degrees or so and accuracy degrades a bit. Also the velocity drops below freezing, hence the need for specialized Biathlon ammo.

Your groups should be 10-20% tighter from that rifle in warmer weather.

Thanks jk. I'm expecting very good results from this rifle, once it's warmer and less windy. I didn't stick around very long today, as I knew I would be wasting ammo. I have a few different types and brands of ammo to do some real testing with, as soon as the weather cooperates. Like Wolf Match Extra, Federal Gold Medal Match, CCI standard velocity target, Eley prime Aguila standard velocity, RWS, a small amount of Lapua Midas, American Eagle, and some other high velocity hollow points. I look forward to seeing how it performs. I was actually quite surprised at how well it did, in todays conditions. Looking good so far though.. My only gripe is the mag release. It is different than any other rifle I have. I kept thinking I had to push the release button forward, instead of pulling it toward me. I'm also getting ready to order a 10 round magazine, since I mainly shoot 10 shot groups with my rimfires.

For sure buddy. I went again today. The wind slightly died down as I was leaving. After shooting this group, I figured I'd leave on a great note:



I left the range around 3:45 today, and the wind was on the decline. Shot the rifle enough today though, that I know it's a keeper!! One I put on a list, of "DO NOT SELL!!!"

I'll really be crying when I shoot my last box of this stuff!!! I may just save my last box, since it's kind of a collectors item, from what I hear.



Fun day though, even though it was a bit cold. Who was saying something about the rifle probably being able to shoot 1/2" 5 shot groups??


Then threw some Lapua Midas "L" in it, that I bought the other day:

Dang it, I forgot I had some RWS that I also need to test in this rifle!!!


One that surprised me the most today. As, I sometimes don't have good luck with CCI standard velocity ammo:

My Savage mk2 FVT, that I recently traded for my new CZ 457 American love this ammo. Didn't find that out, until the last few months I owned it. If the lady that I traded it to, doesn't sell it in a few months, I'm going to go and buy it back!!

Aguila ammo:


Wolf Match Extra. First groups of day:



This is the reason I test multiple brands and types of ammo in my 22lr's. This is a great little rifle. It is, at this point, outshooting my new CZ 457 American. I understand the CZ's need some little extra tinkering though..

Not bad👍

Tag

Very nice BSA - saw some of your Federal Gold Medal Match yesterday at a gun show - he had two boxes marked at $18….probably could have gotten it for $15/box. Almost bought it but thought that damn stuff will shoot great and then I’ll run out🤔😄!!

Anyway good shooting and interesting results with that 320 - now go back and get that Savage - you’ll always regret it if you don’t!!

PennDog

Oh thanks buddy!! Dang, I have come to rely on that Federal Gold Medal Match ammo. If I found it at that price, I'd fork over the money!!! I know, it sounds expensive, but it shoots so well in all of my rifles. It shoots in the .3's in my Ruger 10/22 with the Kidd barrel. Just punches out ragged holes. It's nice to be able to put that kind of trust in ammo. Especially 22lr. I'm hoping to be able to find something newer that also shoots as well, so the search continues because my old Federal ammo isn't going to last forever!!

I know you have an appreciation for these older rifles. There's so much cool factor in them, and when I look at this one, it reminds me of the model 70. But it's much much lighter. There's tons of utility in this one too. My Savage is/was like that too. The main reason for buying that Savage was so I wouldn't use my 1949 Winchester model B as much. Also, sometimes it's more fun to do some azz whooping with a $400 rifle, over a $1,500.00 rifle. It's almost a given that the 52 is going to clean house, but guys don't expect an ugly plastic stocked Savage to shoot well. That savage was also one that really called my name. When I first saw it (120 miles from my house), it was hanging on the wall of a small gunshop. It weighed heavily on my mind, and it was a couple months before I visited that gunshop again, but I went back just to buy that dang Savage. It was still hanging there, and I bought it.

However, while shooting the little 320 yesterday, I thought to myself that I wished the Savage action was as nice as that rifle. Even though I polished the Savage bolt, and got it to working nice, it was never as smooth as any of my other bolt action 22lr's. You know how that is, you can feel the quality when you run the bolt of a Winchester model 52, or Remington 37. Those old rifles are damn hard to beat. This 320 is proving itself though. I appreciate the comments buddy..

BSA,

I’ll tell you what that guy will be at the next gun show in the area and if he still has that ammo I will pick it up for you (kinda thought about that after I got home yesterday🥴!)

I do appreciate the classics for sure and I know exactly what you mean when you speak of them - however, guns like your Savage ALWAYS intrigue me (that “only accurate rifles are interesting” thing!). Glad that you picked up that 320 though and are happy with it!

I do have several rifles that shoot really well but cost less than $3-400. One of my favorites to use at matches where no one knows me is a Norinco JW-15……looks like a real tomato stake but shoots right there with some of my best - put a few whoopings on guys using very high dollar rifles - warms the cockles of one’s heart😄!!

Keep up the reports they are very informative!!

PennDog

Thanks buddy!! If you do happen to pick it up, if it's there, I'd buy it from you and pay shipping. I appreciate it!!! Shoot me a PM, if you happen to get your hands on it!!!

As for these threads I start, I appreciate the information guys give me as well. I was thinking about this the other day, but I try to be dead honest about the results as well. Showing the good with the bad. And we all know, some of the ammo does not agree with certain rifles. I like to show what these rifles do with all sorts of ammo. Some we can probably assume it's going to shoot well, and then others may surprise us. I guess It would probably be better if I showed 5 10 shot groups, but that burns up a lot of ammo. Most times, I just shoot the white paper with the 1" orange dot in the center, and then I shoot a 10 shot group for score. I figure the 10 shots on the white paper should be enough to season the barrel for that particular ammo. Most times I pick similar ammo, shoot them, and then move on to the copper plated stuff. Some of my old match ammo has dried out lube too, so some of the testing may be somewhat inconclusive. But it is nice to see what a new rifle can do, even if I'm shooting in real crappy conditions. I have a hard time waiting for the perfect days. Plus, when I go, everyone else stays at home. ha ha..

Thanks PennDog. I'll keep you guys posted. Not that this is the best 22lr I've ever had, but it is a very solid option. If I found another one while out and about, I'd very likely buy it!!

Todays outing:



When was the last time you guys have seen any of that old RWS ammo??

Then I tried some old Federal ammo I bought yesterday. Had to go to Reno, so I grabbed this brick I saw last week. They wanted $35.00 for it, so since I like Federal ammo, I said what the hell:




That old high velocity hollow point ammo was not too bad. Someone labeled it "1989". So it is probably 35 years old, but still working well.

Then some new Norma Tac 22 ammo that I have not been having any luck with. Even in my very accurate 10/22's. This rifle shot it well enough, for what it is:



For that ammo, it's really not too bad, as I have gotten some real bad fliers with my other 22's. Even my Savage hated it. This rifle is just like a Timex watch, and it doesn't seem to be very finicky. That is always a plus!!!

The Winchester 490 is a semi-automatic rifle, a nice understudy for the Winchester 100. The Winchester hammerless lever action rimfires were the 150, 250. and 255.

FYI, Triple K makes 10 rounders for them, they need just a hair of filing on the catch. Mine feed great. Love the 320. Have a leupold 2-7 rimfire on mine. Trigger is heavy around 8lbs but manageable.