Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only M70 Classic Safari Express v. Classic Super Express

They are interchangeable. I haev done the reverse.

JW

That part should be OK. Here is a picture of new Safari and when open click the litte picture lower down showing barreled action and stock. You will see in the stock a section of wood removed in front of where the barrel lug goes. That is from early models, in fact at least back to 1970. The barrel lug had a forward section and so they are still cutting the stock the same.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/imagepreview.asp?mid=535116#center

Maybe one thing to check is the later models had the one piece floor plate. If I had to guess I don't think that would be a problem.

Good info, Mike. Those are some nice pictures that I didn't know existed. I didn't think about the one-piece floor plate, so you're right, that could be another issue, but not insurmountable.

Funny, but I don't recall that other section of wood removed in front of the barrel lug on mine, but then again, it's been so long since I've paid any attention to that area of the stock that I just might have missed and dismissed it. By the way, you gotta love that nice hot-melt "bedding" material they show in their pictures! HA!

Test

The lug use to have an extension and the lug also protruded out to the sides. In other words if you bedded it epoxy would finish between the lug and the barrel.

That lug with its position and the way Winchester attached it has always been a negative and for real consistent grouping the Stainless were better because they did not have them.

The Wby system is better as it is only about an inch out from the barrel.

The M70s and especially in 375 don't need the lug. I have owned heap of M70s in 375 and 458 but especially 375 and I use to have the lug drilled and tapped and a screw in them, bedded and the barrel free floating either side.

If they are bedded (and no take down screw) and floated either side they are not consistent as the lug is too far from the action screw. As they come from the factory they can work quite well because of forend tip pressure and so the barrel can't whip around and change the position of the barrel lug.

But the one peice floor plate might be a problem. A fellow who will know posts as Headache and was a Winchester engineer who then went to Kimber. He is/was on this forum and also AR.

For anyone buying a used 375 Headache has the serial numbes of a group with feeding problems. I had two of them and one was a one piece floor plate walnut and the other a stainless. They foul up on the second cartridge. You can tell by looking at the rifle if it is a problem model as the magazine box is narrowed in by a sort crimping. In other words, the back plate of the box is the same and the sides are pushed. From memory Headache ( I forget his name but it is a Polish type of name) told me it was because of an effort by Wicnhester to get the 375 and 416 Remington (when loaded with blunt round nose) to feed from the same magazine setup.

Darn another belt & suspenders issue.

Mine has the stepped magazine. I polished the lips and the rifle also took a trip through the New Haven Custom shop for accurizing. I thought it was a plus for soft nosed bullet protection. Now I am wondering if I should replace it and if so with what? The factory box is pretty chintzy looking. Are there any other options other than Sunny Hill? Beautiful but pricey.

It it is OK I would leave it.

The ones that don't work are way out. The bullet hits the side of the chamber, even with spitzers.

I sometimes think where a 338 woukld be better than a 375 is it less demanding. A 338 in a Howa with no sights is fine

Brownell's sells a Wyatts Outddoor full length Model 70 Magazine box for $42.50 so itis worth a try at that price. SKU is 100-000-568.

JW

I've got a Safari Express in .416 Rem and another in .375 H&H. The .416 I bought new and bedded myself. I bedded the front recoil lug just like the rear one, so that it would bear on the rear facing surface, but not on the sides, front or bottom. I also free floated it. It shoots as accurately as I can hold it, pretty much. 1" 3 shot groups at 100 yards are typical for the loads it likes best. Northfork FP solids are the most accurate bullets I've ever used in it and will give less than 1" most always. So...I've never experienced what I would call accuracy issues. The .375 I picked up used and I haven't shot it as much. However, with Rem. factory 270 gr. SP, it will shoot around 1-1.5". However, it was bedded by a real gunsmith and I'm not real certain exactly how he did it.

I've also got a Stainless/synthetic .375 without the barrel lug, as Mike says. It also is very accurate, especially with 300gr. Swift A-frame handloads. I haven't done anything to it. It is just as it left the factory. I can't remember off-hand whether it came free floated from the factory or not. Most likely not since most of the synthetic models were not.

I've never had any issues with any of them feeding. Even the .416 with the FP solids didn't have a problem.

Yeah, Mike, I often debate using the .338 over the .375 since I don't think the .375 gains you a whole lot. However, there just is something about the ol' .375 that feels right when you're carrying it. I've shot a lot of elk and a few other animals with the .338 and I love my .416, so unfortunately, the .375 usually stays home.

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Test,

I have had them where they were good but plenty of then not so good. Bug changes in point of impact with different loads, fussy with loads. But the stainless were all good. In my experience the main offenders will come from the PF series of rifles. I think in general the factory barrels and not just Winchester got better from maybe mid 1990s or so. But tying down the front lug usually gets an offender going OK.

Thank you all for the great info, my gun I found out came from the win. custom shop in 458 win. mag rechambered to 458 lott, the odd thing about it is that it has a 20 inch barrel or 22 inches including the muzzle brake. It doesn't have a barrel band but a sling attachment under the barrel. It has a one piece floor plate. It has the G301xxx serial number, according to what I could find on the internet it was made some time between 1994-1998, because in 1999 they switched to the safari express.

Mike - I'm having a very similar feeding issue with mine that for the life of me I cannot figure out. happens on the second round when I load three into the magazine.