Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters pre 64' model 70 accuracy

I am considering buying a pre 64' model 70 in 30-06. It has a perfect bore. What should I expect for accuracy? Would bedding the action mess with the value if gun is all original? I just want the gun. Will probably use occasionally for whitetail and perhaps elk one day. Accuracy is not the reason I would buy it, just curious.

It's your rifle, if you want to bed it; bed it. Most pre-64's, including all those that I own, are worn enough that they are not collector pieces and their value is in their smoothness and heritage, a heritage best appreciated out in the field.

I have two pre-64 30-06 sporters (with barrel doughnut), one in a McMillan, another in the factory stock with forend screw; both wear factory barrels, both have untuned triggers and both will put 180gr Nosler Partitions into 1 1/2" at 100 yards consistently. Sometimes better; only worse when I don't do my part. I can live with that accuracy in return for hunting with a piece of American history.

I have a pre 64 M70 FW in .270WCF that shoots just about anything under 3/4". It isn't bedded or anything, but the trigger is set to a crisp 2.5 lbs. I don't have much experience with these pre 64s (this is my first) but I sure am thrilled about this one.

I have a 30/06 Model 70 Sporter built in '52. It's my favorite rifle that I own. Although I am currently having trouble with 150-grain remington Core Lokt reloads, it loves Speer 165 grandslams and Sierra 110 HPs. I have heard a lot of people say that the new Model 70's built in South Carolina are better than the pre-64's. I would have to disagree based just on the looks and feel of the two.

I've owned a good many pre 64 M70 30/06's that were dependable sub MOA rifles;with the right load and shooter they would do better than that.As a matter of fact I sort of expect it from the rifles,regardless of caliber.

Generally this is as they came, but once in awhile one will require a bit of tweaking with the forend screw.

The SC M70 is a great rifle for the money,but it isn't a pre 64 M70 IMHO.

When properly screwed into the stock I don't think it will disappoint you.

I have had the best luck with the following;
The screw at the recoil lug must be very tight , the rear snug and the middle screw barely touching. If it has the forend screw that should be snugged. Others have more experience than me I am certain but the above has worked well.

I have found the standard Grades to be a bit more accurate than the Featherweights in factory stocks. The Featherweights have generally improved dramatically with glass bedding and free floating the barrels. I have as yet to shoot a pre-64 70 that I would call inaccurate.

I have worked with two Standard Grade 30-06's and four Featherweights. All but one of them, a Featherweight, were easy to get to shoot sub one inch 3 shot groups in factory stocks. The one Featherweight is a solid 1/1/2" rifle and may get better when I get it in a Bansner.

My standard grade .30-06 is the most consistently accurate rifle I own.

I've fooled around with maybe a dozen pre-64's over the years and they've always shot at least OK (meaning around an inch or so) to spectacularly. One was a 1959 .30-06 that was in 98-99% condition. With the forend screw tight it would shoot several loads (including some Winchester 150 Silvertip factories) into 1/2" or less at 100 yards, usually with 3 shots touching. This is the way "blueprinted," synthetic-stocked, match-barrel custom rifles are supposed to shoot but often don't.

My pre-war .270 consistently shot under an inch at 100 yards with 130 & 100
grain bullets, 5 shot groups. With 110 Sierras it shot around 5/8"............

I was going to make a .25/06 out of it when I bought it, but the 110 Sierra load
fulfilled that role.

You can usually find the sweet spot with the barrel screw if your rifle does not shoot the way you want it to. Mine shot great with just a barrel cleaning.

My pre-64 standard weight 30-06 was the most consistently accurate rifle I have owned. It would put five factory Remington or Federal 150's into an inch. It would go well under an inch with select handloads. I shot silhouette with it and wore it out. I replaced the barrel with a pre-64 featherweight barrel in 30-06. It is finicky about what it likes but it will also group under an inch with select loads.

Thank you all for the replies. Good to excellent accuracy, dependable feeding, collectable, and somewhat reasonably priced. Sounds like a winner to me. After the post-war "transition" guns, are the early 50's guns considered better made than the early 60's guns?

The early 50's guns in my experience are better finished and the checkering is waaay better. The checkering on the later pre-64's is junk. I also like the straight comb stock better than the later Monte Carlo stock.
Having said that, probably the most consistently accurate hunting rifle I own is a 1962 Westerner, .264 WM. I love that gun.

I was passed down a '55 300 H&H. It had very little use. In it's original stock and shooting '50's silvertips that came with the rifle just over 1". It is in a beater stock now that I bedded. With handloads it will keep a good load at 1/2" at 100 if I do my job. Unless the rifle is really beat I would expect as good or better accuracy than rifles available today.

I own several pre-64's, but the most accurate is a standard 270 built in 1952. It will shoot about anything into a 1/2". Hate to think what it could do with somebody that knew how to shoot. The others all shoot 1 to 1 1/2" including the featherweights.

I have owned several pre '64s over the years, all would shoot three shots into 1-1 1/2". The most accurate was a .338 Winchester magnum that would put three .275gr. Speer RN's in a nice tight cloverleaf. I harvested many elk and mule deer with that rifle, never needed a second shot most dropped in their tracks.

Pre 64 Win 70 barrels up to 1952 are the cream of the crop. These all had integral front ramps, were beautifully lapped and chambered with between 5 and 7 reamers, depending on the caliber. After 1952 the shortcuts started. Internally they were still good up to 1955 in all calibers, with rarer calibers good up til the end as they were olde stock for the most part. Even with the shortcuts, they still shoot great. I have two very late Fwt barrels that are sub-MOA for three shots, actually cloverleaf or less.

I think the only barrel as capable as a pre 64 Win 70 would be Krieger. I am talking great hunting rifle accuracy and longlife.

M-70 WINCHESTERS and Mauser have been my life and by today's standards of accuracy they are nothing to brag about and I know that it was the bedding problems that really holds back the M-70 pre-64. For a hunter I recommend a restock to McMillan stock and the factory wood untouched as a keeper. I would turn over the metal for a re barrel with any number of top barrel makers, keep the original barrel and sell it, I have and have worked over my hunting rifle actions and it has made a difference, by the way the M-70 pre-64 action is weak for handling gas unless it is modified.

I guess my 1961 vintage FW in 30-06 is an exception or maybe I should sell the barrel and get a good one installed. The 150 grain GMX, WLR primer, new WW cases and either 57.0 or 58.0 grains of Big Game powder seems to shoot OK at 200 yards. I turned into a "thing hitter" instead of a "group shooter" when my friend spotting for me said "do that again" after the second shot with the 58.0 grain load. My only complaint is that the 150 interlock spire point bullet shoots just about as accurately but to a different point from the GMX. My friend's pre-64 standard weight .270 shoots almost as well with 130 and 140 Hornadays. The 4 Pre-64s I have been around all shoot pretty accurately.

I inherited my Dad's pre-64 in 30-06 and it shoots sub 1 moa rather easily with several loads.

One has to remember that in the 50+ years there can be a lot that has happened to the bores of these rifles so that can explain some of them that are not very accurate.

For what it's worth my go to 300H&H shoots my reloads 1/2-3/4" groups when I do my part and it's 375H&H stable mate puts them all in under 1" at 75yds (that's as far as I shot the 375 as I set it up for a bear gun over bait). I also have a pre-64 243 Varmint gun that shoots so good I don't even want to say how good it shoots as people would call me a lier! Pretty much all of the M70's I've taken time to shoot have been very good shooters or better except the 22 Hornets which were all about 2-1/2" guns at 100yds.

Please before you bed that rifle take it out and shoot it. You might be surprised how good it shoots just the way it is. If there is one thing that bugs me is when someone gets a rifle and they free float and bed it before they ever even shoot it. Often times they shoot better in the orignal format than after all the fancy accuracy stuff is performed on them.