Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Pre 64 M70 Lwt done just right

This rifle has been a spare, good shooting mid 50's 30'06 FWT sitting around in it's factory stock and I decided to dress it up like one I put together for my son as a no nonsense all all-rounder.
I sent the factory barreled action off to Eddie Fosnaugh for his great cerakoting work (graphite black) I then bedded it in a mcm edge compact, topped it with talley lwts and a swaro Z3 3-9x36. As shown it comes in at 7 lbs. 4.9 oz. and is about as light as I like a rifle. With 168 TTSX's it will pretty consistently shoot 3/4" groups. A new spin on an old classic.

That is a nice rig!

Handwerk, Just about perfect, right down to the color and buttpad. A real blending of the best of the old and the new. I hope to have my '59 fwt. '06 looking just like it by the Fall except mine will wear a 2.5-8x36 VXIII.
John

I have its twin, same colour, 96% original blue, thin black pad, Edge HC, original steel TG, alloy FP, but in .270.

One of the many *spares* I never find time to shoot, now.

Nice rifles, practical and reliable.

Not much that needs doing that can't be done with that one.

Anyone that thinks the pre-64s (and the Classics for the most part) are over-rated needs to run one for 20 years or so. It will all become clear.

That is pretty much perfect in my book. Looks great. I need to finally find a Pre-64 FWT.

Pre-64 Mod. 70s are about the fourth best hunting rifles produced since 1898 and can still be found at decent prices.

After owning and very extensively using many different rifles for more than 50 years in northern and western Canada, here is my rating.

1. Brno ZG-47...THE BEST

2.FN C-ring sporter

3. Brno 21H-outstanding, but, crappy safety

4. P-64 Mod. 70, I prefer Fwts and Alaskan .338s.

I know about Oberndorf sporters, have a very nice one, Mannlicher-Schoenaurs, had three mint examples and British *name* rifles, had one of those, too.

BUT, for real value and no-bullshit function under all conditions, the above is my choice....and there is not much to choose between them all.

Very nice! Kind of eliminates any need for other rifles with style!

Great looking rifle. A Pre-64 FWT in a McM Compact pattern (Edge or standard fill) is one of the most finely balanced stock/action combinations I've used.

Just right.

That's about as perfect a hunting rifle as you will find.
Well done!

Now if it was just in 270

Veddy nice! I can leave my rifles at home now.

I hope I get to see that rifle in action next year.

The only downside I see is you no longer have a need for any other big game rifle. However, proper loonyism should overcome that problem .

Home run!

That looks an awful lot like my 270. Very nice rifle!!!

^^^^^^Gods honest truth right there^^^^^^^

Hard to beat that setup.

You gotta stop doing that--it keeps making all my other rifles seem obsolete, even though they're younger.

I got one of them!

Nice!

Well of course, I've got some .270 fwts as well....and yes Vern you'll likely see this one next year in alaska in person.
Thanks for the compliments folks.

That is a fine looking Winchester!

Nice!!

Randy,
That is a nice looking all around rifle!

A+ on a very well put together rifle. I see you've been taking notes and it all came together very well. What can you not do with a rifle like that??? I like it..

The pre-64 'Featherweight' Model 70 like 12ga 26" 1/4 choke Model 12 'Featherweight' is almost impossible to best for its intended use, even by modern standards. There are just couple of rifles of that period that can meet and match challenge of the pre-64 Model 70 'Featherweight'.

Hey good looking modification there Randy, even though the rifle wasn't sitting on a fence post.

I've been thinking about doing very similar path with a .270 pre64 FW. The results look great.

Lou

Awfully useful rifle there Randy.

Randy, that is one sweet setup. Don't be surprised if my .270 Standard shows up here one day looking a lot like your 30'06 there and BSA's .270.

That's about the perfect rig but I'll take mine with a rust blue instead of ceracote. I've not been impressed as far as showing minor scuffs etc.

I've had pretty good luck with cerakote. It's been damn tough and weatherizes better than any bluing I've seen. I like his rifle and I've done the same thing with my built pre 64 338 win mag. Randy's rifle is done right as far as I'm concerned. I'd hunt that one with no problem. With a rifle like that, one really doesn't need anything else. Perfect chambering for NA and damn well designed stock. Almost a perfect match from my experience with my 270 win that is almost it's twin. The more I use these pre 64's, the more I get rid of my other rifles. Just the way I see it...

BSA I won't deny cerakote has some advantages but the few guns I've got show superficial marks very easily compared to bluing. All H series cerakote and you can leave a shiny line with a thumbnail. I've used blued guns in extreme weather and have never had a rusty gun so cerakotes extra protection is lost on me. To each his own. As of now I'm off the cerakote bandwagon.

Great rifle you have there. What you going to be chasing in Alaska?

Strange, the cerakote I have had done is extremely scratch resistant. I'm not saying it won't scratch, but I've drug them thru brush/manzanita etc. with no marks at all. Painted stocks on the other had have had to be touched up. I'm pretty sure if Handwerk had Eddie F. do his, it's extremely well done. Surprised no one else has commented on this.

BS, the plan is to go after caribou in 2016...thanks

Good luck on that hunt my friend. You should be very well prepared with that rifle. Will you be using that 168 TTSX load? Should definitely do the trick. I was looking at my stash of 200gr. partitions today and thinking I should just sell my 9.3x62mm and do a little fine tuning of the rifle collection. I think the 30-06 is really at the top of the heap when it comes to useable cartridges for any game animal I hunt.

Roger that on the 06. It just works. I think we all use other stuff to keep things interesting but there's not much you can't do very well with a 30-06. Every time I come back to it I wonder why I use anything else.

The old Model 70 Featherweight in .30-06, .308 or .358 and standard grade .338 WinMag are the best of the old Wincheter bolt rifle lot. These can compete favorably with modern sporting rifles I'm firmly convinced of that fact.

Good post. That should be someone's sig line right there.

Why did you leave out the 270 win fwt? That's quickly becoming one of my favorite rifles. It looks exactly like Handwerks 30-06..

Sounds like a pretty cool trip you've got planned.

Handwerk, that rifle is done just right!

Just managed to find a decent 270 std rifle that is earmarked for some mods to bring it much closer to a fwt config. Fwt pricing up here has gone through the roof and finding a good 270 fwt is almost impossible. Everything else I have had has always been measured against a good pre 64 so I finally figured out I should just go with the original!

Rifle was built on a pre 64 action, using a 280 fwt barrel off a classic, with a mcmillan edge. Foolishly let that one go, now I have to build another to almost the same specs, but in 270!

Being left handed, the pre-64 70 is not very useful to me. But I have built two guns on Lh M70 actions that follow the theme of this thread.



.270 Win, 22" fwt contour barrel in a Compact stock. This is my oldest son's "one gun" and has never let him down.



.30-06 with fwt barrel in a McMillan stock that was originally a RH Remington ADL pattern.

FWT contour barrels make a gun feel far more lively in the hand than the mere number of ounces saved would lead one to expect. Winchester really got this contour right.

Utah, I agree on the fwt barrels, other than my 300 H&H (#2 lilja) all my other semi-custom pre 64 M70's have the winny fwt contour.

I also agree with you guys. However, whoever built my 338 got that contour right. Not sure what profile it is, but it's just as lively in the hands as my fwt's... A little lighter too..

I drool when i see pics of your 338 . Utah708 as usual has to remind me how lacking my rifles are as well

Very very nice