Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Cut barrel on NH mod 70 classic?

Not really a collector question but...

I have a SS mod 70 classic in 300 Wm. Any reason I shouldn't cut 2" off the barrel and recrown? I want to make the rifle a little more handy but I don't want to regret it if I decide to sell it down the road.

This is not a ballistics question...

A 22" barreled 300 magnum will still be heavier and feel that way than a M70 with a Featherweight barrel.

We have magnums and we have Featherweights! For my game hunting it seems like I carry the rifle for eons and finally get a shot. Much of the time the shot is not all that far and a Featherweight is the better gun.

Then we have open areas. Most of the time I can hunt not that far from the car. The magnums are best there.

Leave it alone and get a Featherweight also.

To be honest I don't like to shoot the 300's all that much anyway. Its a long time ago now but a guy by the name of Bowman saw that of the magnums most hunters shot the 7mm better.

The guy asked about handy, not weight - big difference. And they start off with a 26" bbl, not 24". And the 300WM has the same barrel profile as the sporter, not a featherweight profile, so no real weight savings there anyway.

No reason not to cut it back to 24". I also find the 26" bbls to be clumsy on a hunting rifle. Cutting it to 24" will not overall hurt it's value if it's done right - some folks (future potential buyers) may shy away, but other will like it more.

TXRam,

Handy and weight are together for me. No difference to me.

Whats a big difference to you is yours.

I always liked the Featherweight rifles for game hunting. No matter if it was a 99 or a M70. At the end of the day weight matters far more to me. I go back over 50 years on this experience.

To each his own.

Myself being one of the latter, it'd save me the money of having it cut down myself. Hell, I don't like 26" barrels on my shotguns.

You only lose about 2oz. per inch on a Model 70 barrel, so the weight loss is really insignificant. It may improve handling, but that is a personal thing.

Longer barrels have really never bothered me. If I want handy, I carry a Model 94 or a Remmie Model Seven.

If you cut it, don't look back...

You may indeed gain the handiness you are looking for, and you'll lose nothing in performance.

Of course there is what Scott just said, there definately are handier more compact rifles to be had for carrying

hey it is your gun and if it is what you want to do
then do it if it is an itch you have to scratch

As far as 'handy' goes, go for it.. However, it may very well affect value down the road when/if you sell.. Any time a modification is done it can (the operative word there is CAN) affect value...

If it's the SS/Walnut version, I'd say do NOT cut that barrel.. You'll lose what could be a substantial amount of bux.. If it's a SS/Syn - no worries.. Go for it..

Bud bought a 338 WM with an ear splittin' boss on it to purposely cut the barrel for a handy timber elk rig, IIRC the barrel is 21/22" and balances and shoots the 250 NPT's just fine.

Its a NH M-70 S/S rifle, and he says its not for sale, guess he likes it , i see no regrets going this route.

Gunner

I had my M70 Classic .300 Win cut from 26" to 24". The muzzle was re-crowned with a recessed target crown. My hunting load is the Remington Premier 200 grain Swift A-Frame and the rifle always groups under an inch. It is a worthwhile modification.