Learned colleagues:

What makes a pre-64 M70 an Alaskan or a Westerner? Is it the chambering that automatically designates it or are there special features found on the rifles referred to as "Alaskan" and Westerner"?

Thank you,

Ken

One think I think makes them different was the Westerner came with a 26 inch barrel and the Alaskan a 25.. 24 was std. for most calibers except the H & H was 26.

The Westerner was chambered in .264 Win mag and it had a 26" barrel. The Alaskan was chambered in .338 Win mag and .375 H&H and they had a 25" barrel.

And then they offered a "Featherweight Westerner" in 264 with. 22" bbl. it was no different than the other FWTs, except for the chambering.

The featherweight Westerner also had a butt pad, which made it different then the other fwt's.

Think the butt pad was an added on after the person bought it. Rule does not mention it in his book.

Also the Westerner Featherweight was offered in 1963 only,along with the Westerner-Alaskan in .300 Win mag.

I own a westerner, it's my favorite antelope rifle.

elk, lots of info. there.. I am not a hard core model 70 man, but that kind of stuff is good info.. I am thinking of trading my super grade 300wsm for a Win. Mag.. Much better wood.. Always something..

Better think again... You did, however, nail the rest of it....

Westerner Featherweight in .264 Win Mag certainly did come with a factory recoil pad. (See Rule's book on pages 233 and 234.)

donsm70

Let me help with the Westerner part.

If memory serves me correctly my 264 FWT has a factory pad and the my std 264 does not.

That would/should be correct.

donsm70

Yup,it did. looked on the wrong page.

Here is my Alaskan





It didn't have the front sight hood but was otherwise as is.

Everyone needs an Alaskan. Nice rifle Scotty...

I just got my first a couple of weeks ago. Nice rifle indeed.

Scotty, that's beautiful!

I agree mines a model 70 extreme weather in the much hated 325 wsm or model 70 stainless in a 338 wsm or model 70 stainless Classic in a 375 H&H.. Everyone needs a rifle for Alaska

I think what BSA was referring to was everybody needs a pre64 Alaskan:). Nothing wrong with a 325 WSM just no nostalgia there.

Exactamundo....^^^^^^^

Those would all definitely suffice, but there's only one "Alaskan" and it is chambered in 338 win mag. Kind of like this '59 I sold to EricM here a while back:




My custom 338 win mag doesn't even have the soul these old Alaskans have...

Cool pic, BSA!

It's gotta be soon…. I have to send Gene a note.

Eric

Can't wait to see it my friend. You now Gene is probably trying to make that bedding look damn good on that echols. You know he doesn't want the wood stock looking better than the custom he's installing... . I also can't wait for you to shoot the bad boy. I'm curious to see how she shoots for you. Hopefully shrink those groups down from what I was shooting..

I have wandered through many moose camps during my time in good ol Alaska I have yet to see one of these fine rifles in a camp not saying they are not out there.. I did see 4 of them at the Cabelas in Anchorage though.. I have seen a sporterized lee-enfield in the good ol 303 though while moose hunting, we were in the unit 13 out past the middlefork of the gulkana close the to Alphabets and it was pissing rain for two days straight and this guy didn't have a care in the world about his rifle.. Thought that was pretty cool ... Anyhow good looking rifles

I'm not going to rush him! lol. It was already a good shooter but I'm also curious how it'll do with the rebed.

Eric

Eric, I restocked my Alaskan with a McMillan as you've seen and it has been ultra consistent since then. Some folks may think I'm crazy but I can bang away with my 338 without drama. I have said it before but I love my Alaskan. Since having this rifle, it's been pretty easy to "think" of being without the others. It'll shoot everything from 200's to 275's very well, carries well and just makes a guy smile when they cycle the bolt. It made me a believer.

Is the 300 win mag a Westerner as well! v best WinPoor

Awesome to hear! I sent Gene an email yesterday checking in on the build. McMillan was about 4 months out in terms of producing a stock, which was the major holdup. I sold a rifle last week and am now exclusively into pre-64s. LoL.

Eric

While I love the Pre 64 M70 and there are a few of them I just can't claim exclusivity to them . I have a penchant for custom rifles as well.

Exclusively huh? Laughing . I'm going that way myself. I'm surprised you got rid of your BRNO 375 H&H if that's the one that went bye bye... . I also feel the same as Beretzs about shooting the 338 Alaskan. I shot 50 rounds with the rifle I sold you in one sitting. She sure is a sweetheart and will hopefully be better with the legend stock.

We had a car die recently so I sold my 270 Wby to raise funds. I also had to cancel the TX hunt this year… real bummer, but I have to get things in order. I'm going to try to do something local on the cheap this year.

The BRNO 375 is back with the original owner. I'd like to buy it back one day. Cool gun. I think he has a bear hunt planned.

I'm down to my '47 Roger Rule 270 WCF, the '51 30-06 and '59 338. I've owned a lot of cool guns over the years but find that I really enjoy the pre-64s best. I think these three will cover anything in NA.

Eric

I take comfort in knowing I can hunt anything from a Chipmunk to an Elephant with the proper rifle:) IMHO a 338 is one of the most versatile calibers there is.

Couldn't agree more GSP. I enjoy the 338 Win quite a lot.

Eric, your trio of rifles is about as cool as they come. I've only got 1 Pre64 (Alaskan) and a slew of Classics but they'd all go before I got rid of the 338.

That's funny. You are down to 2 of my old favorites and 1 Roger Rule rifle. In a way, I'm kind of honored by that fact.. I also think you are right about those 3 serving your needs very well. Let me know if you are ever in the market for a nice pre 64 375 H&H to finish off your collection. By the way, I hate car trouble as well!!!! Had a terrible bout of that in the last 6 months

Amen. It is one of my favorites too!!!!

This^^^^^^ I just sold one of my favorite classics to 79s here. He got a great rifle, but I'm narrowing it down to mostly pre 64's. I still have my tack driving CZ 550 American 9.3x62mm and my target/varmint 223 rem Ruger m77 mkII. Next one on the list to get rid of is the 9.3...

I SHOULD narrow things down some but it's just to dam difficult. I know where there is the nicest std M70 270 as far as the metal goes anywhere. It's 95%+ the stock is crap. BUT there is an original stock with the gun with a reproduction pad that isn't to bad BUT I know where an uncut stock is. I have 4 270's but this one begs to be rescued. I'm hopeless and will NEVER complete the 12 step program.

When I was looking for a 270 fwt, I kept coming across nice std. wt 270's. It's like they were growing on trees around here... The 270 fwt is the only one I really wanted, but took 3 years to find it..

I think we share the same good taste in rifles! LoL I remember you had some car trouble recently. I bought a new car on 8/6, and our family's 2nd car died maybe a week afterwards. So I bought 2 cars within 2 weeks.

Don't tempt me with that pre-64 375! LoL I was close to buying Roger Rule's Lion Gun last year, but it didn't have the history with him like the 270 (his favorite rifle for 35 years).

Eric

Too cool!

Gene told me my stock arrived last week, so he's working on the 338 build now!

Eric