I know some of you saw my question to JB on the Gunwriters section, but thought I might get some other, knowledgeable advice and comments on this subject here from others that have been down this road, so am repeating the question.
How do you deal with the forend screw on pre-64 M70 standard rifles? Do you tighten them down, leave them loose? Any advice?
As a lot of you already know, I've got a pre-64 M70 rifle in .264 Win Mag that was passed down to me by my father, all original, for which I'm trying to find an accurate load. I don't want to bed the rifle (to keep it original), but figured with a new scope, checking mounting screws, new bullets, and careful reloading, I should be able to do better than 1.5-2" group at 100 yards. The forend screw is the one wildcard that I don't have any experience to draw on. I'd appreciate any insight you could provide on this.
I'm starting new with this rifle since my Dad gave it to me. He bought it new and I still have some of his reloads as well as some original yellow box Winchester factory loads. It has an obviously old, original Redfield 2-7x scope on it that is a little dim. I really didn't want to change things on it and keep it original, the way he had it, but I've been disappointed in the accuracy so far. I've shot his reloads as well as some of the factory ammo with similar results. I thought that perhaps the old bullets he had that he gave me might not be as well balanced as those available today, so that is why I wanted to try the new bullets.
Feel free to offer your opinions on where to start and how to proceed!
Has anything been done to the stock to alter it from original condition? Thus taking away some of its collector value? If its had a recoil pad installed, or the stock has been refinished, or even if it is cracked through the trigger mortise, I'd glass bed it and freefloat the barrel and epoxy in a dummy screw. I've done this many times and the rifles shoot phenomenally well with this treatment. If it is 100% original, I probably wouldn't touch the stock. Many times, the pre's shoot very well with a small amount of tension on the forend screw, when they are in stock form. No mods to the bedding....
