If you love all things Winchester, you might want to stay away from a M100 . . . because there is a good chance it will spoil your record. I've messed with two of them, both my late father's, and that'll do it for me.
The first, a .243, had a bent barrel right out of the factory. But it took a few years to discover it. My father was more of a hunter than a dedicated shooter, and it wasn't until I got older and starting messing with it before I determined the accuracy was as bad as it was. I figured I could get it to shoot with handloads, as it was back int the day when factory ammo was not as accurate as it is today. It also required small base dies to reload, even brass that was once fired in the same rifle. I couldn't get it to do better than 3"-4" at 100. My .270 at the time was almost always sub 1", five shots, factory it liked or my handloads. The issue wasn't me. Finally, I noticed the barrel was bent. Who would expect that?! My dad took good care of his guns and didn't use them hard, so that barrel was bent from day one.
The second, a .308, traded used for the .243 (and I was upfront with the gun store, as I consider them friends), developed extraction issues, as in not always extracting. Or perhaps it always had them and my dad lived with it. Again, he was a hunter more than a shooter. He usually shot his deer pretty close and one shot almost always did the job, so I can see him letting that slide. "One shot, dead deer, no problem." Plus by then I was busy at college. When my dad passed on to the hunting grounds in the sky, I kept what I liked, so the M100 was sold to a friend. When it developed, or always had?, extraction issues, I felt obligated to try to fix it. I had the gun, there was a divorce (my friend, not me), "she" got some of the guns, but the M100 "got lost." I still have the damn thing and someday I hope to fix it. Nothing rough about the chamber. Rounds easily slide out after they won't extract. Run a cartridge in by "letting the bolt fly", and the extractor hops over the rim fine. You can slightly withdraw the bolt and the cartridge comes with it. Then shoot it and the damn thing stays in the chamber. Nothing looks damaged or worn about the extractor. I finally bought a new extractor and I hope to hell it fixes it. If I ever get the damn thing working, I'm just going to give it back to my friend and call it good. At least this one is a sub 2" gun most all the time.
So, long winded, but can you tell I'm done with M100 Winchesters? For me, "price is right" means "how much are you going to pay me to take it?!"
More people like the M88, but few like the triggers. The Savage 99 and Browning BLR seem more popular if you want a lever action in a "modern" cartridge. But neither is a Winchester if you are a real Winchester fan.
FWIW, I believe they use the same scope bases and magazines.
Buddy, we have the same kind of luck. I broke an extractor on a 308, because I think i loaded them too hot. 47 grains of RL15 anda 150gr hornady interlock was too much. Had to drop it back down to 45 grains and buy a new extractor. Of course we all have had to replace the dang firing pin because of the recall too. Thats a very easy job, but something that still needs to be brought up. The straw that broke the camel's back was when the top half of the charge handle flew off when i was shooting it. I later found out those were a 2 piece unit. As for accuracy, i didnt buy the m100 expecting great accuracy. When i first bought it, it was a bonafide 2moa rifle. After glass bedding, it would shoot moa 3 shot groups, which exceeded my accuracy expectations. If someone wants to buy a m100 just to collect, i suggest the older ones (pre 64), before the hideous basket weave checkered stock. The one i had was made in '61 and it was a nice rifle. It functioned very well, but i also keep my guns cleaner than most do. Like i said, if that damn charging handle wouldn't have flown off, id probably still have it. Remember to load them light and your extractor will last. I believe they suggest to use the m14 data. Do not use light magnum or superformance loads in one, or you'll be asking for trouble.
