Does anyone have any experience with any of the new Portugal made Winchester Model 70s. How accurate are the new ones? Any problems or issues that anyone has noticed? I am interested in one, but am not sure where the quality stands currently.
gatekeeper,
I picked up a .300 WSM not long ago, partly to test one of the "Portugal made" rifles. Among other things I found out, some directly from USRAC, was that the parts are made in the U.S.A., and put together over there--except perhaps for the stocks. One of the reasons assembly was moved to Portugal is the plant in South Carolina was primarily making military rifles, and the workers weren't very well versed in finishing walnut stocks.The Portuguese workers were.
The .300 WSM shot well from the beginning, partly because unlike the last of the New Haven Model 70s the stock was correctly bedded in epoxy, not heat-glue. I tried handloads with eight different bullets from 125 to 200 grains, using various powders, and half averaged under an inch for 3-shot groups. The other half averaged a little over an inch.
I eventually sent the .300 WSM to Hill Country rifles for one of their accurizing jobs, which involved stuff from lapping the lugs to recrowning the barrel to rebedding the stock. When it came back, the same four loads that grouped over an inch all went under an inch, some quite a bit under. (Unforutnately, Hill Country does not offer the exact same accurizing job anymore, instead only offering it with rebarrel jobs, probably because too many factory barrels weren't good enough to show much difference. The one on my .300 WSM did.)
