Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors I found a nice little rifle yesterday

Had to take a couple 30-06 rifles to the range today. This one in the OP and my stainless classic featherweight. Both newer rifles to me. I had recently corrected the bedding at the tang on this rifle, as the previous smith had his head in his azz and didn't even glass bed that area. I see it mentioned here sometimes. Trust me, it makes a difference to glass bed the tang and the recoil lug. 2 points of contact. It's fu cking useless to not properly bed a rifle. Anyway, the stainless rifle is shooting notably better after its treatment. Who woulda thunk???
Now:



Before:

Now that is a difference you can see^^^^^^^

Now, here's the new one out in the sun at the range:


Next to his grandson:



Well, I wish I had some loads that were developed for this rifle, but this is what we had today. Keep in mind, I always keep it honest:

This was 2 loads from the new rifle (1961 fwt). You can see the 200gr Nosler partition load drops quite a bit lower than the 180. Also, The stainless classic spanked its azz. Now, one thing I can say about shooting these 2 rifles side by side today is the Pre 64 didn't kick nearly as hard as the Classic. That classic has a hard/solid factory recoil pad that does not absorb any recoil!!!! The other thing I noticed was the triggers felt nearly identical. Both set at 2.5 pounds, but one I did and the other, some smith did in Carson City. The bedding isn't perfect on the pre 64 yet. I need to totally freefloat the barrel and I think accuracy will improve a bit. Even if it's another 1/4", I'll take it. But I believe it will shoot more consistently as the barrel heats up, with the barrel freefloated all the way to the front of the recoil lug, or start of the barrel, like I normally do wit these featherweight rifles. My '56 is shooting mother. However, that is one I glass bedded and fine tuned. It's damn near perfect:


Yes, it's a "sleeper":


Actually the loads I shot today were developed for this old girl^^ I think I have to add that the Mcmillan supergrade, while it is an awesome stock, doesn't mitigate recoil nearly as well as my Brown PoundR. It is also slightly butt heavy on this 1961 featherweight rifle in the OP. I did carry it to the target stand to see how it felt when carried and that is when I noticed the butt heavy feeling. Balances slightly behind the front action screw, which is right at the floor plate. Not bad in all, just something I noticed. Weight is less than the stainless classic featherweight by 1/2 pound. Sorry, I haven't put it on a scale yet. In all, I'm very happy with how the rifle functions. Even though the classic is smooth in operation, the pre is smoother. That was a no brainer, but figured I'd say it. Hopefully this has been an interesting thread for you guys and I will definitely keep you informed on the next range visit, after the barrel is fully freefloated..