Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rifle going back to Winchester / Any advice ?

After messing around with this rifle for a couple of years trying to get it to shoot, it is going back. This weekend I took it out and found after mounting the new Talley rings and scope that the darn holes that are drilled in the top of the receiver are crooked.

I cannot believe I have not noticed this before. I never could get the darn thing to shoot and now I know of at least one reason why.

So I officially start the return policy process with Winchester.

Any advice?

Over the years I have sent rifles back to most of the major makers. A Winchester model 70 was one of them. Unfortunately, my experience with Winchester customer service was not the best. Several of us worked with that rifle for almost three years and could not get it to shoot. Really, it averaged three shot groups under a paper plate. Winchester sent it back and noted that it was us and not the gun. I eventually rebarreled the thing to make it work.

BACO? Good luck.. After "..a couple of years.." BACO won't do jack for ya.. Only time they might is if (and "might" is the operative word) it's a safety issue...

Have you considered sending it to Redneck for a diagnosis?

Good luck, dont think they will do squat for you. I had one M-70, 300 WSM, one of the ones with the oval chambers. It went back twice, came back with a note stating to never send it in again. They never did fix it. My Winchester days are done.

When I used to read a lot of legal documents I'd see the term "dismissed with prejudice."

Oh, I called them when I read the note. They said it was fixed and they would not talk to me about that rifle again. All they did was take a dremel tool to the feed ramp. Dont know what that was gonna accomplish.

Sounds like you need some Weaver bases and Burris Signature rings with offset inserts.

I have a Winchester that looks like the old boy eyeballed the mount holes.

Send the rifle to a smith and have him D&T for larger (8-40) screws and adjust the Talleys accordingly.

Wow, I have not contacted them yet but it might just go up for sale.

I have pulled every trick in the book with this rifle. Including new rings and scope. I just hate that from every manufacturer you take the risk of just blowing your money. Its worse than buying trucks. I hope they make it right.

But I am shopping today.

Go Leupold DD bases and Burris Signature DD rings. The Weaver/Burris Zee melding is Dog Schit.

Assuming 1" glass,you can reap 40MOA of correction. Best approach is to mechanically center the scope in question's windage,center it via eccentric and dump any/all remaining in the erector. To do so,you'll need to order extry eccentrics,as the issued packaging doesn't have the Big Move shipped with it. Further,you can shim bases separately to really gain erector latitude and less a fret in regards to binding up a tube.

Keep maximum ring spacing in mind too as you shop,because that is the greatest mechanical integrity advantage edge you can toss towards any scope. As seen here.



You've been led to water.

Thank me later.

Don't know how the "new" Winchester is but I sent one back to New Haven in the late '90s with off center rear base holes & I was happy with the service I got. The rifle shot great groups but I couldn't use Warne QD rings & bases because there wasn't quite enough windage in the scope to zero it. I got the rifle back and it was straightened out. All that said, why would "crooked" holes make it group poorly? Hope they take care of it for ya.

I use S&K rings on my Model 70's for the most part. They give plenty of horizontal adjustment and they seem to stay put.

I would not send it back for off center base holes, it ain't free to ship it back.

If it won't shoot, it may not be the rifle.

As Stick mentioned, DD's and Burris Signature rings, I had them on two 70's and have two sets of bases for sale if you need a set for less than new.

My advice is to back to 1963....grin

88 mph my man, 88 mph!

They'd have to be pretty dang crookedy for me to send it back to the tender mercies of CS. You will likely just end up with less money and no joy. Boxer's idea looks like a good one.

Yeah, my only advice is learn a little Portuguese....!!!

If I had to call them, it would start out like this:






você suja pequenos sonofabitches , é melhor você começar a fazer um bom modelo winchester 70. Eu vou entrar em um barco e empurrar este rifle na sua bunda !!! Vou usá-lo como um remo e quando eu chegar lá, pummle o inferno fora de você !! Você não pode obter os buracos perfurados de base reta você galo bastardos de olhos . Da próxima vez , eu vou puxar a cabeça para fora do meu azz e comprar um pré 64

I had this happen to a 243 from them I bought.... holes for the bases mounted were off set...

I solved the problem by installing Leupold bases and rings...windage adjustment allowed me to bring it into where the scope was useable...

had sent it in to Winchester and they said they tested it and nothing was wrong, totally ignoring my note stating the holes for the bases were drilled and not straight in line...

If the holes in the receiver are straight, but the ones in the bridge aren't, a bridge mount might work.

Crooked holes can be filled and re-drilled, but they obviously don't want to go to that much trouble and expense. Shame on 'em.

The lesson here is to check out things thoroughly before you plunk down the bucks.