Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Kudos to Redneck

Just wanted to thank Redneck publicly. I have a M70 Compact Classic (short action, originally a 7-08) that had been barreled to 257 Roberts.
It had always been contrary in terms of feeding. But lately had been giving me more probems, and began to not extract properly. Two local 'smiths looked at it.

The first said there was nothing wrong with the rifle as it extracted Remington factory ammo just fine, The problem, he said, was with the Winchester brass. Being a long time Roberts slut, I have large stash of Winchester brass, so I didn't like that answer!

The second 'smith "fixed" it. ..it did usually "work", but it almost required a hammer to push a round into the chamber.

Next, I thought maybe it was the cheap Winchester extractor, so I ordered a new Williams..No improvement.

Since I had heard good things about Redneck here regarding his expertise with M70's, I shipped the dang thing to him.

He fixed and returned it promptly, price was fair, and it now feeds and extracts like a M70 should! Thanks, Lee, for a job well done. ST

Yeah, Lee can make a model 70 sing.

DF

GREAT !!

Can U tell us what he did, to make it function ?

Jerry

Jerry: The magazine block had been removed to allow a slightly longer COAL. But the bolt stop and the ejector had not been modified. He also worked on the feed rails and the follower, along with installing a new Winchester extractor. At least, that's my, probably oversimplified, understanding. .

Redneck did a great job on my 70. Great trigger, shoots anything I've tried, and has never missed a beat.

Nice, bet it makes you happy as heck with it feeding and functioning so well. Sounds like a cool rifle.

Well, that put a smile on my face this morning... And you're very welcome!

Some guys that rebarrel a M70 do not pay attention to the other workings of the action that are necessary for it all to work in concert - hence your issues with the rifle.. I hope it gives you many many years of good service..

I was following everything until I saw this.

Isn't the William extractor superior to the OEM Winchester part?

DF

I might be wrong but I was under the impression that Winchester was using Williams extractors now. Can someone clarify this ?

A) yes, it is a sweet little rifle!, thx
B) I believe this particular rifle was built before Winchester started using Williams extractors.
C) I dunno why the Williams extractor didn't work. Just happy that the rifle works now, and I guess I have a spare extractor

Yes, and no... The later Winchesters are using Williams extractors.. This was an older model. He had tried a Williams in it and it was not holding the round close enough to the bolt face. When a case was extracted it would literally fall off the bolt face and sit on the next round in the magazine.. I was fortunate enough to have an original MIM extractor on hand and swapped it in for the Williams.. When placing them both side-by-side the Williams had a noticeably longer gap between the guide and the claw which allowed the case to become loose.. I had to modify the magazine a bit, along with the follower, bolt stop and ejector in order to get it all working as a functional unit..

Whoever rebarreled the rifle obviously knew nothing about M70s - although they did extend the magazine for the longer round in a unique (and very interesting) way which helped it all a bit.. It was also a magazine that I hadn't seen before and is not listed in the Winchester parts book that I have.

All the rifles Lee has built for me are as good as it gets. I have a M 70 SS NH Classic with him now, waiting on the parts to arrive to have the ultimate 6.5x55.... You definitely chose the right metal artist.... Any plumber can screw on a barrel, takes a man with knowledge and skills to build a rifle...

I have a New Haven M-70 .375 H&H Classic SS. It cycles great, if fact you did some work on it.

It has the OEM Winchester extractor, I thought about swapping it for a Williams.

Now, think it may pay to leave well enough alone...

DF

Never fix what ain't broke... Trust me on that...

Lee, I could swear USRAC made a Roberts-specific follower... is that the case? Likely it was a LA not a SA.

Also, is it safe to assume when taking out the magazine block on a SA to open it for the 3" Roberts, a LA follower has to be modified (shortened) to fit?

Not that I'm aware of.. Yep.

It's usually better to leave the SA follower in place, but work the magazine spring carefully so as to ensure even pressure front-to-back, or else it can 'rock' and cause misfeeds.. ..

Thanks for the response Lee.

I got to wondering about the 257 Rob follower and my memory... apparently still firing on all 3 cylinders!

257 Rbt's Follower:

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi/prod/winchester-model-70-followers/U353600850

Funny - that looks exactly like the standard follower found in many M70s from the mid-80s on...

I wonder if that was for a pre-64 M70... That part number you list, (or product description) is not found in my M70 parts book - but mine is for the PF, CRF and CRPF models..

Redneck - "Never fix what ain't broke... Trust me on that... " How true, how true. One can avoid a lot of self induced
"pain" by doing so, mentall and otherwise. Homesteader

It's hard for a Loony to resist compulsions to "fix" stuff, which sounds like job security for Lee and colleagues.

DF