Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors How uncommon is a Model 70 in 222 Rem.?

I just picked up one of these, circa 1976, blind mag and pretty wood. It shoots very well. It came from Europe and is threaded for a suppressor but has a thread protector in place..

Thanks

erich

Not something you see very often, but not impossible to find. A friend of mine has one but Im afraid to ask him to sell it to me. I believe I have seen 4 or 5 of them over the years.

Pretty uncommon.....

Somewhat uncommon - but there are some out there.. Problem is, most who own 'em KEEP 'em since they perform very well..

I had one about a dozen years ago.. For my son's 18th birthday, I took that rifle and rebarreled it to .222 Rem Magnum. Worked it over top to bottom for feed, bedding, trigger, magazine, stock etc...and presented it to him just before the cake was cut... He was pretty happy.. And that rifle shoots cloverleaf groups..

Wow Redneck, in retrospect do you wish that you had kept it a .222? I had a beautiful little Sako in .222 Rem. Magnum and gun guys recognize that it is a better round than the .223 with the same ballistics, but the ammo companies dropped it like a hot potato opting for the .223 instead. I've never seen a M70 .222 and I'd bet that they bring a premium at resale time.

Regrets? Nope - none at all...

I let a buddy of mine talk me out one a few years ago. I want it back;

I have 1,, the lengendary trapper Ole Wasentery has it for years as his "rifle". he shot moose, caribou, and brown bears with it. It was just a barrel and bolt when it got to me and got put back into action, it's taken a pile of caribou ,and a few wolves in my hands, 50gr Hornady SP at about 2900fps.

Erich: These are rather uncommon!
I have seen just two of them in person.
My long time friend and custom Riflesmith Dan Cowen (in business til a few years ago in Renton, Washington and now retired) searched for a Model 70 in 222 Remington for many years til he finally found one for a personal Rifle project of his own.
I have been looking for one since I saw that 222 Rifle about 24 -26 years ago - no luck yet.
Yes rather rare (uncommon) is how I would describe these.
I am not sure how this rarity translates into value right now though - if that is a concern of yours.
Enjoy your uncommon Rifle in one of the most useful/accurate/enjoyable calibers ever.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

If you are interested, the local gun shop has a model 70 .222... I did not look closely at it, but it had a fairly nice stock.. I didn’t even look at the price...

Be wary of pre 64's that have been rechambered from 22 Hornet. They used to be quite common but not extremely successful due to the Hornet's 1-16" twist.

Varmint guy, I knew Dan, he had a nice little shop in Renton, I used to buy most of my reloading supplies from him and he mounted a scope on my Savage 219 22H. We used to talk guns a lot.

I got some shells loaded for the 222 R. and it is a keeper . I need to shorten stocks so they fit me, I've cut the stocks on some pretty high end SxS's (Darne, Bernardelli) but couldn't bring myself to cut the wood stock on the Win. I bought a Win synthetic stock fitted it to the action and barrel and shortenned it. I'll hit the range next week recheck my loads and get it sighted in for a coyote hunt, hope to spend a week in eastern WA and put some pelts on the boards.

My brother has a late 1970's Winchester model 70a in 222 Rem. Blind mag, sporter stock. Shoots 3/4 moa. Very nice woodchuck rifle.

Condition is excellent, and so is the build quality. It is sweet.