Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Winchester Model 70 value

I've been out of the game for a while. I have not purchased a model 70 since before the assembly plant was moved to Portugal. I see that the asking price for one ( Sporter model ) at most of the major vendors is around $850. I have seen them for as low as $750.

Is that a good value? Are Winchester Model 70s Vintage 2018 worth the asking price?

Prices seem to be fair, if you are willing to buy one made in Portugal.

Yep...they are fine. Nobody bitched when Browning assembled some guns in Portugal...

They are doing it again buddy. The Winchester isn't really a Winchester anymore. It's a BACO.... Browning. Need I say more..??

Well, at the present I am more concerned with their quality than where they are assembled.

Just curious, gents. Thanks for your feedback.

Winchester hasn't been Winchester since about 1980 when they sold out to the United States Repeating Arms Company.. And that was a huge step up compared to what they had been making since the 1940's. Quality didn't just fall off the table in 1964. It was a gradual thing going back for a while.

A pre WW-2 Winchester is truly a nice rifle.

The Classics made from the early 90's for about 10 years or so might well be the best Winchesters ever made.

The FN made Winchesters made in SC are very nice rifles too, although not true to the original design.

Sure, given the option one of the above would be my preference. But if I wanted a rifle to hunt with and use I'd not turn down one of the Portugal rifles.

A lot people forget USRACo went bankrupt in 1988 and FN came to the rescue. I will keep saying but my bud BSA is hard headed and refuses to acknowledge shady American craftsmanship brought the end of American made model 70's. if the source of stocks for the model 70's QC wasn't so horrible maybe production wouldn't of went to Portugal. The plant they are being put together at now is the source of all of browning grade 5 stocks for there high end shotguns. Winchester now can control the QC in-house unlike the outsourced stocks they were getting from good ol hard working American [bleep] [bleep] up. At one point Winchester was sending more stocks back to there vendor due to QC issues.

Some people love grumbling but the Portuguese assembled are probably some best ones being put together .

Also the FN plant in South Carolina was meant for small arms production for military weapons not hunting rifles. Another reason they moved. They sure in the hell weren't going back to new haven.

I have purchased two Portuguese produced Winchesters and frankly neither one of them have impressed me as being anything special. The Model 70 .308 compact I had was a fair shooter, but its fit, finish and function had some small annoying issues. I put 693 rounds through it and decided that it was not worth the effort to make it into a keeper and got rid of it.

The XPR .308 I have is not worth the powder to blow it to hell. It is by far and away the least accurate rifle I have purchased over the past twenty years. I am sure it is capable of shooting a minute of deer with almost any load, but I have much higher expectations of my hunting rifles.

I rather play Kimber Roulette than take another chance on a Portuguese Winchester. CP.

My Featherweight (BACO) 2009, has been just fine for me.
Browning have been made in belgium, assembled in Portugal for years.
Not heard too many complaints.

The newer Model 70's are good rifles. They do NOT have the old-style trigger--which is a drag--but the rest of them is just fine.


Okie John

So, you consider a 1980's push feed a better rifle than a 1950's model? Am I reading that right?

I personally consider Model 70's made in the 1950's the best, with the Classic's from the 1990's second.

To the OP, $750 will still get you a very lightly used USA made Classic.

Seven fitty ain’t a ton of dough for a new rifle these days.

If you’re set on getting new, why not go to one of the big gun stores and put your paws on a dozen or so different rifles to see what you like best in that price range. You might end up liking something that you didn’t know you would.

I think BobinNH would have an issue with that comment as would most Model 70 aficiniados. I think the classics are very very spotty in quality. I think Bob referred to them as Project rifles.

Bob also told me personally that when he got a Pre 64, he put it in a different stock, worked the trigger, etc.

Seems to me both Pre 64 & Post 64 are Project rifles.


Jerry

I wanted to bitch about it but my first handgun is a browning hi power that assembled in Portugal. That gun will go in grave with me.

He was a perfectionist, he also claimed the CRF on the classic did not work like it did on the Pre64

I am by no means a Win 70 expert but here is what I did and I’ve been happy with my route. I didn’t want a plastic hunting rifle and after many years shooting competitions with black rifles and chassis bolt guns, I wanted to go classic. I have pretty good luck watching Cabelas gun library and kept an eye on there pre64 M70s. Had one in a store 30 minutes away that sat on the rack for a year and half priced too high. One day, price drop of 900 plus a promo to get another 15% off. So I bagged a very lightly used 1953 Supergrade in 06 that was beautiful. Paid about 900 out the door. Bought a used stock off ebay for a hundred bucks so it can get dinged up. Rifle is a read shooter and groups anything I put in it. I had some old practice rounds of 168 AMax and varget that it bug holed. Loaded mild to hot loads using 4350 and 150 TTSX and it shoots them great only POA changes. Have some going just under 3,000fps but settled on a hunting load a bit slower. Thought about collector value as there is room between my cost and collector value, but this rifle will hunt the Carolinas like it was made to do.

I love the wood, the feel, and handling of the 1953 M70. You can buynew but if you look around and watch Cabelas used gun library, you can get some deals. Some of their buyers overpay and the rifles sit and then they slash privces to move them.

My hunting sticks are the pre64 mod70 in 06 and a Ruger M77 RSI in 308 and they make a nice pair. The Ruger goes up in a tree with me and Winchester hunts the tripods, ladders, and brush blinds.

I wanted hand made overv CNC made.