Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Heirloom 1960 Winchester Model 70

I just wanted to share a great gun that fell into my lap recently. I've had a few deaths in the family in the past several months, and my 82-year old grandfather decided it was time for me to come pick up several family heirlooms he wants me to have. We live about a 10-hour drive away and have traditionally visited once a year, but I honestly didn't know much about his gun collection and have any expectations. I was stunned to receive several firearms from him, including my great-great-grandfather's .22 revolver from the mid 40s, but the jewel of them all turned out to be a 1960 Winchester Model 70 in .338 Win Mag. He said it initially belonged to my great-grandfather to hunt in California, and my grandfather used it one time to bag a Wyoming pronghorn before deciding he could use a little less rifle.

When I texted my buddy that I was getting two Model 70s (one is a 1976 25-06), he immediately asked me what year they were. I was ignorant about the pre/post 64 split but read up on the differences, and was thrilled to see that the .338 Win Mag is a pre-64. The stock is still in great condition, with a small dent under the foregrip, a spot near the butt that could use a bit more polish, and very minor spotting on the barrel, but for a nearly 60-year old rifle that's actually been hunted with, I couldn't ask for it to be in better shape. I just started deer hunting about a year and a half ago, and have been planning to get something larger than my 25-06 as I start hunting public land for larger prey, so the timing couldn't be better. I probably wouldn't have chosen .338 Win Mag as my next caliber but I'm going to embrace it, and hopefully I'll tag a Texas nilgai, an elk, or a moose with it in the future.

The Winchester was mated to a Weaver K4 60-B fixed 4-power scope on Weaver rings. I kept the scope as a souvenir and tried to mount a newer Leupold VX-2 3-9x40 on the antique rings, but no luck. Not only did the bolt not have clearance, but one of the old ring screws twisted off upon remounting. Instead of the DNZ Game Reaper one-piece that I love on my Tikka, I opted to keep a more classic look on the rifle and ordered medium-height Leupold Dual Dovetail bases and rings. They came in today and I was able to cleanly mount the Leupold scope on, and both the eye relief and the bolt clearance worked out fine. It's now boresighted, and I just have to wait a week to have enough free time for a range day and see how it groups.

Congrats on that 338. I have one of my own and it’s a helluva great rifle. What a gift!

Thanks! What are you shooting through it? I’ve ordered a few boxes of Federal’s 210 grain Nosler Partitions, but 338 isn’t a cheap round and I’ll be looking at handloading down the road.

I have used a ton of bullets in mine but if the 210 Partitions shoot for you there isn’t much reason to look any further. I’ve used 210, 225, 250 Partitions, Accubonds and 210 Swift’s. Mine has been very good to me.

Make sure the screws are torqued down well or the recoil will split the tang area. Other than that, it is one great rifle.

That's great. I'll bet no rifle will ever mean more to you than that one, even if it doesn't get shot the most.

Excellent rifle. OP, do yourself a favor and listen to beretzs. Especially the part about torquing the action screws down good. You have a beautiful rifle. The 338wm Alaskan is one of my favorites. I'm like Scotty and hunt mine every chance I can get during elk season here...Good luck with your rifle and please let us know how the rifle likes those 210 partitions. By the way, those DD's look sharp. That's my first choice in scope mounts and rings for the pre 64..

What a wonderful gift, .I hope you enjoy the rifle for many years and keep it in the family a classic for sure. The leupold DD are a great pick for pre 64 M70's.

I just remembered the 210 TTSX shot well as loaded in the Barnes ammo. One year I was planning to love and decided to try some factory stuff in case I wasn’t able to load during the transition and they shot well too. My rifle did suffer from a pretty rough bore when I got it but since it’s been lapped it seems to shoot everything pretty well.

One thought is to put it into another stock to hunt and keep the original looking perfect. My wood stocks tend to get beat up pretty good.

That is fantastic rife, congratulations.

That is a wonderful family heirloom. The pre-64s are great rifles. Teddy, please take the time to absorb the family oral history which accompanies this rifle. Too often we realize, too late, that we should have asked more questions of our ancestors.

^^^^^
THIS!

TeddyFive06, that is one very nice rifle. Were it mine, it would definitely stay in the family.

The suggestion of a "hunting" stock is a good, especially if your style of hunting is a bit "hard on equipment." I suggest you keep learning about Model 70 rifles. As you learn more, you will likely come to appreciate that rifle even more. (When you mentioned your current lack of knowledge about M70's I thought "Dear Lord! This guy just had a jewel drop in his lap and hasn't a clue!)

You have already learned that bolt clearance is an issue with Pre '64's. It is much less an issue with post 64 M70's. You are also about to discover the .338 can rock you a bit. Careful ammo selection and hand loading can mitigate that a bit.

My grandfather was kind enough to have written down serial numbers and models along with notes about the history of the guns (and several guitars) that he passed along to me. It was greatly appreciated.

Really nice acquisition and a refreshing post. Thanks for sharing.

Very nice rifle,I have a FW in .270 they are usually good shooters with the right ammo.
While I was looking at your pictures I noticed that you might want to replace that older Pad with something a little more modern,especially since its a .338.
Keep the original one but maybe look at Limbsaver,Pachmayr or Kick Eez these would be a good place to start.

Enjoy.......Greg

Thanks for the tips everyone. I’ll get a good feel for it at the range next weekend. I popped off a few rounds with iron sights at 25 yards since I’m in the country, but I’ll probably put a couple of boxes through it soon and get it sighted in.

I’m a little torn on changing out stocks. On one hand I want to keep it in good shape, since I do not intend to ever part with it until I’m old and gray, but I’m also inclined to hunt with it in original form. I’m only a couple of years into hunting big game but I’ve already climbed up through devil’s club and shouldered my way through clear cuts on Prince of Wales, and I’m thinking I’ll probably just take a different rifle if I’m hunting in nasty terrain. It will be a good gun for anything a little more open, like nilgai down here in Texas.

Great gift!!! Enjoy.. You probably can load this down to 348 or .33 Win. speed for whitetails if you like... Full power loads also do a fine job on lighter game.

That is a great story.

I would hunt with it just the way it is. Take a different gun in the rough and nasty spots as you stated. Good plan...

Beautiful old hunting rifle. Congrats on your inheritance.

Ol BobinNH coaxed me into slipping mine into a Legend. It’s my hands down do everything rifle at this point. Shoots like a dream and carries well even for being 9lbs but I take the weight penalty and enjoy the gun since it has been so good to me.



This is the same rifle in wood..



I’m not one to baby my stuff so the Legend works better but properly sealed and such I can’t find any fault with wood.

VERY nice rifle. I like your choice of rings, too. Congratulations!

Somebody too excellent care of that gun. powdr

We each do what works for us regarding Pre '64 rifles. What works for me might not suit others. Free country and all that.
- If conditions are going to be tough, my Pre '64 rifles stay home. I have other rifles for those conditions. Stainless Classics in 'glass. So, I don't feel as if I am giving up anything, except the "cool factor" of hunting with a vintage rifle.
- I like my Pre '64 rifles in "correct" stocks.
- I like a pad, even if only to more easily stand the rifle in a corner. Plus, those steel butts are hard!
- I will not cut an uncut stock.
- I like Monte Carlo stocks for scope use.
- So, I end up buying "correct", but "previously molested" MC stocks if needed.

Well I finally got this 338 Win Mag out to the range. There's good news and bad news.

Good news...it groups very well. I only put about 12 rounds through it today, but it was shooting roughly 1" groups at 100 yards. The trigger feels smooth and overall I like the rifle.

Bad news...it is shooting about 8" to the right and I don't have enough scope adjustment left to catch it. The groups are tight but not close to the center.

I roughly bore-sighted it about a month ago with one of those universal kits. I didn't like the boresight (had to go almost all the way to the right on the dial), and unmounted everything. Upon close inspection, the holes in the receiver for the scope bases appear to angle slightly to the left, and mounting a straight dowel rod into the scope rings appeared to confirm this. Even a cursory glance at the front scope bell shows that it's angled a few degrees left.

So, I ordered a new in-chamber boresight just to make damn sure, and did my best to remount and relevel everything. Checked and rechecked that the Leupold DDs weren't to blame and that I hadn't mounted something cockeyed. Once again, I was able to get it boresighted, but had only about 5 clicks of adjustment shy of being all the way to the right.

Sure enough, got it to the range and it's grouping beautifully, but several inches to the right. Adjusting elevation was simple enough, but there's not enough scope adjustment for me to counter the scope's mounting angle. I don't really want to take a classic to a gunsmith and see about retapping the holes, so I guess I'm going to be looking at adjustable rear bases.

That will work. Or, I hear tell of some Burris rings with inserts to correct this problem. Never have needed to use them myself, but have read of others having success with them.

Edit to add link https://www.midwayusa.com/product/795738/burris-1-signature-dual-dovetail-rings

I believe Burris has discontinued the medium height Signature dual dovetail rings. That said, I think you can find some if you look around. In matte, the number you are looking for is 420561. I don't believe they made these in gloss, but I wouldn't swear to it.

Another choice is Burris Signature Zee rings on nice low steel bases (Warne or Leupold.) These look almost as nice as the Signature dual dovetail, and have the advantage of remove/return to zero. The dual dovetail is probably stronger, but the Zee rings are plenty damn strong.

I know from experience the Signature Zee mediums will work on a Pre '64 M70 and the bolt will clear the ocular of a Leupold. Comparing the Signature dual dove tail to the Signature Zee, both mediums, on Leupold bases, is about 0.030 lower for the dual dovetail. 0.030 ain't much.

Hope this helps,
Gun Doc

Will the Signature Zees take the offset inserts to correct the scope angle?

Yes, any Burris rings with "Signature" in the name take the inserts.
Note you will have to buy the offset inserts separately. You can shoot the rifle, determine what you need, or you can buy a "set" of all of them for a few bucks more. One pair of inserts, about $10, a set about $15.
Note you have to use a pair of inserts together, e.g. a +/- 0.005 pair, +/- 0.010 pair, etc.
If things are way off, you can use a pair in each ring, e.g. a +/- 0.020 set in each ring will give you 0.040 movement between the rings.
For typical Model 70 ring spacing, 4.625, a 0.005 pair of inserts will move your point of impact 3.9 inches at 100 yards. A 0.010 pair 7.8 inches, etc.
The best way is to center the scope (I usually use the "counting turns" or "counting clicks" method), mount the scope in "zero" inserts, shoot the rifle to see how far I am off, then go from there. You can use a collimater if you have one you trust, but the proof is where the bullets land.

I did a quick look on the 'net and found some of the medium matte Signature dual dovetail rings still for sale at a few places.

Hope this helps,
Gun Doc

Very helpful, thank you.

^^^^^^^
You are very welcome. Don't forget to center that scope before you get started. Scopes are a lot "happier" near their optical centers. If you are using an adjustable mount, you should take advantage of that.
I really like the Zee rings. But the dual dovetails are good too, especially if you don't care about remove/return to zero.
Also, welcome to the fire. There are some great guys on here. But there are some absolute, first class, card carrying butt holes too. A thick skin helps.
And again, that is one nice rifle, especially with the story that came with it.

Late to the party on this cool story. I have some m70's myself and treat them like GunDoc said in his post of April 9 above. What a great story.