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I'll post this here, as I know and respect a handful of you who post in this section. And some of you have some REALLY nice rifles.....and will know more than I do

Nearing 50. Should do well selling a home next spring if the market holds. Gonna do Plains Game somewhere. Have not had a custom rifle in some time. Several rebarrels in McM stocks. That's more semi custom I am guessing. The older I get the more fun I have banging steel with the SA likes of 6.5 and 243. But my All Time favorite chambering is 338 Win Mag.

I have a lefty Win 70 in 338 I paid too much for. Had a decent 1" Limbsaver ground to fit. Bought a Williams One Piece still in the white that I opened up the stock to accept. Bedded the whole thing. But it's never really been a Shooter. I don't shoot sanctioned PRS but will compete locally in shoots. So I am more of a LR/Precision nerd. A not very consistent 2-3" gun at 100 gives me zero warm feelings. Small chance an older Varix-III is floating, but doubtful.

This was kinda my Grail Gun.....and as I have grown older the McM Coyote pattern isn't the fad it once was....and GAP/Hunter Camo has also faded. Leaves my wanting a Highbean McWalnut. What a great looking classy stock that can take a beating. I'll have one in some fashion for a project.

Question is.....I was hung up on the Win 70 CRF from all the writings of the 70-80's....however this current box stock gun seems to maybe hit the shoulder on the edge of the chamber and sometimes needs a short stroke to feed correctly? Bugs me a bit. Accuracy sucks. Factory stock is nice, but I've dremeled and bored the piss out of it.....it's not worth what I paid for it after free floating and bottom metal inletting and bedding...yet I still cannot bring myself to Ground Tuning it and beating the Schittt out of it.

Do I invest in a Bartlein #3 and have someone skilled in Winchesters rebarrel it? Be the cheapest route (if it gives me MOA ish accuracy I'd be pleased...sub would be peachy). And order the McWalnut to toss it in when they put it together? Is jacking with this rifle throwing money down a hole and it will never be what I hope for?

Cut my loses and simply buy a Montana Lefty ALR and have a classy looking rifle for $1700? ( I was in on the original action purchase program that was a debacle. Have a CZ-3 which was their barreled action that went back 2X to get it right, but it's a nice rig in a McMillan now).

I really like the 26" barrels on rifles. A MRC 1999 ALR would cost me several hundred $$$ to get a 26" instead of the 24".

Or take one of my R700 LH mag actions and get a tube spun on and wait on the McM? Quit fighting the M70 action and feeding and trigger? The M70 seems quite simple but almost dangerous looking design and outdated by what's available on a R700/Clone?

General thought on the above

Last edited by Jesse Jaymes; 09/24/19.

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I have a couple of 338 LH m70s and I am in the same situation as you. Gene Simillion recently put together a very nice 270 featherweight that is very close to perfection so thinking about going that route again but using a Legend stock. Had a Montana Rifle X2 and sold it. M70s just feel right. Depending on what you want to spend, you could sell it and buy a Dakota.

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Buying the pieces out of pocket lessens the sting of a huge single bill. I don't have $4000 sitting in a sock drawer to invest in a rifle in one whack. And I would never use a rifle that spendy. Hoping for something in the lower end of that middle. I realize a barrel will be $800 to buy and install. McMillan is $500ish. Already into the M70 a bill plus bottom metal.


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I’d send it to Lee Christiansen(Redneck). Have him rebarrel it. Call D’Arcy Echols and see if he has any LH Legend stocks....If not he can order you one from McMillan.
Lee will be able to get that rifle shooting sub moa.

I’d cut that 26” barrel back to 25”(will look better than the 24” in the Legend stock but won’t be as cumbersome and will balance a little better than the 26”).

Nothing quite like a model 70 if that’s what you truely want.

I’ve got two LH Model 70s in Legend stocks. One is a factory barreled stainless 7mm Rem Mag. The other is a custom barreled 30.06 that Redneck rebarreled for me....It has a favorite load using a 165gr Nosler Accubond that’ll put 3 shots into 0.5” all day long, but shoots most everything I feed it MOA or better. Barrel is a 25” Pac Nor #1 contour.

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I'm a Remington guy, but no fan of the .338 stuff. If you were reworking a 700 I'd say go to shaenrifles.com and be done with it. Super fast, and very good. No knowledge of anything Model 70 or Montana.

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@OP, I feel for ya. Been down the same path. Random thoughts:

1) If you stay with the Winchester, +1 on Redneck, and +1 on the Echols Legend. Both are the real deal for Win M70's...
2) Handled a LH ALR at Whittaker's. They have some heft to them. However, for a .338, that is probably not a bad thing. Almost bought one, but bought a RH Kimber Classic Select that they had in stock instead. Retrospect, probably should have waited for the ALR...
3) As I am thinning the herd, my last LH Winchester (.300H&H) is on consignment at a local shop. The last rifles standing will be a two or three LH Rem 700's / clones along with one or two nice LH Mausers. The Mausers because they are unique. The Rem's because of the abundance of parts to tinker with...

That's my story and I am sticking to it... Good luck with which ever option you choose...



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With all the custom actions today.....is a blue printed R700 worth a schittt? Or is that old news too? Have a couple LH mag bolt face donors I could use. Soooo much more support and parts for the 700. Everything under the sun.....Winchester 70....super limited.


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Lee was a nice enough guy but I am soured on him after one project. Anyone else who knows M70s and isn't a 3 year back log?


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Originally Posted by Jesse Jaymes
With all the custom actions today.....is a blue printed R700 worth a schittt? Or is that old news too? Have a couple LH mag bolt face donors I could use. Soooo much more support and parts for the 700. Everything under the sun.....Winchester 70....super limited.

Might keep an eye on other forums as well. A used LH SA TAC30 sold over on SH a few weeks ago for $500. Deals pop up occasionally. Just have to be ready to jump when they do...



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Yea....that is one I am familiar with....Ida been keen on that one and had cash in hand. By the time you true and action, have Karl flute a bolt and add a kung fu shifter know you're into a Remington about the same. Just harder to swallow the $1000 hit for an action vs true up a donor that you've had for 10-20 years and don't do anything with.


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I've had a few customs built, and owned a few more, on M7oo & M7o actions. It depends on a guy's priorities of course, but I generally feel like building on a M7o is worth the extra trouble.

I say that having never owned a M7oo clone. YMMV of course. Best of luck with your project. smile


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I've seen more well-shot game lost with TSXs than any other premium bullet.


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