Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Steps in Making a Classic Rifle Shoot MORE Accurate

A little like squeezing blood from a stone I suspect, however what steps would one undertake to get the highest degree of accuracy from a classic rifle.

The rifle in question is a 1952 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in 308, NRA very good condition with the only alterations being a lighter trigger spring and a replaced rear folding sight. Honestly, a 90% rifle which has spent a lot of time in a safe, but has been hunted minimally.

I'm told it shoots around 1 1/4 - 1 1/2" with handloads.

Somebody should write a tutorial

New barrel?, reloading, free float, bed?

Perfect the bedding. Freshen the crown if necessary.

How skilled is the handloader? What type of handloads?

Are you worried about resale value?

Being a classic it stands or falls on its own merits. I don't want to get into bedding, free floating barrels, replacement barrels etc.

As is the barrel, rifling and crown look really to my eyes. The action screws have been properly adjusted. At this point I don't want to remove the stock.

The handloader? He still has a lot to learn but understands the basics and the need for concentricity. Optimum bullet lengths and the finer details allude him

Sounds like it's accurate enough for any big game hunting as is. I wouldn't chase superfluous accuracy.

I have that same rifle. I honestly don't shoot it much. When I did it put three shots in an inch at 100 yards using the factory ammo my Dad had it sighted in for.

I'd check the bedding first because mine needed attention there due to the age of the wood.

Keep in mind when handloading. These rifles direct gas down the left raceway of the receiver with no safety flange at the cocking piece in the event of a fired case rupture. Not a big deal, but something to be aware of.

Good luck and fun fine tuning. They're remarkable rifles.

Load development is always part of the equation, with Brass handling being a part of that if. You really want to improve things.

Going beyond that you have to decide if you are a table top gunsmith (DIY guy), or want to get it to a decent gunsmith.

IF so …

Barrel issues first (I mean slugging and possibly lapping it, crowns, inspection, …. )
Then of course pressure points.

Lugs, trigger, and Firing Group, rear bolt play, and of course bedding.


So ?

Without at least bedding the rifle that may be the best that it is capable of.
With model 70s one of the main causes of inaccuracy though is that the center action screw (the one in front of the trigger guard) is overtightened which cause the action to bow. It should be only tightened to a very light snug, as soon as it hits resistance stop tightening it. The only purpose of that screw is to hold the trigger guard in alignment with the floorplate. If it is tighter than this loosen it up and give a try - I suspect that the groups will tighten up a bit. Otherwise play with loads and seating depths.

drover

I've owned a number of pre-64 M70's, standards, and lightweights. Some were very accurate, others were just OK. Kinda like your rifle. For me, it's fun to try to get MOA accuracy out of them, but the reality is it often doesn't happen. But, so what. The level of accuracy you describe is more than adequate for game animals the 308 was designed for. Sometimes perfection is the enemy of good enough.

Most of the brand name factory loads I've seen will not realize the potential of the rifle. Drover is right on with the center screw. I wouldn't touch anything until trying the rifle with a known ammo, something on the order of Federal Gold Medal Match, with a proven scope with very little parallax. Since you are a campfire member, we can assume that you yourself can easily shoot sub moa groups all day! long, so that's not a factor. Don't fix nuthin' until you are damn sure it's broke. My 5 centavos worth.

Really not a BIG deal. Wear your safety glasses. Never been a problem for me or others I shoot with. Some guys find fault with everything!

I'd just clean the barrel good to remove any possible copper fowling, make sure the screws in the scope mounts and action are properly tightened and then shoot it like it is. It would probably shoot better than I can and I've never met anything I wanted to shoot with a 308 that a 1 1/2 in rifle won't work just fine. Why mess up a classic if you don't have to...

The first thing I would do is clean the snot out of it with Montana Extreme or Shooters Choice and then several applications of Wipeout. Then check all the action and forearm screws using a torque wrench if possible…..”as tight as you can get” won’t necessarily work.
Then work on the load development.

I had a 1953 .308 Fratherweight for a few years until selling it a couple months. It was also in original condition--except the buttstock had been shortened slightly and the aluminum buttplate filed to sort of fit it.

The barrel on those original .308 Featherweights was also "sort of" free-floated, meaning it was floated just enough to clear the forend--but not enough to prevent the barrel from touching the forend when the rifle went bang. Mine would kinda shoot some loads into 1-1/2" or so, sometimes a little small, but sometimes bigger.

This is indeed good enough for most big game hunting, but I decided to see if it would do better, so put two plastic bread-bag shims behind the recoil lug, then tightened the front and rear action screws as usual, and just snugged up the middle screw--as Drover suggested. This "lifted" the barrel just enough to actually float it, and the rifle started grouping 3 shots under 3/4 inch, and in fact would put 5 of its best load in an inch or so.

It also did not alter the original bedding of the rifle. When I eventually decided to sell it, I simply removed the shims.

PS to navlav8r--The pre-'64 Featherweights did not have any forend screws.

In addition to the basic flightlist mentioned above- I have seen some good results reported by using Tubb final finish bullets. Be careful though- overuse / unnecessary excess will erode the throat. Anecdotally improvements reported between 1/4 and 1 moa. Another one I've seen is use of HBN in proper size to coat / saturate a barrel.

Put a couple plastic bread bag clips behind the recoil lug and try again. My 30-06 fwt went from a 2" rifle to a 1 inch rifle with that little trick. Mule Deer idea I believe. If that works a bedding job would be beneficial.

I have had a number of pre 64 model 70's. First off, the Featherweights are usually not as accurate as the standard weights but will shoot 1-1/2 " at 100 yds with most anything. . All that I do is adjust the trigger to my liking and correctly TORQUE all of the action screws. If a scope is installed, all of these screws need to be torqued as well.

Dunno what the "correct" torque is for pre-'64 Model 70s, as I don't believe Winchester ever suggested any, since it was long before the torque craze started. In fact I just published a column in SPORTS AFIELD that discussed the subject, and found several of today's better custom gunmakers don't think much of it. But whatever....

Mule Deer,

At the known risk of making a fool of myself here on the 'fire, explain how the shim "behind" the recoil lug floats the barrel a little? I can see how a similar shim "underneath" the lug surface might "lift" the barrel off the forend surface a little bit but would also throw off the bedding alignment/geometry at the rear action screw.

Pardon my ignorance!

As a long term fan of pre-64 70's, I am grateful I have not had issues getting very adequate (and often stellar) accuracy out of mine. It never hurts however to have an extra "ace" up one's sleeve!