Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Model 70 carbine

Friend of mine informed me of this little rifle in a pawn shop a couple of years ago Stamped on the barrel CARBINE in a lightweight wood stock and chambered in 270 It was a little rough True hunting rifle $310 out the door Even had a little gloss 1-4 Nikon on it Since then I reblued it cleaned up the stock and added a redfield revolution 3-9x40 to it Little gun turned out to be a shooter A collectible doesn’t have to be a high dollar rifle This one has a lot of sentimental value and you can put a $ mark on that

Always had a thing for 270 Carbines

What’s the barrel length on that

O/P you've omitted descriptors which make any positive subject matter statements difficult and largely tentative. Such as "era" of production omitted! I'm unfamiliar with all the permutations and/or nomenclature in the 1964 and later Winchester Model 70 rifles.

But in the historic pre '64 genre, there was no such factory creature termed "Carbine". A 20" factory barrel option was available through about end of Forties era. Officially catalog termed a "Short Rifle". A distinct feature 'suggesting' authenticity is of a forged-barrel integral front ramp sight-base. So any such representation with otherwise separate unit affixed, would be "aftermarket'. Worse, the 'real deal' has been quite professionally forged by now as term used "spoofed".

Little info and no pix, best to say, "If it works for you, congratulation!"
Best!
John

Funny, the guy that wrote the book on the Rifleman’s Rifle called them a Carbine. The guy the wrote the book on Model 54 called them short rifles?

There are post64 rifles with Carbine barrel stamps

I'd buy a beater post 64 M70 for $310 any day of the week. It should be a dandy. I hate to see vintage guns reblued but that is an American thing. In most other countries they treat reblues like general maintenance. I prefer a vintage gun with wear over a reblue. I think you did well.

I bought a 270 carbine in the late 90’s for $350 from a lady who used it to kill one deer. It was like new. Gave it to my Dad after I put a brown precision stock on it. It was a great shooting SOB. One evening before heading to Nevada we were trying to beat the fading light. We shot enough that the barrel was to hot to touch but that gun kept all the shots in the same little bitty group. I will say that the muzzle blast was pretty blinding in the low light.
Dad killed a deer and decided he wanted a little longer barrel, we found a Ruger 77mkii 280 in a laminate stock. So again that rifle put another deer in the freezer and was sold.

IIRC, the rifle was dubbed "Lightweight" and had "Carbine" stamped on the 20" barrel (LA guns may have been 22"). They were a PF rifle and a product of (roughly) the late '80s and early '90s. Both long action (.270, .280 and .30-06) and short action (.222, .223, .22-.250,.243, .250, 7x57, and .308, at least) rifles were made. I had a .308 and it shot lights-out.

Model 70 Carbine 250 Sav

I bought two new carbines not long after they came out in about the mid-1980s: a .223 and a .250 Savage. The plainest of plain walnut and both guns were mediocre shooters. They're long gone.

I had a LA pushfeed carbine in 270 win with the 20 " barrel no irons on it and it had some really nice wood on it. Shot ok , with a 150 nbt at 2750 fps. I didn't want it for lr capabilities but out to 150 yds. I shot 1 nice whitetail doe with it a 45 yds. It worked just fine but the muzzleblast on it was a sorry sob
It went down the road. I try my damndest not to buy rifles chambered for long action cartridges with barrels shorter than 22" anymore, I've taken all the sob lessons of that sort I ever needed ...mb

My local Scheels had one recently in 30-06, It was Minty... USRA production, 20 brl, stamped "Carbine", With a red rubber butt plate "Ouch"... If that had been a 243, 7-08, 7x57 or some such, I'd own it!..

For a the Good Of The Order….

In the 1929 WWSG&A (Winchester World Standard Guns and Ammunition) catalog, the M54 with 20” Nickel Steel barrel and slender finger grooved stock is called “Model 54 Carbine” below the page header “Model 54 Bolt Action Rifle”.

In the 1936 Winchester Arms and Accessories W-R (Wholesale-Retail) catalog (last for the M54); the M54 with 20” Chrome Moly Steel barrel and checkered NRA style stock is called “Model 54 Rifle with 20 inch CARBINE Barrel and Speed Lock”.

In the 1937 “Retail Price List of Winchester Arms and Accessories” catalog (first for the M70), the M70 with 20” Chrome Moly Steel barrel and checkered NRA style stock is called the “Model 70 Standard Grade-Standard Sights-20 inch barrel”, “Model 70 Standard Grade-Lyman 48 WJS Receiver Sight-20 inch barrel”, and Model 70 Standard Grade-Lyman 57 Receiver Sight-20 inch barrel”.

Nowhere in Winchester’s catalogs are any of the above barreled M54/M70 styles called “Short Rifles”…..that’s a lever action collectors term used to differentiate a Sporting Rifle with a shorter than standard barrel from a “carbine” since in those various lever action models the “rifles” and “carbines” were distinct entities.

Winchester did call the original short barreled M54 a “Carbine” because it had a distinct stock style. Collectors often call the later short barreled M54’s a “short rifle” to distinguish it from the earlier M54 Carbine since it was now identical to the NRA Standard Rifle except for the shorter barrel length. Likewise the short barreled M70. But it’s all collector’s (Not Winchester) lingo.

I had two Model 70 Carbines made in 1984 30/06s. My son and I hunted from Summit Old Man climbing stands or ladder stands. I liked em both and still have mine. Fits me perfectly and I also like to slip around hunting. Love carbines. Had a Win 94 Trapper, Remington 742 carbine in 308. Still have a Ruger RSI 77 tanger in 308. Son got into playing classical guitar and his became down payment on one. Winchester did make Carbines pre 64 too that are not push feed

Hi Ponocojack! Thanks for the interesting info, most all of which comports with my understanding entirely. Only the term "Short Rifle" remains in the air for me contention-wise. I'd like to review the works of Roger Rule and David Bichrest since it seems most likely Roger was my original source of info. The O/P's only context was the generic "Model 70" and my limited response context of the "pre '64 era." The Model 54 -which I love to gab about - wasn't on point even if I did enjoy it! The reference to levers similarly.
I've enjoyed perhaps 'exploiting' the matter for wider comments though! Let's 'do it' again soon!


Thanks to all for an interesting Thread!
Best!
John

Sorry for any things I left out Been very busy with work and other things going on She is definitely post 64 and carbine stamped on the barrel I also have a lightweight 22-250 Stainless barrel and blues receiver will try to post some pics of both rifles by the weekend

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