Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Stirring the pot - pre 64 Winchesters

Ahhhh, the "pre-64 crap" applies to the Model 70 rifle, correct?

Pre-64 won't go away. They don't make them anymore. There will always be a market for them.

Pre-64 continues to increase in appreciation, recognizing old world construction techniques that are not utilized in todays manufacturing process. People now assemble firearms, when pre-64 Winchesters were hand fitted with craftsmanship.

Sadly this is the change in modern rifle technology, and it isn’t about quality…

The same can be said about almost ALL firearm brands and manufacturers.

Most of what transpired is due to the consumer market.

Customers shifted gears from wanting a royal blue rifle with high grade walnut to a rifle with much less expense spent on fit and finish, but accurate enough to get the job done.

Then you factor in the bean counters managing most of the firearm manufacturing companies, and answering to investors, and you get what we see today.

Pretty sure pre-64 applies to all winchesters produced prior to 1964, particularly in the smokeless powder era.

I'm talking bone stock rifles...no aftermarket tweaks or parts. In a hypothetical situation, say the hunt of a lifetime in a very remote area with weather extremes, and your rifle HAD to work first time, every time...would you grab the pre 64...or would you grab the 700?

That is true, but the model 70 Winchester was always regarded as a better rifle and cost more than a Remington of the same era…

I’m taking my pre 64 to TZ in 27 days.

The difference between work done by hand and work done by computer controlled designs. People can't duplicate jobs that are done over and over and over again as well as a properly programmed computer controlled machine can.

I like those old guns because they have the sort of character that comes from being worked on by people.

Same here. The people at Winchester knew what they were doing. It is evident in their work which is timeless.

People have grown accustomed to synthetic stocks and finishes that may or may not resist the effects of weather better than the old world blued steel and walnut. But for many years, that’s what people had and they worked fine. There may have been more care or maintenance that went into hunting and caring for such a weapon, but that’s part of being a shooter and a hunter.

I find charm in old guns that show the wear and scars of obvious use. They help tell a story. One of my Model 12s was gifted to me by my grandfather after his passing. There are two small spots on the receiver where some deer blood was left on the metal by mistake, causing the blueing to wear off. I’m sure that irked Grandpa, but I love those little spots on that gun. Ditto for the wear on the blueing where Grandpa carried that gun, right where the action and barrel meet. I carry the gun by the same spot, it’s natural balance point.

You SUCK!

Take lots of pictures!

I own half a dozen pre64 M70's .... but I own even more junky old Mausers... not hard to guess where I stand on the issue...

Good luck in Tanzania.

If you require an explanation about craftsmanship and pride of ownership, no one can help you.
Stick to Savages and Mossbergs.
That ought to ruffle some feathers.

Originally they did it to make them cheaper. They had high labor costs because of antiquated worn out machinery which caused a lot of hand work to be done because of the sloppy tooling they had. Yes the post 64 rifles were better mechanically but not asthetically. The new Winchesters using CNC equipment are a way better product then the pre 64 model 70`s.

Take a look at a Cooper with its hand checkering Vs any pre 64 Win and tell me about quality and character.Hell look at the early Ruger 77`s which were hand checkered and sold in the same ball park figures as the Wins. if you want apples to apples.

You've clearly never handled or shot one.

Obsolete. Nobody wants that old wood and blued steel crap.
Embrace today’s technology.

Not true ,my Dad had about 6 pre 64`s.I have had several and never found one worth keeping. Believe me there was nothing magic about them.