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

I’ve owned several Pre 64 model 70s in various calibers. I’ve owned a couple custom made rifles and some custom made rifles from the 1930s-1950s. If you have or had a pre 64 model 70 and think the inletting, checkering or any part of fit and finish is better on the newer Japan made versions you are completely retarted and or need to get your eyes checked. The Pre 64 model 70s I’ve owned were about as close to a custom as can be had. My model 54 270 has some of the best metal to wood fit I’ve ever seen. The inletting was all done by hand on the older Winchesters.

The stock fit is another thing that escapes the dullards. If you automatically strap your 3x9 tasco on any rifle you buy you have no idea what I’m talking about. If you however shoot with a reciever site you will see the difference. You cannot shoulder my model 54 and not be looking directly thru the Lyman peep to the front site. No adjusting the head or trying to center the front site just shoulder and your there. They made rifle stocks that fit riflemen back then. Now the stocks main purpose is to reduce felt recoil for sissy men lol. Big plastic garbage that points like a crowbar with a thick rubber pad for the vaginas. How many “hero’s” you know that have a rubber recoil pad on a .243? lol absolutely embarrassing to watch.

Anyone with common sense will like them. The problem is that it is getting harder and harder to find.

Pre64 Model 70s are not light and in some ways they aren't pretty. But there was a lot of thought that went into their design and the American workers who were involved in their production had a great deal of pride. There are rifles out there that might be more accurate but it is the sum of the Pre64 Model 70 parts is what counts. You can tell yourself that they are overpriced and that getting a Marlin Lever action makes you look like a character from the television show Yellowstone or the Taylor Sheridan Movie Wind River and that is cool and the fad right now but the bottom line is that they tend to go bang every time you pull the trigger and they are more than willing to finish the job. Corporate penny pinchers don't always make the best decision. There really aren't a lot of them if you really think about it and they have a lot of mystique and represent one of the high water marks of American manufacturing and gun culture.

I have killed 13 animals with 3 different pre 64 M70s that I rebarrelled, re stocked, and re scoped.
I have killed 9 animals with 4 different Rem700s that I rebarrelled, re stocked, and re scoped.

You don't have to read De Hass "Bolt Action Rifles" to know the pre 64 M70 is better.

I've got rifles from Remington, Mauser, and Winchester and like them all. Each has its own charm and aesthetics, but for working rifles I would have a hard time telling you which one is more reliable, accurate, or comfortable to shoot , to be honest. A lot of rifles have taken shortcuts over the years to save production costs- anyone own a Remington 700 with the pressed checkering? I switch over between my Remington 700s and Winchester Pre 64 70s and Post 64 CRF models for any hunt, depending on the mood. Personally, I don't see a huge difference in build quality between any of them but the sentimental value is with the Pre 64 70s for sure and I often carry one of them for a hunt if the caliber is suitable- just for the nostalgia.

My 46 year old son has his choice of any of my rifles he chooses to hunt with and he always chooses my Pre 64 Model 70 30-06 for deer and my Pre 64 Model 70 300 H&H for elk. He just prefers the feel and additional weight of those rifles when shooting and he has done very well with them over the years. I doubt I will be getting either of them back any time soon. Any perceived shortcomings in any of them is a moot point to him and many others since they do their job so eloquently when called upon.

I bought the FW in the classifieds a few weeks ago and handed it to my 15 year old grandson yesterday
He’s first comment through a smile was it’s soooo smooth

Me too brother, me too. Since it was a Winchester thread, I stuck with it...but the reality is if you bump into me on a hunt...it's a Mauser on my shoulder. 6.5 Swede, 7x57, 7.65 Belgian, .30-06, 8x57, 8mm-06...1896's and 1898's.

Well said.

I've handled hundreds of pre-'64 Winchester 70s and still own a few of the less common ones from when I traded the majority of my Father's collection to Bearrr264 for a section of irrigated farm ground. I prefer the newer 70 FWTs made on CNC tooling. QC is tighter and I happen to like the aesthetics of a forearm with a well proportioned schnabel tip.

LOL...to each his own. Keep selling grandpa's M70's if it makes you happy. It sure makes me happy. We can all be happy!

I took my first and biggest whitetail with a pre-64 M/88 in 1974 and since that time have used only pre-64 M/70's for my hunting adventures. Never had a problem of any kind with my model 70's most have been factory but I've owned customs too.

I have 3 Pre 64 Model 70's in 22 Hornet and 1 Copper Model 40 in 22 Hornet. Yes, the wood on the Cooper is better than the Winchester. However, the Winchester has a much better action and overall metal work is superior as well.

I'd rather have a Mosin than what's being peddled off by today's manufacturers, and I hate Mosins.

Still enjoy shooting this Pre 64 30Gov't06 once in a while.

I can almost smell that stinking sob.

There is nothing wrong with a Pre 64 Winchester. I own 5.

There is nothing wrong with a 1963 Corvette.

BUT as with anything from that era there has been progress.

As Charlie pointed out decades ago bolt actions have been surpassed.

A quality Semi auto is just as accurate, handles well and is far quicker if a second shot is required.

No Corvettes now have the slower manual transmission ---- hint.

The advances in metallurgy and the advent of CNC machinery to make modern firearms, has made the myth of pre 1964 Winchesters moot. Even cheap firearms do MOA nowadays, and I doubt many old Winchesters did that. Granted, there's something to be said about "old school" craftsmanship, but these were never custom firearms or made to that level.

Can I borrow your Kevlar??

Times have changed and so too has the technology used to manufacture the things we use. Modern rifles are phenomenally accurate off the shelf and the optics we’re using today allows us to more fully utilize the inherent accuracy in our modern rifles. The problem for me is that a new rifle doesn’t have any soul or character and it won’t have any until it gets used and can no longer be considered a new rifle. The pre64 model 70 comes “pre-loaded” with character and a soul….even the newer model 70’s inherit some soul from their forebear.

The model 70 is more representative of a time period in our history and less about “being better” than another rifle. The model 70 to me is the quintessential “rifleman’s rifle” and represents a time in our country where getting outdoors and celebrating the freedom of being an American by hunting, shooting and exploring were booming. With the federal freeway system and National Parks Americans were stretching their legs and exploring the wilderness which included hunting.

All my pre-64 bolt actions shoot MOA or better. Not sure where this idea that pre-64s aren’t accurate came from. I have had much more trouble getting new rifles to function and shoot accurately.

When my grandson, Owen, was 12 and getting ready for his first deer hunt he had some good choices out of my safes as to what he wanted for a deer rifle. I had some real good rifles to choose from.

He chose a heavily carried but seldom shot pre-64 Winchester FW 243 that a late friend in Tombstone AZ had used as his saddle gun. He used it for javelina and cous deer since the time he bought it new. It shows years in the scabbard. He has some newer and excellent rifles now at age 20, but the 243 FW is his pride and joy.

I have my dad's Mdl 70, originally in 30 govt 06, now in 375 H&H, put together by Dennis Olsen with an original Mdl 70 barrel. My dad shot his last deer with snow in the muzzle and commented on the new dog-knot under the front sight.

My other is an '06 three digit serial number, 36X. These three rifles are the last that would ever leave the family.

My next favorite is a plain-Jane commercial FN 98 9.3X62. An FN 98 is about as good as it gets IMO.



He also likes his Husqvarna 98 270.