Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Good price on a new barrel for Win Mod 70?

I have a Winchester Model 70 Classic from approximately 2000 (CRF) in 338 Win Mag. It won't hit the broad side of a barn. I sent it back to Winchester at the time of purchase (twice) and they said it was fine. Approximately 3 inches at 100 yards even with the best handloads I could fabricate (factory ammo was worse).

I'd like to rebarrel it to 375 Ruger, hence my question.

Who offers Winchester threaded barrels (or blanks) at a decent price?
I can chamber it.

The company Precision Barrels looks interesting, but I don't see a single bit of info on their website that they thread for Winchester M70 receivers (and they thread for a bunch of receivers!).

Thanks in advance for your help.

If you want to put the odds in your favor when spending the money it will take to replace the barrel, I would look first to Kreiger or one of the other premier barrel makers. I don't know who threads and who doesn't, but that shouldn't be a big deal.

However, before I went down that road, I would try every handloading trick I could think of with the barrel you have. You may have already done this, but if you haven't, I would play with a lot of different bullet and powder combinations followed by varying seating depths and neck tensions. Thats the fun part of a new/different rifle!
Phil

Patiance, Grasshopper.

I'd try some "gunsmithing" first.

There's maybe a half dozen things that could /should be done before I'd give upon it.

scope, screws, clearances, bedding, "free" mag box, adjusting fore-end pressure point or none, trigger tuning, neck sizing fired brass and reloading, maybe some others. Thumbnail sketch...


I'm tuning a 7X57 M70 1985 xtr fwt right now. Slowly!

Maybe I am.....


Then, if that doesn't work out it's likely to get a 308 barrel of some flavor, or maybe the mag spacer taken out and a 270 or '06.

Something with factory ammo on the local shelves.... I'm thinking of gifting this thing if the accuracy comes together. He will need factory.

mr. garrett: A couple years ago I wanted a new barrel in .220 Swift for an original pre-64 action that duplicated the original pre-64 M70 factory contour in the Swift at 26". Douglas can and did provide that to the man who did the fitting and chambering for me. I was very pleased and Douglas's turn-around was very quick. I know that they (Douglas) can also do the fitting and chambering if you want. I have one Hart and one Keiger barrel on M70s but this Douglas performs just fine: better than I can shoot.

As to trying some "gunsmithing" first, I've been way down that route.

It's not the bedding, scope mounts, scope, unclean barrel, etc.
I didn't go into the details of trying to get this to shoot because it wasn't relevant to the discussion.

This is a bad barrel, bar none. I spoke to someone at Winchester about it after the second return and they agreed that it was shooting over 3" groups at 100 yards. They said that was "acceptable" accuracy. He hemmed and hawed when I asked him if he'd use this rifle on an elk hunt.

It needs a new barrel.

Sounds like you are right. ERShaw barrels have been good, the couple I've fitted, and a bit less expensive than the more premium barrels - Douglas, et. al. They will send it short-chambered, or fully blank, I think- been a couple decades....

Worth talking to them.

If you can chamber it, why would you need a threaded blank? -Al

My same thought!

If you can chamber it - you can thread it.. A 'decent' blank is one thing.. An excellent blank is another.. Krieger's very good, but magnum chamberings will dictate a #5 contour from them.. At least, that's what they used to demand.. Consider Lilja - their barrels are excellent but not 'cheap'.. Nobody will supply a threaded/chambered barrel for a M70 Classic w/o having the action there to chamber it.. That'll cost you more.

Other very good barrels are Shilen, Pac-Nor and Hart. Prices are about the same..

Another to consider is K&P. Excellent barrels and timely delivery. -Al

I’ve had very good service and excellent results from Douglas…

https://www.douglasbarrels.net/fitting-services

If you send it to Douglas they will fit and chamber a contoured barrel for a little over $500. And you'll have it back in a couple of weeks. If you send it to the big name barrel makers you'll be lucky to get it back in 12 months. For a hunting rifle I would choose Douglas. A match grade rifle probably one of the major barrel makers.

The Win 70 Classic is a reproduction of the pre 64, control feed guns. The barrel has the chamber cone cut and extractor cut, so if you think a screw in barrel is gong to headspace and work on your action, you are dreaming.
You need to have the existing barrel rebored and rerifled, chambered and headspaced, as is. Or you can send the barreled action in to get it re-barreled professionally and properly.
I have done pre-64s and Classics both, but do not do work for others today.

It's a bad barrel x 2? Since you sent it back to Winchester to fix the first time. Did they replace the barrel then? My experience with Winchester barrels have been very positive. And the 338 win mags, tend to always shoot above par.

No idea on pre fit's if such a thing could exist for a M70, Krieger and Bartlien have been good to me. Douglas sounds like a great idea as well for the money. Hardly ever hear much bad about them.

Have you looked down the hole with a bore scope ?

Above is about as good advice as you’ll get.

I like to get guns that won’t shoot. Fun trying to make them shoot and many cases can make them shoot. I back in the mid 90’s I bought a near new SS Browning ABolt in 280 off the used rack at Carter Country in Houston. It shot about 6 inches first time to the range. I swapped scopes different load etc, not much better. Took it back home scrubbed hell out of the barrel, JB paste etc. Loaded up some Hornady boat tails and stopped off at the range on my way to go hunt to try it again. Didn’t plan on hunting with it but I’m stubborn and don’t give up easy. I shot a group and noticed it shot a little better. Scrubbed the barrel and shot another group, shot about 3 inches best so far. Let the barrel cool scrubbed it again. Next two shots where about 2 inches apart, third shot cut the first hole. Let the barrel cool and scrubbed it agin. Next group was a ragged hole. Shot a good eight with it the next morning. From that day in it shot lights out. Buddy of mine wanted it bad and I sold it to him. I’m not an Abolt guy but should have kept it.

I had an XTR in 7x57 and it shot ok meaning adequately at 1-1/2" at best, with 140grain bullets and after a few years I tried some 175's and the group sizes halved.

A box of bullets may be a cheap fix?

Mine might be like that. Some components came with it, so I'm working with those. So far I've gotten the 150 Sierra BTSP down to just over an inch and a half, with 41 gr of 3031 and Fed 210 primers. 41'5 I think is starting to crater..., but I'm about thru that box of.

Still have a full box of 160's to play with, and about a half box each of NP 120 and 175. By this, I think previous owner may have been playing with it.

With the rifle came some loaded ammo, and the 175 Fed may or may not have been factory - I think they were, and gave slightly smaller groups than the other (nominally) factory ammo that came with it.



The S&B 173 box I bought for base-line shows promise, considering my rest was a fore-end bag on a snow berm on a boat trailer... "field conditions". . If I can get a reload printing like this, I'm good with it . this 1" was repeated 2 more times, just not so nicely triangular. These are now printing above aim-point, same height


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