Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Pre 1964 Model 70s??

I'd say.. If I didn't know you better I'd say you're trolling..



Less money is sure right... They ain't selling well so most can buy 'em for squat above wholesale..

There's a reason for that..

yep....

Two points...one function; one looks.
1. Function- The easiest rifle to cycle I have ever operated.
Light bolt lift and slick stripping the round from
mag to chamber.
2. Looks- The best bolt handle design ever. Looks right and is
positioned perfectly.
I have had 4 of them and all shot well. A .308 fw was a disapointment but shot 2" all day long. The stock is a problem on magnums.
Bill

I smell smoke.... did you order crispy? I will give you that the Model 70 is over priced to many. I believe it has more to do with simple economics. Too many $$$$ chasing too few goods.

Thanks for all that great info.

I have 7 pre 64 Model 70s. Only one, a 30-06 FWT is near-original. I take it on hunting trips and it is more accurate than, for instance, my compo-stocked Remington 700 30-06 that just came from the factory. It also functions better, for me, in the trigger, safety and bolt release. The plastic butt plate doesn't bother me, though I agree it isn't as nice as the checkered metal niedner style butt plates on the earlier rifles.

The other 6 range from a pre-war that was nicely rebarrelled and restocked as a 22-250 varmint rifle to a 300 H&H with a badly modified stock and an unsafe trigger to a 30-06 with rust pits so deep the previous owner polished the receiver ring to an egg shaped cross section. I view the mistreated actions as the basis for first rate custom rifles. For my purposes the beat up m70 is as good as or better than a Mauser 98- commercial or military.

I just bought a feather weight in 30/06 in great condition with a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5X8 scope for less than a new Remington 700 would cost. It shoots into 1.25 inches @ 100 yds. The action is slick as butter and a pro already screwed it up by putting a recoil pad one it, so I don't feel guilty hunting with it. The best part is when my wife saw it and asked if it was new, I could say heck no this old thing was made in the late forties or early fifties and be telling the absolute truth.

Liking pre 64 M70's,for me,has little to do with scarcity,nostalgia, JO'C,Elmer Keith...or anything like that....those are all nice touches,but they aren't the reason I own and hunt with them.And I'm not a collector; I use them.

I don't have a lot of patience with mechanical devises that don't work...particularly rifles that don't function perfectly every time,and don't shoot well.Having spent a small fortune on currently manufactured rifles over the years,some great and some lemons,I've noticed over the years that the odds of getting a great-functioning and shooting rifle,without doing anything to it,are higher with a pre 64 M70 than anything else I've owned,on average. If I want to get fancy, I drop it into a Brown, or McMillan,and that is that.....no need to do much else,like replace firing pins,speed locks, new bolt shrouds,make sure the bolt handle won't fall off,get an after market safety, new trigger....etc,etc....it's all there...the original.

Yes, they have gotten pricey....but they have been "pricey" since they were discontinued...it's all relative.I remember being in college and seeing a 35 Remington for $350 and wondering why anyone would pay that much money for a lever cartridge in a bolt rifle......within the last few years,I saw a pre war factory original chambered for 405 Winchester(one of two made)......hate to price that thing today.

I'm really happy that many think there's a better mousetrap for BG hunting,cause they only made a little over a half a million of them;there ain't really enough to go around.

Any pre-64 70 is worlds better as a hunting rifle than any off the rack rifle available today.

Send them over, I'll properly disposed of them for you.

Overall, IMO the best mass produced factory hunting rifle of the 20th Century .... and the top big bore target rifle as well.