Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Chance at a Winchester 70 Super Grade

A local gun shop has a used but darn near perfect condition Winchester Model 70 Super Grade in for a price of $550. The caliber is .300 Winchester Magnum, and it has Leupold/Redfield scope bases on it already. Also it has that darned "Boss" thingy on it, which is the only part I don't really care for. I could either learn to live with it, or have the barrel lopped and recrowned at 22'' I guess. It's a really nice rifle, and has some pretty walnut on the handle. Is this a good price? How bad is recoil? Is the Boss really that bad, besides being ugly? Will .300 magnum make a good Alabama whitetail rifle? Factory ammo in this round how good? Opinions on the Super Grade line of rifles? Inquiring minds need to know before rushing off on a spending spree. If they keep it a few weeks I might be able to get the scratch to buy it, my car will be payed for and that frees up a few $$$. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

The Super Grade M-70 and the 300 WM are both world-class items. I do not know of bad 300 WM factory ammo, but it costs more than 30-06 or 270 ammo. Both of those might be better choices for a whitetail rifle unless you usually hunt from a stand and take long shots.

The Boss, on the other hand, is of questionable value. It helps cut recoil somewhat, and it's supposed to let you tune the rifle to a particular load. I suppose it does those things to some extent, but I'd hesitate to buy any rifle with a Boss, not because they're bad but because I dislike they way they look. I guess I'm a traditionalist at heart. I'd also hesitate to cut a 300 WM barrel shorter than 24" for the same reason. 22" is as short as I'd go with a 308 or 30-06 -- a 22" 300 WM will be mighty loud.

If this gun is a CRF model, $550 is good but not great by Washington State standards, but the 300 WM is pretty popular here and I don't know what guns go for in Alabama. Without the Boss I suspect it would fetch another $100-150. I can't remember if Winchester ever put the Boss on their push-feed actions. If they did, $550 is steep.

So I guess I'd say that if you need a 300 WM with a Boss, this is the rig for you. You'll have an ideal cartridge for nearly everything in North America and a lot of African game as well, in one of the best rifles ever made. If not, a 270 has the same reach though it does not hit as hard. They're also a lot lighter, they don't kick as hard, and the ammo is cheaper.

Food for thought.


Okie John

The Supergrades are really nice rifles for the money. I'd snap that thing up in a heartbeat if it had nice wood and was in good shape.

All of the Supergrades I've seen in 300 Win Mag had 26" barrels, I don't know if it does with the BOSS, but you could easily have the BOSS cut off and still be left with 24" (ideal in my mind) for about $50.

That would make a fine setup in my opinion. The .300 Win Mag ammo isn't really all that expensive and the cartridge is usually one of the easiest to load for -- several powders work well -- it's not a touchy item. You can get a "solid" BOSS unit to replace the standard one if the blast gets to you, or, as CAS mentioned, cut the thing off (especially if it's a 26" barrel). A 22" .300 Winnie is going to be downright noisy, though! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

For what it's worth, I had a .338 Win Mag with the BOSS in stainless synthetic that I bought new in '97? To try and answer some questions in no particular order:

I'm almost positive the BOSS was only available after the controlled feed became standard. Standard calibers came with 24" barrels and magnums with 26".

Just using Winchester's "suggested" BOSS settings, mine would shoot easily under .75" for 3 shots with very little recoil. One time my wife sat down and shot 3, then I shot 3 more, and all 6 shots were under 1.25" at 100 yards!

Barrel was pretty thinly contoured, but I don't remember the dimensions. I eventually got to the point that I couldn't stand the looks of the BOSS on the end of the barrel, the only trouble was that it would shoot over 6" groups with it unscrewed! So I sold it and bought the same gun in .375 H&H (w/o the BOSS).

The rifle is indeed a CRF. The barrel did look pretty long, I just assumed that it was 24'' because that is a very common length. You don't see too awful many 26''ers around. The last deer rifle I had was an old pressed checkered Remmy 700 in .243, so I am not exactly a toughened up recoil immune person. If that brake really reduces recoil that much, it might be better to leave it on there. I've shot some friends .270's, .30-06's and 7mm-08's, but I know the .300 will be considerably greater. I had a friend many years ago as a teen who had a .300 Winny, but it's been 24 years ago that I shot it, and I have little recollection what it was like.

If I do manage to actually afford this rifle, it probably won't be fired much over a hundred rounds a year, so ammo cost and such shouldn't be too much worry. It would certainly LOOK nice sitting on the gun rack beside my Kimber .22 though. Probably be looked at and handled more than shot, but if you're gonna look at a gun, a Super Grade 70 is sure to please.

You guys wanna know about gun prices in Alabama? They are positively outrageous! A shop up in Hartselle just south of Decatur is asking $650.00 for a new Model 70 Featherweight .30-06. That's why I was wondering if $550.00 for the used but near perfect Super Grade was a feasible price. The bore looks perfect, very little wear on the engine turning on the bolt, and only one small ding on the stock, on the top of the cheekpiece. If it's meant for me to have it, I guess it'll still be there in a couple of months. If not, well, then it weren't meant to be! Thanks for the information guys, and I really appreciate any more ideas or info ya'll can give me, as I will probably be buying a centerfire rifle of SOME sort this year anyways, regardless of whether the SG sticks around for me or not. Like those CZ 550's also. Guess I'm a sucker for a '98 Mauser or Model 70. What the heck, everybody needs a centerfire rifle of some sort! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Phillip,
I have a 300 Win with a Boss, and a 30-06 and 338 all with Boss's. Mine are all Model 70 Stainless classics with synthetic stocks. The Boss does work.

My first was the '06 and I took it to the range with 100 rounds of handloads that shot just good but not great in different '06. The gun started shooting around 2" but when I left the range after 60 or so rounds the groups were often tight cloverleafs. I was walking on air!

The '06's recoil was obviously cut with the Boss but the 300 seems to be effected the most in the recoil reduction department. It is tunable for accuracy too but I have not gotten as tight of groups, but neither have I tried as much. It shot close enought to 1" for me just to take it hunting without much more work. Other guns with bigger issues have taken my time, I guess.

You would not find a more versatile caliber than the 300.......as long as you can handle it. Boss or not a 300 does kick and jump, particularly if you don't do your part right.

And the Boss does make the gun much louder on your end! Much! Keep that in mind. Never shoot without hearing protection unless your dumb like me and don't like to wear stuff like that when you're hunting. I figure a few unprotected rounds a year won't hurt.........that's how #3 came along! ha ha

If it's a newer 300winnie Super Grades, they have a black tip on the forearm, should have a 26" barrel. The older ones, say 10 years or so and older, should have a 24" barrel. I've got one in a 300 manufactered in the early 90's. It's a very nice rifle that shoots well.

I'm not much of a "Boss" fan and would probably have the thing cut off if I could still wind up with at least 23" of barrel. If not, I'd probably pass.

BTW, an asking price of $550 is pretty good. If he's starting there, I'd think the rifle should be able to be bought for a bit less than that.

Here is a newer model.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I couldn't let this nice rifle pass me by like so many really good buys I've had to let slip in the past, so I put it on lay away at the gun shop. Even my wife was impressed with it, and she ain't exactly gun happy like me. Wish I could figure out exactly when it was made; it has the orange/red rubber recoil pad, Boss muzzle brake, and the bottom metal, while solid blued steel, appears to be the two piece style instead of the one piece currently used by USRAC. I am expecting somewhere between 1993 and 1997 based upon the floorplate and recoil pad. It's big, it's heavy, it's nice, but then so am I (well, except for the nice part anyway! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />)I like a big gun, since I'm 6-3 and around 225 lbs. Does anyone make a "Boss Eliminator" eg a threaded piece that would cap the muzzle threads on the barrel? Just in case I don't want the brake? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

phil

Im not positive it would fit your win 70 but i have a browning abolt w/ boss and i know they sell a boss replacement piece for about 30 - 40 bones. screws right and and weighs the same sothe boss still works but is solid and therefore a bit shorter

Sounds like you got a second generation rifle. I had one in 300 Win Mag and let it get away and wish I hadn't. Only negative is the BOSS and if you can get it off and still have a 24" barrel you haven't lost much. Good shooting!