Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors You just bought a Pre 64 FWT?

This is an honest representation of how my 30-06 fwt shot before bedding it. This was also shot with my other pre 64 model 70's pet load. I've got too many damn rifles since I haven't had a chance to develop a specific load for this particular rifle . I think it has potential though and should shoot better now that it is bedded:



Don't ask why I shot 8 times. If I remember right it was the last 8 shots I had in the box and it was grouping well so I figured what the hell....

Here's how my 308 fwt shot on its last outing. I've since bedded it also (didn't want to screw up the collector value but what the hey!!!! Did it anyway). I'm sure it will shoot much better now. I was just messing around with the scenars since I've heard a lot of good about them. Not too impressive but nonetheless, group was shot before I bedded it. We'll see how she does next time:

I traded for my first pre 64 featherweight back in the summer and now own three (one 270 Win and two 30-06's), and I would agree that 1.5" accuracy is about average with mine too. I own a few upper end guns and tend to get hung up on "one hole" accuracy, but in truth, a gun that will do 1.5-2" at 100 yards is more than adequate for hunting.

So Bob, after your tweaked the rifle and the ammo, were you able to determine which one proved to make the difference?
With so many variables, what caused the rifle to shoot to your expectations?

bigwhoop I think it was the cumulative affect.What made me suspicious of the ammo was that both rifles were doing the same things....random flyers at 300 yards.

But I knew they both had factory bedding,which is generally adequate,but not the best.I knew that before I could draw conclusions about the ammo, the rifles had to be "right",so I bedded them and cleaned up the barrel channels.i have found that a lot of load tweaking we do in an affort to get rifles to shoot is really wasted effort....if the rifle is not "right",some loads may shoot but its' like building a house on a crooked foundation.pretty much a waste of time if the rifle is not tuned properly.

Meantime, I checked the ammo,started watching case runnout at every step of the loading process,new cases or fired cases...it was surprising how much I had been lousing up good brass with sloppy sizing techniques.

pre 64 M70 FW in 30/06 have pretty light tubes,but are good barrels.I knew they would shoot but can be fussy with some stuff,so stuck with 150's and 165's,segragated into .005 and under...the flyers disappeared.Much better.

Poorly assembled rifles will not shoot....crooked ammo will not shoot.

I won't have a problem getting my fwt's to shoot moa, now that they are bedded and after I work up a load for them....

Thanks Bob. I especially like your "heads up" on the runout issue. Something I should monitor more closely too.

about 1-1/4 adv is what my unmolested 308 does.. my sons 30-06 about 1-1/2