Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Your favorite Pre64 M70 caliber

This is a tough one for me just because I really like them all. I have had a 257 Roberts for years but the 7X57 probably get the nod for all time favorite.

300 Savage

270 FWT.

300 Savage and 257 Roberts share top honors...

270 Win! All others are only pretenders.

Bill V

I just bought a M70 in 300 savage but have yet to try it out but I'm sure it will be a favorite in time.

I'm with southtexas-270FWT

How about the boring ol' 30-06. Venerable old rifle deserves a venerable old cartridge. Not to say the .300 Sav. isn't, but a lot of us grew up on the '06, myself included. Hell, there was a time when I was a kid that I thought guns came in three flavors- shotguns, .22s, and 30-06s.
John

.257 Roberts.

I'd say .243 but the .257 is awful nice too.but then I just bought a 1949 M70 Super Grade in .300 H&H so we'll see.

Pugs you will like the 300 H&H, slickest bolt of any of my 70's. It's Hell on whitetails with a Nosler 165 BT.

Congrats on a nice find.

Thanks. Not a pristine collector, good wood, decent bluing but very nice and the bore is spotless. A care box of 100 pieces of brass arrived from Jorge today and dies are on order. Bullets I have from 150 to 180 so I see fun on the horizon.

Once I replace the petrified after market recoil pad with a Win repro and get a scope in it and some range time I'll post pics.

real close....270 win then my 300 H&H

Amen brother!!!!!

If only they made one in 9.3x62mm

270 Win and not just limited to M70's....

30GOVT06. Kind of hard to find green steel boxes full of M2 ball anymore. But not at my house.

I think it's un American to not own a pre 64 model 70 chambered in 30-06..... The rifleman's rifle in the all American chambering...

375 H&H. I really like the big bores. I would have said .458 if I could afford one.

They're all good...

That's mine. 30/06 and 375 H&H would have to be very close seconds.

.264 Win Mag. Big enough for anything in North America, Shoots as flat as anything, and less recoil than a 270, which is my second favorite.

BSA, I like your logic and if you don't mind I'll use it as my rationale for my next pre 64 purchase as I just don't have one in '06.

HANDS DOWN 30-06, Ain't nothing in the world can't be fixed with 700 dollars or a 30-06!!! At the present, Im still stuck on 'Carlos', a 56' Target in a bedded sporter stock, it wears an old 10X thick to fine crosshair AO, 40MM scope, Its lucky, I shoot it well freehanded, I get on target and get the shot off before the weight shakes come on. Im 61 now and will move to a std, then fwt when I cannot hold it still freehanded any more. The trigger is perfect. On the bench the only thing keeping me from stacking one bullet into the other is ME! Were I told all had to go but one I would hunt this one to the bitter end! Here is a freezer buck I nailed this winter after a 40 yard crab crawl to get a shot that I thought was about 200 yards, stepped off it was a 330 yd shot, it was 20 min before sundown, he went out of the scope so fast in recoil I thought I may have missed,Im not prone to miss so a walk down the hill and he had gone down like a sack of cow feed, bang flop, 168 gr Winchester BTs... very best WinPoor

If we move up to favorite 4 these win that bracket, All are in the DO NOT SELL case!

top gun is a std,late 59' SS .264 win mag Westerner, next down is 'Carlos' a 56' target in 06 in a sporter stock, third down is a 56' SS Varminter in .243 Win, bottom is my very favorite late 59' Varminter in my all time favorite .220 Swift, all are SS except the 06'. Bottom gun is the rarest as Winchester only produced 904, It has a ding or 3 but its just as it left the factory, I had rather nail a 400 yard peanut seed digging crow than a 250 yard freezer buck! An oil, LP gas man that dove and quail hunted with my Dad each winter pulled one out his Mercury station wagon, when the doves were slow and nailed a crow at 300 plus yards in a pecan tree ,he had an old Unertl 20X ultra Varmint scope on the gun and the first hard gun case I had ever seen, this was in early 60's and for a kid like me that whole rig and shot ruined me for life! I swore I would have one one day and it took 45 years for it to happen! It is by far my all time favorite Varmint rig! very best winpoor.

After 43 P-64s over 47+ years and shooting scores more, I tend to prefer US chamberings in these great rifles.

Favourites:

1. Always, for western-northern Canadian hunting-bush work, the superb recreation of an older British round, the .338WM in the Alaskan. Ive had five, kept the two matched pairs and one is my all time sentimental and using favourite.

2. THE original *mountain rifle* the outstanding Fwt.-.270Win.

The best combo for BC hunting.

7X57MM, wish I had one.

Gunner the 7X57 is my all time favorite caliber. If I could only keep one rifle it would be in this chambering, which one to keep would be the tough decision

It has always been my understanding that the 264 Win. Mag generates more recoil than the 270 Win. with bullets of the same grain weight....

30 Gov't 06

My FWT 264 barks louder than the 270FWT. In the 20 inch barrel I think performance is about equal.

I had an '06 with a pitted bore rebored to .35 Whelen, it is my favorite M/70 of all those I've owned. It wears Super Grade stock and fittings though it started life as a standard grade, fitted with a Griffin & Howe mount it has a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7X with duplex reticle.

I like your favorite 4 buddy. I call mine the boring 4

Mr GSP, I have always wanted to take a .264 fwt, screw the short barrel off and put a 26" varmint weight Bartlein cut rifled on on and see just how accurate a long range 6.5 bean patch hammer I could build with that pre 64 class! v best winpoor

My fave is the 30-06!!

Eric

WP that would be quite a project. I couldn't bring myself to dismantle a good FWT however. I have never shot my STD 264WM but threaten to switch out the scopes and get her done but just haven't done it. To many rifles and just not enough time.

I bought my std 264 win mag, the gun had not been shot since Winchester stamped the wp on it. I took my time and had it in the black in 6 shots, All I had ever heard was what a barrel burner they were so I walked every 100 yard shot to not overheat, shot 7 or 8 was a nice freezer buck thru the neck. I will only hunt it on bluebird days and am very particular where and how I carry the gun.Ive settled on 140 gr accubonds(I think but understand the 129,130 gr bullets are the long range bomb, the whitetail I shot was 212 yards, I knew he was dead before I ever pulled the trigger ,I was talking on the cell with a cousin hunting 4 county's over and told him to hold one I had to break a new to me gun in! I find its always a good sign when you nail a buck first trip out with a new to you gun, less then 10 round down the tube when this freezer meat guy went down like a sack of cattle mineral!

the very best WinPoor

Mr GSP, It is still a mystery to me why Winchester built that gun with the short barrel, even with these modern powders it probably needs a 28" barrel to get a full burn as they are truly OVERBORE, 26" is the min. to me and if its late you still see a foot and a half fire out the biz end! I will find a mismanaged, fwt .264 to build on one day as I like the cal and there are some real long range bullets out there these days along with better powders, I have so many bucket list projects and at 61 I doubt a 1/4 will ever get done! I am pushing my gunsmith now to finish a .257 Roberts Varminter project that Im really stoked about! v best Winpoor

mr BSA, I have a 300 win mag and a 338 win mag to add to that pile now, I want to talk with you before I shoot my 338, that last thing I want to do is split the stock! it too is ,was a NIB gun out of the Idaho collection the crate bull gun came from. Im thinking of sending it to Echolds or buying his stock and letting Redneck or Mr Gradious here in GA inlet it for me. I will PM some questions to you! thanks in advance WinPoor

Pre-war Hornet...

BEFORE, you shoot your .300 and .338 have GOOD synthetic stocks installed by expert smiths. You WILL be glad you did, this is based on a LOT of personal experience with P-64 70s.

1950 30-06 With original Stith Scope...

Pre-war Hornet...

[/quote]
Mr Shrapnel, That is the cats meow!I was able to find a mismanaged, left in a zipup gun bag for 15 years 22 hornet ,pre war, undrilled target that Im haveing rust blued to bring back but I want a std hornet or an elusive .218bee that I have heard of 2 but never had one in my hands in the worse way! Either will kinda finish my never ending mod 70 quest! the very best WinPoor

Mr SNAP, I zeroed and have shot the 300 win mag and it was very accurate, the only ammo I had at the time was Fed 190Gr SMK match fodder, no problems, I did say I was going to have a nice bed job done, I have yet to fire the 338 win mag, I did score several boxes of Win Fail Safe 230 gr ammo.I plan on hunting it out west and will have it put in a good syn stock. thanks the most WinPoor

Shrapnel loos like you have some Prairie Dog country there. I'm hoping to get to Wyoming this summer and shoot some. I have never been to Montana but hope to someday.

It is prime. This is where we have the PD Invitational every June...

Hoarder!

Shooting PD's is the most fun a man can have with his pants on:) I have two new to me Pre 64 varmints, a 243 & 220 Swift that need to see some action

270 Win

I will never be without a .270, so it stands to reason it is my favorite Pre '64 chambering.

I think the reputation of the M70 was made by Standard Rifles in .30-06 and .270. Also to some extent the same two chamberings in the FWTs. The availability of the .375 in an affordable rifle sure didn't hurt the reputation any!

If I was going to have even more guns than I need, my next would be either a .270 FWT. or a .300 H&H. If a great deal on a .375 came my way, I probably couldn't resist it.

Good post gundoc...

My favorite Pre64 M70 caliber:

I have 270WCF and 30GOVT06 but have longed for a 300HH!

Very tough indeed, thankfully we are NOT there yet.

I know the day will come for me to slap some serious leather for the right 7X57 in a pre-64 Super Grade, I wont even scope it, I'll find the proper [no stock notch] Lyman receiver peep and hunt that rifle with 175 gr Hornady round nosed interlock bullets at a mild yet effective 2450 fps.

The one gun I regret selling more than any other was a SG in 7X57. At the time it was to nice to use and I wanted a high condition Parker 20ga DHE with all the bells and whistles. I sold the SG and a NIB 358 FWT to help fund the Parker. I still have the Parker.

This has been the year of acquisition for me with the Pre 64 M70 for me so in all honesty my favorite will be the one in my hands at the time.:)

, I like fine shotguns and sorta understand the draw, but to me a shotgun could never be as special as a rare Super-Grade, I plainly love hunting rifles, I should try to use that same logic on the many double rifles I've purchased.

I too am laughing at this question, pre 64 model 70's is like having 6 children and someone asking which child you love the most! It just does not work that way. I can tell you the one I worked the hardest for and after 3 shots made me smile from ear to ear! Which one was the hardest to acquire
and you have the most fun shooting
I have 2 project guns I cannot wait to shoot! A pre war 22 hornet target that is undrilled and the bore is fantastic, and a 257 BOB, target that Im turning into a Varminter just like pp264 in the Mr Rule book sans all the fancy engraving. Im thinking both are going to get a world of bench time ! The hornet is what Im going to teach my 12 yr old nephew how to kill house flies at 100 yards with! Both guns were mismanaged, left in zip up gun cases and had to be rescued, no pitting on the hornet so it gets a rust blue redo and wood redo with no expense spared. The BOB target had some pitting under the wood so it gets the first ever for me ,pre 64 ceracoat midnight blue! I will use it in my 200 yard stand to ear and neck shoot freezer meat and varmints. Its going in a pillar block bedded uncut fwt stock done in the old Winchester red and hand rubbed to perfection! Im like a kid waiting on Christmas morning! PHOTOS when they are done. very best WinPoor

Don't know what you have in mind for that 257R WP, did notice Midway has the excellent little 87 gr Speer hot-core bullets in stock, I've heard good things about that bullet in the Roberts and 250 Savage.

I thought the thread title was "your favorite pre 64 caliber"???? Winpoor, that BOB target sounds like it's going to be awesome!! Where did you get the idea of cerakoting it midnight blue .

Old pal, you have never offered bad advise, there was some pitting under the wood that just would not buff out! I will never understand how the bores stayed so nice, Im having both biz ends single pointed to just find 'new metal'. After talking to Mr Rule I knew my dream of pp 264 would have to be built by me sans all the fancy metal work. With the + P ammo and the way the 110 gr accubonds have performed in both 25-06 and 25wssm I love the .25 cals, I sold my beloved 25wssm Coyote lite week to help fund this Varminter! I cannot wait, my gunsmith and the sweet lady that does the woodwork and ceracoat know I want masterpieces out of these 2 guns....very best WinchesterBROKE

Gunner my addiction to both Parkers and Pre 64 M70's go hand in hand. I shoot a shotgun much more than I do a rifle. This transaction was almost 15 years ago and as I wasn't going to use the rifle it just seemed like a way to drum up some cash. Hindsight is always crystal clear. I do have a couple of M70's in 7MM so all is not lost.

I don't really have a real favorite because I love them all, but this is how I see it from my own personal experience:

1. Dislike 308. Just couldn't learn to like it!! No benefits of owing one. Especially in a long action pre 64... It's like building a m1917 243win. Or a tank that shoots 22-250...

2. Grew up with the 30-06 (from age 12). Love it...

3. Was recently talked into (thanks Raybass and BobinNH) buying a 270 after many years of not wanting anything to do with the "gay" cartridge. Best friend growing up wouldn't shut up about how good it is, so it was always a turn off especially when I was using the venerable 06. Now it's still not my favorite because when I take it to the range with my 30-06 fwt, it becomes a battle of which one is more accurate. The 270 usually wins, no matter how hard I try the 270 will come out the victor . I don't know what goes on in the gunsafe, but I probably shouldn't sit these 2 rifles next to each other in there....

4. 300 H&H is a sweet heart. I've shot them in the pre 64 model 70's and they are slick, accurate and don't kick much harder than a comparable 06. Problem with the 300 H&H is they are hard on brass because of the extreme taper of the case. Ammo is harder to find vs. other 300 magnums.

5. 338 win mag is one of my favorites and it does everything I ask of it. Accurate, slick feeding (not as slick as the 300 H&H or 375 but good for a belted magnum), and hard hitting. I've shot 50 rounds off the bench, at 1 sitting, with the Alaskan rifle I recently sold to EricM and loved it. Field positions are a breeze and the cartridge really hammers elk. I've never seen an elk brought down as fast with anything else.

6. 375 H&H: Big enough (maybe too big) for anything in NA. Heavy hitter and very manageable in a heavy rifle like a pre 64 model 70. Mine weighs 10 pounds in its coyote bomber swirly and is very manageable off the bench and in field positions. Rule said they made about 10 standard barreled 375's and I saw (and posted the ad) one for sale last year. I'm still kicking myself in the azz for not buying the damn thing. I think it would have been perfect for my needs. Even though I've never really worried about how much a rifle weighs, the factory pre 64 375 H&H is honestly too heavy...

Here's how I see the other cartridge/rifle offerings:

1. Why the hell didn't they make a 257 Bob fwt??????????? A standard 257 Bob weighing 9+ pounds makes no sense to me. Sorry guys, just how I see it.

2. 7x57 would be awesome as a fwt as well.

3. A 300 savage fwt would have been damn cool too...

How's that for "favorite pre 64 model 70 caliber"???

Actually, you might as well be talking tractors if you compare what you want with what Winchester made. When these model 70's were being made, they didn't worry about lightweight rifles because hunters in those days carried what was available. If you think a model 70 is heavy, you should try a Sharps sometime.

Cartridges were used to satisfy the buyer's needs and the ability to sell more rifles when there were more chamberings offered. Model 70's weren't made to be collectors guns, they became that through years of proven accuracy and simplicity. We like them for what they are not for what they could be...

Whats not to like with a 308? It will do everything 06 will

I'm not fan of the 06 never have been. I can't explain it, I have nice FWT and just bought a std from WP.

The 270 is a great round but bullet selection Is limited. If I had to choose between the 270 and a 280 I'd pick the 280.

I like my M70 300 and 375 H&H's I don't shoot the 300 enough to have brass issues.

My 338 is the ugly gun a Ruger stainless synthetic. I have taken a number of big critters with this from all over the place. A better Elk round doesn't exist IMHO.

Seeing as Winchester didn't have the foresight to make a 7X57 in a FWT I'm having one custom made. The Roberts and the Savage would have been grate in a FWT.

I only have deer to hunt here basically. I drew an Elk tag for a cow in 2001 and used the 338. I wish I lived in an area I could hunt more big gam an birds.

Mr BSA, If you ever take the time to work with a 308 you will end up liking it, It is a step below the unbeatable 30-06 BUT I swear they are inherently accurate. I have a tang safe Ruger 77V that ROBAR in AZ reworked for me in the early 90's, full meal deal, Schneider fluted barrel in Marine contour, reworked trigger, floated, pillars, 1 in 12 and tuned for Fed match 168 gr ammo. If you shot it you would smile,you may not fall in love but you would smile, It was explained to me that it is a perfect powder to bore,bullet combo. I just bought my first mid 50's 308 fwt, I will post range reports.I nailed many whitetails with a sweet 308 mod 100 win that I gave my Dad. Ammo is everywhere and that is a plus! Long story short its ALMOST as good as the 30 GOV'T 06! LOL, very best WinPoor

Very true. Just like winning the lottery it's fun to go the what if route sometimes.

Ive never paid much attention to gay or queer, I liked the women to much but Ive never been able to equate a .270win with gay? Will someone please explain that concept to my thick uncultured head? Ive zeroed many a 270 for friends, none were homo. Last year I bought a fantastic military bring back 50's custom 270 Mauser 'C' ring with Ziess quick release mounts and a Heinsolt 6X scope, custom stock gun that is very accurate, I also bought a nice std mid 50's mod 70 in 270 win. Ive yet to hunt either but know without a doubt either will drop a 225# whitetail buck like a sack of cattle mineral. very best winpoor

Many of us are not fortunate enough to shoot all these great calibers so it is nice to here some good insight into them. Thanks BSA and everyone else who share their experiences on the forum.

The pre 64 70 was dead in Winchester's eyes for many years beginning in the early '50s, consistently losing money every year. This is according to a very elderly metallurgical engineer, formerly employed with Winchester during this time frame...its death in 1963 was coming for some time....

There is nothing wrong with a 270 Winchester. I never owned one because my dad, as a big game guide in Montana in the 1940's, had no use for the 270. He told me he never guided a hunter that shot an elk with the 270 that he didn't have to finish the elk off later due to the inadequacies of the 270.

Mind you, that was in the 1940's when there were less bullets available to shoot in the 270 and that most were shot with the 130 grain bullet of the day.

I decided a few years ago, I should have a pre-64 model 70. I looked specifically for a 270 due to the history of that cartridge and the model 70. I got a bunch of factory Winchester 130 grain Ballistic Silvertip ammunition and went antelope hunting.

I have since killed plenty of deer and antelope with that combination and have since, put away my 25-06, which was my deer/antelope gun before I got the 270.

Today, I would consider the 270 with the 130 Ballistic Silvertip ammunition to be the best midsized big game chambering available. It started out with no chance of ever becoming a gun I would own, to the go-to gun I will grab if I am serious about shooting deer or antelope...

One of the finest shots and most successful hunters I have ever known spent most of his 50+ years of shooting BC big game hunting the once fabulous "East Kootenays" here.

He shot many big Elk, Moose, BH Sheep, RN Goats and scads of deer and B Bears with his one rifle, a P-64 std. .270win, with his final scope, especially, an early Leupold 3x9.

I once saw him while I was working in "The Flathead" kill a good sized Grizzly with one shot with this rifle and he really did not need the second shot he used for "insurance".

I knew several guys like this in the late '50s and into the '70s and have a reverence for the .270Win. and .280Rem. as they work and most can learn to shoot them well, which is, with a decent bullet, what really counts.

I'm in the love em all camp but for me if I had to rank it would be 270 fwt, 30-06, 300 H&H, 338 win mag, 375 H&H

I should have tried to dis-cypher your handle, I take it GSP stands for German Shorthaired Pointer? That would have explained the best quality shotgun attraction for me.

A couple pre-74 7x57's would be gold to have, very nice.

Gunner you are correct. I'm down to one now, Crazy Daisy is 10 but shows no signs of slowing down.
My best GSP and "My Little Buddy" for almost 15 years was named Gunner.

The pre 64 70's are gold to have and it almost took gold to get them.

God Bless 'Crazy Daisy'

M 70 westerner 264 mag.

300 H&H

donsm70