I was wondering why Winchester doesn't offer a .223 M70? Would a nice rifle in the FW model...I would have ordered one of them over a 22-250, which I may cancel to buy another in a .223 anyways.

My answer to that question was to buy a 9 twist Hawkeye in 223. It's a sweet little rifle.

I would really like a M70 CRF fwt 223 as well!

harv3589,

It would require a complete new design for this caliber which would need much new tooling and fixturing for a minimum quantity of rifles. Not ecconomical at this time.

Headache

How does your Ruger shoot? Good groups? That could be an option

Too bad they dont have them I guess...I assume it something they will never offer given the cost.

I have a Featherweight in 223, that is the push feed version... 1980s vintage...

Hmmm. I'd like one of those. The push feeds are sweet little rifles.

I haven't done much with it yet. In the past couple months I bought a stainless model with a Hogue stock. Dumped the Hogue and replaced it with a factory walnut takeoff I found. It needs bedded, but it wants to be a shooter.

I do know it's the best feeding 223 I have ever been around. Everything runs perfectly.

Have one that a friend borrowed for awhile and had Barnes 62s going +/- an inch at 100. Heavy for such a little gun and balance is off. Their bottom metal contributes more than a little.

Considered trying to find a lighter floor plate assembly, but haven't. Nice rifle for the most part.

I've got one as well, even with the pencil thin barrel. Never having been bedded or any other work done to it, it just flat out shoots (even the cheap stuff).

A pard shoots one of those. I covet it...

mine only gets fed handloads...

wacked a few blacktails with it, 70 gr Speer SMP and a stiff charge of Rl 15... deer took one step each time... and flopped on their nose...

one did bolt at the shot, but it was a right hook and his run lasted about 3 steps..

doing some switch barrel stuff, I have debated also of having a 204 barrel made for one.. in a featherweight contour...
that would be a rare bird, but I am sure it would have its fans...

I had a push-feed "Ranger" M70 in .223 for awhile. It was kinda nice, had a seven-round capacity down the magazine, IIRC.
It never shot like I thought it should, but that might have been me, hard to say. It did sure enough like SPSXs and Blitzes, though, and that's pretty endearing, those are cheap bullets and work great on groundhogs.

Man, I'd love for Winchester to offer a scaled action in CRF for a .223, but I know that's not something I'm likely to ever see, for cost reasons....

My first CF rifle was a M70 in 222. The trouble was it would extract but rarely eject the empties, even after a 'correction trip' back to the factory.

I have an old push feed .223 Featherweight and it shoots the 55grn Winchester factory loads like a dream. I was thinking of a re-barrel to a .260 remington for something a little more suited for whitetails

Did Winchester ever make any CRFs in 223 Rem ?

Men, no experiance but here is FN's version of the M 70 in . 223. I believe that it is the old WSSM action in CRPF.http://www.fnhusa.com/l/products/commercial/rifles/tsr-series/tsr-xp-usa/

I had one and sold it. Mine never did shoot that well with anything. Even after free floating/bedding/trigger adjustment/recrown it wouldn't do better than 1 1/4" with it's favorite handloads.

I read about 1" 5 shot groups at 100 yards on the internet.
That was before the www had gun forums, that was on usenet rec.guns.

I tried for years to get a 1" group. It seemed that everyone on the internet got them, but at the ranges I visited, I never saw one.
Then in the 1990's I was at Issaquah range and saw a man, in his 20's who was there every day and had just got a new rabbit ear rear bag, get a 1" group.
Many at the range crowded around and asked how he did it, like asking someone how they caught a giant fish. He said he could only do it with Federal Gold match ammo, no other ammo would do, and he was shooting a Winchester M70 Coyote .223.

I go to most gun shows, where 10,000 people show up, and I have never seen a .223 M70 for sale.
I am still looking.

I got my 1" group in 2002.
But I will still buy an M70 .223 if I see one.

Because they could never compete with the Kimber 84M!

And kimbers crappy quality and chitty service.

Yeah those Kimbers are garbage. They suck so bad, I bought three of them. It's going to be even harder to compete with a Model 70 assembled in Portugal.

But seriously, if you aren't going to get a pre-64, just do yourself a favor and get a Remmy.

They aren't really that hard to find in the pushfeed version. There's usually one or two on GB at most times.

One on GUNSINTERNATIONAL right now, but its a bull barrel.

Also one on GB, but its a rechambered 222

I have a push feed 70 XTR from about 90 or 91 that I have shot very little but it will put out some respectable group�s it�s been over 10 years since I played with it but it did well

To the best of my knowledge, no. I've had a stealth, coyote, and ranger PF 223's, but never found a factory CRF 223 offered. I do have a pre-64 that was reamed out from 22 Hornet to 222. Some day it will become a 223 or 223ai.

Several years ago, I sent an email to FN suggesting/asking if they would ever offer a CRF 223 with a CL barrel (scaled down version of the 308 SPR), they said it was in the works, but I haven't seen any mention of it.

Ruger and CZ offer controlled feed [Mauser extractor] .223s.

The CZ527 is no battle ship. I have blown the bolt face off one or two of them with overloads.

A Ruger #1 falling block is much sturdier when the case head fails.

What would be a good price on a push feed M70 222 rem that is in average condition? Are they worth much?

Why waste a CRF on a prairie dog, save it for the real hunting.

I have shot prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and rock chucks with a lot of different rifles, shotguns, and handguns over the last 45 years.

For rodents I like the Ruger #1V in downloaded 223 for up to 100 shots per hour and the Ruger 10/22 in 22LR with bull barrel for more than 100 shots per hour or for fence climbing walking around.

I have given up on bolt actions, break actions, pump actions, lever actions, 17M2, 17HMR, 19 Badger, 220 swift, 243, and pellet guns.

At one point in the catalog, they listed the 223 standard to be built on the "super short controlled round push feed" action. I don't know if they ever actually produced it, but I sure wanted one.