Been kind of looking for a nice looking wood stocked lightweight rifle for climbing the mountains of Idaho with. I stumbled onto a picture of the M70 Featherweight Compact and it may just fit perfectly into my version of the perfect mountain deer rifle. Does anyone have one of these or any experience with one? Curious as to quality and accuracy of the newer rifles compared to the earlier versions. If there is one in your neck of the woods what do they sell for? Thanks.

I don't have one but the ones I've fondled made me want to buy! I like them a lot. I could find a good use for one in any caliber they come in.

A pard has a Winchester Featherweight (he bought it used) and I've shot it some at the range, so that's the limit of my experience.

Nice rifle. I like it. Intrinsically, it's more accurate than he can shoot it.

His seems to be twisted slow, however, and IIRC he had trouble with 100+ grain bullets. 80-90 grains, no problem. If you're thinking about a new rifle, check and see how they're twisted these days.

1:10 on the Win site - does sound a bit slow. If it would shoot 95gr partitions I'd be happy.

I shot an early 80s model Fwt. in .243 for a loooong time. Loved it. Bought a recent model Fwt in .22-250....no complaints.

Go for it!

My daughter shots the FL Compact in 7-08. shoots a variety of loads well light and easy to handle and reliable. She shoots it quite well.

A quick call to Nosler will get you the straight poop.

I think all the M70 Featherweights are wonderful. In my opinion the best looking factory rifle ever produced. I have had two...a .257 Roberts (why did I sell that?!) and my current 7x57. Both were vintage 1983. Had to play with bullets to get them to shoot but finally did. I think a compact version in any rendition of the .308 case would be amazing.

Centershot, have not shot the Fwt. Compact(20" barrel), but I do have a S.C Mod.70 22" Fwt. in .243 and have shot nothing but 95 gr. Horn. SSTs and 100 gr. Interloks. Both shoot 1/2" to .6 moa as consistently as any gun I've ever owned. I don't shoot varmits down here, just whitetails, and the 95s and 100s have really shined.
John

That's what I like to hear, now I just need to find one.....

The favorite rifle in the house is a 7mm-08 Featherweight Compact.
Only thing altered is the bedding, and it shoots PRVI 140gr loads into little groups and makes things dead.

What's not to like about a featherweight.

Our Short Action Compact in 243 loves anything up to "standard" 100 grainers, especially the 95 Fusion and the 100 Grand Slam. Fun little guns.

centershot,

I have a walnut stainless Featherweight. Apparently Winchester produced a limited run of these rifles in the early 90's. Since I wanted a lightweight hunting rifle for hunting Wyoming, I bought one in .308 Win. I went with .308 Win because of griz. Thank God, I haven't seen one yet. The .308 Win is an excellent cartridge. It has a VX-3 2.5x8 atop it. It will shoot MOA or slightly under and has a fast barrel. It will chrono faster that factory published ballistics. I've one-shot killed two mule deer bucks with it. But I'm back to hunting with my .270 Win.

It's a good rifle. If it works for you and the price is right, it might be worth an investment.

Tempting, but I have a M70 30-06. I like the idea of a .243 for shooting some chucks in the spring, deer in the fall and maybe a coyote or two in the winter.

I have a Winchester Mod 70 walnut stainless Featherweight in .243.
It's for sale. About 3-6 (can't remember) rounds down the tube, never hunted.
As new condition. Comes with Talley one piece mounts, no scope.
I bought this new.
I shot it just to test if it would function correctly.
I'm in N. Idaho

some pics

I have a 20" compact in 7mm-08. Damn nice rifle. Haven't been able to kill anything with it. Thinking of putting it in a McMillan Compact stock.

I mate mine with a 24" barrel M70 in 30:06 and I dig them both. Both are great shooters. If I do my part they are 5/8" to 3/4" groups with factory ammo. When I pull shots they open up and when I'm shooting 1.5 to 2" groups its me all day every day.

I have never owned the compact model or the "new" featherweights, but I havevowned several classics in various cartridges from .308 win to .280 Rem.

All of them where among the most accurate rifles I have ever owned and there are two of them I really regret selling simply because of how well they shot regardless of the handloads I fed them.

As a result, I have one eye peeled for a sweet stainless version in sub .30 cal, which will immediately get bedded into a Micky handle after adjusting that sweet old school trigger.

A man can certainly do a lot worse than to own a Win 70 Classic FW IMHO.

No compacts, but I own several full size Featherweights. The accuracy varies anywhere from abysmal to exceptional. The abysmal is a late New Haven and the exceptional is a SC assembled in Portugal.

Even the abysmal Featherweight turned out to have hunting grade accuracy with enough load work. The exceptional rifle is a one holer right out of the box. Like all rifles, your accuracy will depend on the individual gun.

My 7mm-08 short action with a 22" barrel is the best handling rifle I've ever owned.

I have a new Model 70 Compact in a .308. Even though I am 6'1", it is a good fit and truly a pleasure to shoot. I have about 200 rounds through mine and have not jacked with the factory bedding, but I am still experiencing a lot of 1" or less groups during ever range session. However, it did take about 75 rounds for the rifle to settle down, and I did have to use loctite on the actions screws to prevent them from backing out. CP.