Who are some good smiths to rebarrel Model 70?

My local smiths all appear to be limited to basic R700 and clones.

Thanks.

Redneck (Lee) right here on the forum has an impeccable record with the M70.

Redneck is a great pick, I also do a lot of M70's

Ray Perry in Bridge City, TX does outstanding work.

David

I second Redneck and JKob. Both have made rifles for me and they are exceptional.

Yep, I've worked with both Redneck and Jkob, great guys that know there way around model 70's.

Agreed! I’ve also used LRI for a 6.5 Gap build on a M70. Chad really digs 70s, had a fast turn around time for truing, Re Barrel, and fluting... more time for me to shoot 1/2” groups with it. In all fairness. I’ve had rifles from Redneck that did the same

Redneck does excellent work.

PM coming.....

Have used them, top notch, both.

Jim does Mausers in addition to others.

Lee is more of a M-70 man.

DF

PM sent.

Lee "Redneck" and Jim Kobe are great and turn their work promptly.

Yep, good guys both and their prices are competitive.

DF

I'd check with Mark Penrod or Gene Simillion. They are two of the best smiths there are when it comes to a M70. Lee is excellent as well.

That is a pretty solid list. Any of the 4 listed would do a great job.

What do you mean buy truing? If yiur talking about single pointing everything and squaring everytging up most smith dont have the proper tool to true a non round action.
Greg Tannel does snd so does Penrod.
Redneck does excellant work and has built several guns for me, but I dont believe he fully trues up the action. Probably because its of little benifit for a hunting rifle.

The things usually necessary on a M70 are easily done and of little cost.. Some of the guys get into sleeving the bolt etc., but that's more for the serious bench-rest competitor who needs to get the last .002 out of a group.. I inspect every action that comes in and make recommendations as to what 'needs' to be done, what 'might' be done and those items that are just 'fine' the way they are.. Then it's up to the customer as to what to proceed on.

I always cut a new face on the receiver when rebarreling to ensure the barrel goes on straight! Nearly always the bolt lugs need some lapping so as to provide full and even contact. Once in a while the receiver lugs need to be recut - but that's rare and can cause other issues to crop up. IIRC I've only had to do that twice in 20 years.. I've had the recoil lugs on the bolt so off (not many M70s but many more Rem 700s) that they need to be recut to match the receiver.. The NH models do benefit from a proper trigger job.

Anything other than those items above and they're more for either the bench-rest crowd or as a money-making tool for other 'smiths... (IMHO, naturally ) Because 90% of the accuracy of any rifle is the barrel - period..

Here's a pre-64 with Bordens Bumps. The action was blueprinted and trued, the bolt body had recesses milled as shown. SS barrel pieces were machined, the halves JB welded in the recesses, then milled to be slightly oblong, creating close up and down fit as the action is closed. The bolt is true, has little movement when the action is closed.

Not needed on a hunting rifle, but sorta cool. Don't see many pre-64's set up like this. This gun has a 6.5-284 26" Krieger, glassed and pillared in a Boyd Jon Sundra sporter, finished by me, checkered by Errol Case in MO. Jewell trigger, Z5 glass. It's put a few pronghorn heads on the wall, WT's and hogs in the freezer.

Glare on the finish is from enhancement of the photo, actually not that shiny. More like the third photo. tung oil/urethane finish with a soft sheen.

DF

If you want a real nice one and you have a few coins in your pocket you could also go with David Miller. He specializes in Model 70s and you can look at his work in the book entitled Mastery of Wood and Metal.

Lee: I know you don't particularly like 'em, but do you work on BACO's?

I hafta hold my nose - but yeah..

gotta 280 think i'll send your way

Model 70's are slightly different than 700's but the same rules apply to most bolt actions as far as truing goes. One establishes a centerline and makes everything concentric or perpendicular to that. I have, for the last twenty five years or so, done a variation on the "Borden Bumps" in which I dovetail inserts into the bolt body and machine those to be a close fit in the receiver bridge. This for target rifles only, mind you. Like Remington 700's, Model 70 bolts tend to deflect upwards when cocked due to the angle on the sear and cocking piece (not so on the BACO Model 70's with the MOA trigger) and give a false reading on lug contact. If I wanted to have any work done for me, I'd be pretty happy with any of the 'smiths mentioned so far. GD

What is an approximate cost for a model 70 rebarrel, and a recommended sporter barrel?

400 bucks for a good barrel and 400 bucks to get it put on. Give or take a few bucks either way.

I just used LRI for my M70. Came out nice.

Does anyone know if a barrel measuring 1.077 in at the shank would work for a Model 70 rebarrel?

I bought it secondhand for a Weatherby MkV but if I can use it for a Model 70 instead I will probably just sell the Weatherby.

You may want to be a little more precise with your question, 1.077" is tenon length or major thread dia? Best to measure both and compare with your takeoff barrel...making sure there is enough meat everywhere.

It’s a blank. The shank diameter is 1.077 inches

I think you might need more shoulder than that but maybe someone will make it work. Major diameter of factory barrel threads is about 0.995 on the New Haven classics. I think some of the newer actions have a larger diameter thread than that.

Oh boy, let's make sure we are talking the same language here, pardon my confusion. The tenon is not cut to major thread dia yet. What model 70 do you have? Post, Pre, NH, BACO etc? You need post and pre about 1.140 chamber dia. to ensure an adequate shoulder. I have never done a NH or BACO and own none to measure. If I'm right, I don't think you want to use your blank, unless I missed something. A .038 shoulder doesn't sound like enough to me.

Given that little for a shoulder, I would be inclined to make a nut. GD