A club member has 3 nib Model 70 FWT's in 6.5 x55 with open sights that he say's were for the european market.Any idea of their value? Thinking of buying one but have no idea of a fair price.

I owned one previously but did not have the fixed sights, would love another. Any photos?

What's he asking?

DF

Read somewhere that they were indeed intended for the European market and Grice’s took the overrun. There was a nib Swede Fwt at the Bloomsburg, PA show a few years ago. Nice looking gun, but I had no interest and can’t recall if it was a slick barrel or what the asking price was.

CRF or PF? I picked up mine, a slick barrel CRF and couldn't be happier. The last CRF slick barrel I saw for sale, sold at $750 used, not NIB. The open sight model should fetch more.

I've owned a couple of the 70 XTR FWTs that were made for the European market. They have an open rear sight in a barrel dovetail and a ramp front sight. The also made a run of 70 XTR Sporters with higher sights that would work with the monte carlo style stocks. There were made in 1986/87. I took mine to Botswana and shot most of my plains game with it. They are throated for the longer 156/160 grain round nose bullets. I shot 156 grain Norma factory loads in mine.

They would be PF if open sight.

Wouldn't PF bring less a premium than CRF?

DF

Stainless fw classic would bring the most; I don’t follow the xtr market enough to know between open sight xtr and blued classic.

No idea on value but I REALLY would like to have one. I am a fan of the Swede, model 70's and especially NIB stuff.

Absolutely love my slick barrel FWT 6.5. should have said it is a CRF.

Yes 1980's push feed.

Indeed, me too. I typically prefer a CRF but I came across a NIB XTR FW in 7x57 the other day and it is super tempting.

Mine is a slick barrel pf with the nicest fiddleback walnut I ever saw on a M70. Mb

Last one i saw sold for 750 with a cheap scope. Was in great shape. In July i saw same rifle in 7 mauser with a cheap scope. It went for 850

I bought one of those in 1986. Iron sights, and yes it came from Grice's. One of the sweetest rifles I ever owned. I had a Griffin&Howe QD sidemount installed and added a Lyman 48 receiver sight too.

After bore sighting I took a swipe at a groundhog way the hell down off the porch and across a field. Darn if I didn't roll it. That set the stage for a lot of fun I had with it over the next few years. Truly wish I had it back but it went to help finance a real estate deal. If anybody should stumble onto the little beast....

Seems to me I've seen these in PF model cataloged in mid eighties or so, some few years after the 7x57 production.
Just my take.
Best & Stay Safe
John

He's asking in the neighborhood of $1500 each...Ouch!! Maybe a little wiggle room,havn't really had a serious talk about them yet.

Ouch is right.

I have one in CRF that I bought for my son (who sadly didn't take to deer hunting). It's a great shooter BUT it has an annoying click from the movement of the rounds in the magazine it I put more than one round in the magazine. There just does not seem to be enough contact pressure to keep the 2nd round in the mag from moving. I've had the follower replaced (Callahan) with no change. I've replaced the mag spring with no change and I've re-contoured the bottom of the follower with no change. Still that second round will move in the magazine and click when it contacts the sides of the magazine box. I think it has to do with the taper of that round. I can put other LA rounds (280, 30-06) in the magazine and they stay put. Put in the 6.5 Swede rounds and they move around. Other than that annoyance, it's a nice caliber and I really like the M70 Featherweights.

As I get older my memory isn't as good but seems to me I remember reading a review article in Rifle or Handloader years back on a pf m70 sporter with barrel sights 24" that was to be a European export model. Thought that would make a damn fine outfit. MB

They did make such a thing for the Scandinavian market, concurrently or right after the FW run in the mid-80's. To my knowledge there wasn't an over-run like with the FW so none got dumped here. That's how I understood it- someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Thank goodness for that over-run for it caused that gun to achieve instant cult status, and paved the way for more.

As for me now, I quit looking for an iron sighted FW 6.5x55 (except for keeping my eyes peeled for my old rifle) the minute I acquired my Ruger 1A 6.5x55. It's become the gun that'll be my go-to deer rifle for the rest of my years. (Blasphemy words to utter on a Winchester forum. Sorry!)

I built my own - Model 70 Custom McMillan Edge, iron sights, midnight blue cerekote.

Winchester/USRA made 3 styles of push-feed Model 70s back in the 1980s that I recall:

70 XTR Featherweight with a 22" barrel and open sights. The FWTs had a rear sight in a barrel dovetail and a ramp front sight.

70 XTR Sporter with a 22" barrel and open sights. The Sporters had a higher rear sight and ramp front sight to account for the higher sight line of the monte carlo style stock. The picture that Sakohunter264 posted of his rifle looks like the Sporter barreled action.

70 Ranger with a 22" barrel that appeared to be the same as the 70 XTR Sporter, except for the roll stamps.

I owned 3 of the FWTs and 1 each of the other 2. I think that all of them had the same barrel contours. I still have 2 of the FWTs, but 1 of them has been rechambered to 6.5-284 and installed in a WINLITE stock.

Regret selling my SS FWT Swede....but a gent in Canada sure is enjoying filling his freezer with it.

I rebarreled a Featherweight with a shot out 30/06 barrel to 6.5 x 55.. it has a Winlite Laminate Factory Stock....did so for going to Montana to hunt antelope....open country rifle..

its pushfeed, and it jams periodically with Win Brass, but does fine with Remington brass...

for that reason alone, I wish I'd have made it in a 6.5 x 57 instead...I built one of those on a Model 70 Sporter, but that one is a CRF model... I guess the "Classic"...also rebarreled from a 30/06...

My PF FWT 6.5x55 is a '92 model with a slick barrel.

So, what is a slick barrel? No sights?

Correct.

Thank you.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/882689469

OP,
Someone else thinks like your buddy!