I'm looking for a nice decent pre-64 M70 .30-06 fwt. Any leads? I spotted one on GB, but the stock is scuffed quite a bit.

I wish you good luck my friend.....

Well one has to ask, "Are you opening a museum or are you planning to hunt with it?"

I like Fwts for hunting and most of them were bought to hunt with. It is nice to hunt with a pristine original, but my main Fwt has lots of scars. It also has an aluminum buttplate that I almost wish was a recoil pad. My 375 H&H is a reblue as well. They both talked with authority in Africa though!

There are lots of 30-06 Fwts around. Check Gunsinternational. Prices would be from $800-$1500 depending on era and condition.

You are probably looking for something like this huh??

BSA, can't see the pics on this work computer. lol!
I looking for a clean post war hunting rifle, not a 3 digit first year of production collector piece.

That's a good thing, cause the 30-06 fwt made its debut in 1955...

Your work computer sucks. Here's another for you to not see:

keystone Ben (here) has 2 30-06 fwt's. He can't use them both at the same time...

your fair-weather hunting rifle?? Only comes out on sunny days with low humidity...

.30-06 Featherweights for less than $1K are few and far between. Most are priced north of $1K you will find, if you are patient a nice one will come along for $1K perhaps a little less.

If this is the GB rifle you're referencing thank you for not bidding: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=504178723

I bought it for a song...

Nice snag.

I'd be quite happy to find one like that myself!

Nice unmolested early FWs aren't around every corner as we know. While I didn't "need" it I put in a bid and was pleasantly surprised that no one else was chasing it..

Well bought Bob....

Now that's how you do it.. Good snag..

I have 2 but traded a nice one that needs the wood reworked to a cousin for cowfeed! LOL I will keep radar out for you a good one, I have several nice uncut std 3006 shooters that are good to go or could be made super nice by a good wood man! v best winpoor

Nice Snag for sure!

check this sight out. http://www.utahrifle.com/Pre_64_Winchester.html

I'm just wondering it balltownbob sent that guy a tub of vasaline with the check and ffl.....

Nice going, balltownbob. Way to keep the radar up.

mtech, noboby's trying to bust your balls. But, you first have to understand that a lotta guys are hunting these rifles and always on the lookout to buy another one. In other words, nobody's going to shoot you a heads up that there's a nice FWT on xyz.com. You need to have your radar up, like balltownbob did on the one he snagged.

Here's another one your work computer can't see, bought her on the Fire. They come up once in a while. The trick is to be ready and jump when the opportunity presents itself.





Good luck.

mr Balltownbob, Let me know if you dont need it, I have a home for that one! thanks WinPoor

Will do however I suspect my heirs will be tasked with its disposal. Guns like this one are far safer investments these days, IMO, than most other forms...

I've bought several rifles from this seller over the years, mostly Oregon Kimbers, He is selling off his deceased FIL's collection. The starting price on every gun is usually what his FIL paid for it. I was well acquainted with the FIL; he knew what he was buying and he didn't buy junk nor did he overpay.

He had nice stuff..

well if you will PM your add, I will send you a few great cigars, I bought 3 boxes for my first grandboy 2+ mos ago, Bauza , Casa Grande, an hour of pure plesure, I shoot tighter groups with one going!!! very best WinBroke

Mr Bob has class, he sent KY!!!, Back when I preg checked cows I would buy it in gallon jugs, I worked a cattle auction in Dothan AL every Monday morning, Jeffers Supply had a 5 acre warehouse in Dothan and I bought all my supply's, vaccines ect. there and before I bought a fridge just for cow medicine I used the bottom shelf on the one at the house, I walked in one Monday night with a gallon of KY and a cooler of vaccine, my late wife looked at me like I was crazy and said not no but HELL NO! LMAO, She very rarely used any cuss, four letter words! very sophisticated lady ,I often wonder how she ended up with me! very best WinPoor

Couldn't agree more.

Im seeing more and more nice ones hit the market! These older guys that had the foresight are leaving the range , many WWII and Korea heros! I got a hot tip on 3 NIB , wife is selling from late husbands collection ! the very best WinPoor

Excellent advice and beautiful rifle. Deals do come along, you just need to know where to look. I picked mine up for $800.00 about 3 years ago. I've ran across some for less, but not is as good of shape. Oregon45 here has also ran across some damn good deals and has let some go here for pretty cheap. Just keep an eye out or wear the soles out on your favorite shoes at the gunshows. The small town gunshows around here are favorites of mine.

Here you go......

While Winchester trigger is superior to what is in HVA the rest of the gun isn't. The Winchester will set you back at least twice as much and for zero gain.

That would not be an opinion I share. Husqvarnas fall short on trigger quality, safety design, and stock quality, in my opinion. Great steel and a nice action but they require a bunch of work to bring the balance of the rifle up to the same level.

I'd also wager that there would be a "gain" in investment value, as the M70 will likely hold it's value and/or appreciate more.

I was just told yesterday by a young woman that here light weight husky 270 kicked the living chit out of her. She much prefers her Ruger m77 270 over it. That one will be for sale locally at a very reasonable price. They are not bad rifles by any means, just not what I consider being on the same playing field as a good pre 64 model 70 fwt... YMMV of course..

I looked over like new 'Crown Grade' .30-06 and except for the trigger design the HVA was superior to my M70 in every way. I didn't buy it because I have lifetime supply of ammo for my Winchester and zero for the HVA. If I didn't already own Winchester and had to choose I would buy the Swedish rifle. What I seen was at least as good as pre-64 Super Grade.

maybe your Model 70..

You're wearing your act out on the M70's. Why don't you switch gears and start telling us how schitty Model 12's are or somethin'...

Indeed. That's how I found my .30-06 pre-'64 FWT for $700, because someone put a recoil pad (that I wanted) on it.

Pal, the recoil pad sure does help if one wants to do a lot of shooting. Especially off the bench. I have 1 question to the OP: Are you looking for a "shooter" or an all original rifle? What percentage condition are you looking for too? Like some have suggested, Gunsinternational is a great place to look. Be ready to pay quite a bit for one though. Every once in a while one slips by, like the one balltownbob bought... He damn near stole that one..

I got that FW by dumb luck. A dealer was the only other interested bidder and he was too cheap to pay a fair price..

I check GI daily and have gotten lucky there but because I'm not constantly scanning it I've missed more than I've bought. The best sellers are listing on GI but there ain't no bargains from them. GB is full of junk and a buyer can get burned very easily if he isn't careful. There is no substitute for having the gun in hand before forking over the cash..gun shows are the best place for that though not as convenient as sitting at the computer.

A 3 day inspection is only as good as the seller's character. Doing business with established sellers is the safest policy but still not 100% foolproof. There's a few bad apples in their ranks..especially on the high dollar stuff...

On another note...there's an 8MM (7.92) Mauser 70 just listed on GI which is a very scarce caliber. Any hard core 70 collector should have a look at it...

I bought a 06 FWT ON A referral from a friend for $1K and sold it to a dealer for 1500. You need to always have your eyes open and establish a network to help you look.

Now I'll have to look at this 8MM:) See it's all about networking. Also keep an eye out on the for sale section here. I know where you can get a nice std 06 for $1K.

Keep an eye out for an original std wt barreled 375 for me too...

Contact yar here on the Campfire, he has one made in 1956 in excellent original shape...

Several from Yar. all have been 95+ and fair money! v b winpoor

At one time Randy Shuman had 4 of the 9 standard weight 375's in his possession. He owned 6 of the 9 through the years. He doesn't do internet. He usually advertises in the GunList paper ever other month or so.

If you have Mr Shumans contact info please PM it to me, I delt with him many years ago, I had to send him 2 bucks and he would mail a mimograph 5 or 6 sheets of primo 70's, I haggled over 200 dollars on a mint BULL in 300 win mag! passed, I wish I had read Mr Rules book, I had no idea how rare BULLS in 300 Win Mag were!!!! Plenty of 300 H&H but just a handfull of win mags!!!! Live and learn!!! He was a no BS take it or leave it cat back in those days!!! early 90's.... v best winpoor

I saw one sell last year and have been kicking myself in the azz ever since!!!!!

Randy Shuman (717) 776-7861 is the last number I have for him.

Sure glad you don't have my phone number.

If you have his address, SS # and credit card info, maybe you could share that with us and the rest of the world too?

That phone number is plastered on two full pages of the GunList every other month. It is common knowledge.

mtech I sent you a PM

Thank you Mr sbrmike, very best WinPoor

Mr Grunchkin, Hint, you will not last on the Winchester Collector forum 60 days! very best WinPoor

Thanks I appreciate it. I might consider a std, if I can't find a Fwt.
Jack

Thanks, I got it.

60 days... Damn you are generous...

No, the one I had spotted sold for the $826 buy now price. Yours look's to be in much better condition. Good catch!

I sent him a PM. thanks

Why settle for Pre-64 .375 H&H Winchester when for not a whole lot you can have this....
From Hanks little Flemish factory....

If ones hands are large enough why not? It will require investment in professionally fitted hearing protection (I think it's called Game Ear?) but that is sound investment. Theoretically super Magnum action is preferred for caliber like this, but then one would not end up with lovely 9.5lb rifle that does not require gun boy to carry. Anyhow a big step up from Winchester Model 70 for sure, yes.
Oops, I forgot when you go to the range you will have the range all to yourself. That is the way I like it.

He is a one trick puppy. Don't expect anything more, that's all he has.

Model 12s? The three outstanding field guns were: 3" Wildfowl gun, 16 ga and 12ga 'Featherweight'. The only downside is that 3" gun with original choke can't be used Fe, Tn-Fe, HeviShot. Not to worry Academy had sale on Bismuth loads for <$2 per shell. I have not seen prices like that in many years. I hope some of you got some of those shot shells.

One again.

Yep. That's what I need. A hunting rifle with an AK suppressor pinned on the end of it...

this glossing over the fact that I can't stand ported hunting rifles anyway of any kind. They're great, if you wear makeup.

That thing is ugly as sin: Looks like a pregnant guppy fish... The only thing real nice on that rifle is the bolt jeweling, but damn for $50.00 I can have my smith do any of my rifles like that...The atrocity on the end of the barrel made me loose my breakfast too.... Slavek, let us know when you find something really nice ok bud... My old model 70 375 has a McMillan on it, as I wanted to use the damn thing and not worry about cracking the original (any more than it already was):



Why someone would want a pregnant looking rifle is besides me. This one holds 5 (4 in the mag and 1 in the pipe) cartridges. More than enough to get the job done..

This morning I think I counted 11 pre 64 30/06 FW's on Guns International....before I went beyond 5 pages.

All prices and condition to suit many tastes. Somebody need one?

I saw that too Bob. They made more 30-06's than anything else. I remember when I was searching for just the right 270 fwt and all I ever saw was 30-06's and a few 243's (locally for great deals)....I had to ask my gunsmith friend 3 times over 3 years if he had one to spare. He later sold me the one I have now, but it literally took me 3.5 years to find the right one. 30-06's on the other hand are pretty numerous as compared to the others.... Speaking of that, the truck is loaded and both of my fwt's are in there. I'm goin shootin!!!! See you boys later...

bsa: 270 FW's have always been harder to find than 30/06's. Yes they made more 30/06's. But O'Connor popularizing the 270 "mountain rifle" had a lot to do with the supply and demand for the 270.

Guys really hang on to the ones they have. Generally the 270's get the hell hunted out of them too. Kind of like the 375's. If you find those 2 in excellent condition, you've really hit the jackpot...

BSA you make me feel like a lottery winner I found a mint 270 FWT this summer and my 375 is a solid 98% gun.

Got a nice 56ish M70 Fwt inbound from Yar! Thanks for suggesting him Winchesterpoor.

mtech, we need pics asap!

Unfortunately, my work PC won't display the pics the seller sent me. I had to look them up on a friend's tablet because, I still haven't replaced my home pc, lol! I 'll see about pics later on after I get the rifle.

Geez, get it together man...

I got tired of wasting money on computers when I can do 99% of what I need to do with a PC on a work one. This gives me more to spend on guns!

Good thinking...

Hi Mtech, There was a guy selling reconditioned computers here on the fire under classifieds that looked like a mighty good price to me, Ive been using best buy in Tallahassee FL for years the geek squad have pulled my nuts out of fire more than once, My problem at the moment is their security system and money to update is going to Russians! That worries me a bit! Kaspersky (sp?) Im thinking about going USA as soon as I can!!! Any of you guys know enough to make a suggestion? Please speak up as I know just enough about computers to get in trouble!!! the Very Best WinPoor

Winpoor, I am just using a elcheapo lap top from wally world. Been doing so for almost 2 years now. Working great too. Think it cost me $300.00...

I came across this this evening: http://www.gunsamerica.com/910431391/Winchester-Pre64-70-30-06-Featherweight-NIB.htm
At First Stop in Rapid City. New in box; kind of pricey. They have several Winchesters in and if you call them, they might be able to find something for you. I asked them to find me a used pre-64 once that I could customize and they got one in a a couple of weeks. Exactly what I was looking for and priced very well. Unfortunately, they also had one of the first Belgian Browning Superposed, manufactured in either '31 or '32 if I recall. Since I couldn't afford both and since I was passing through Rapid City on my way to the the pheasant opener in Winner, the Superposed followed me home by way of 3 days of pheasant hunting. It is now my favorite shotgun.

At any rate, they are great guys to work with and they always have a excellent selection of firearms. I try to make it a point to stop and see what they have whenever I get back to Rapid.

I was just in Rapid City on my to Wyoming shoot prairie dogs but have never heard of First stop. IMHO the only thing wrong about NIB un esp a pre 64 or other "collectable" gun is that it' NIB. If you shot it y0u have paid big dollars for NIB and now you have a very nice use gun.

these computers have cost me thousands of dollars over he years even with my very limited abilities....but I have found some pretty nice guns:)

BINGO on computers costing money on nice guns, they really open you up to a whole new world both coming and going, my problem is like yours! more COME than GO!!! We have had 2 fantastic early mornings in mid to upper 50's and I'm starting to get a lot of local guys start drifting to the whitetails and wanting new deer gun,One friend has already put earnest money on a long range rig, one of my 7 STW's In fact unless I'm very wrong they are spearing them with bows already! I did it in early 70's with a Fred Bear , 55# 52" Kodiak re curve bow, that was work, these new ones are more like shooting with a gun and I just hear of to many lost to suit me! I have nothing whatsoever against a sportsman that wants to bow hunt, just not my cup of tea and it sounds like they need to have access to a good tracking beagle dog! the very best WP

Thanks to the computer and internet gun sights a nice pre64 M70 250-3000 is on it's way. Now to find brass and dies.

I'll NEVER get to fully retire at this rate:)

I think I saw that listing a week or so ago. I bet it's a nice one! If I bought it, it would probably end up just being a safe queen. Just one shot through it would lower the collector value quite a bit.