As we all know, the prices on pre 64 model 70 rifles is soft right now. The funny thing to me is parts for these rifles are still the same price. Prices on parts like aluminum butt plates, trigger guards and bottom metal, front sight hoods, good quality stocks and even lesser quality stocks. You name it and the parts for these still demand a premium. I sell stuff on ebay and gunbroker, so I keep an eye on such things. A while back I bought a very nice condition pre 64 model 70 featherweight 30-06 locally and I paid a premium price of $475.00... A few weeks after that purchase I found a very nice re-chambered 300H&H, now a 300WBY. I paid $499.00 for that one. Here are the rifles in fact:

30-06 featherweight:

And yes, before you ask, I installed the red pachmayr and properly glass bedded the rifle. She's pretty damn sweet now and a damn good hunting rifle.

300WBY. Was originally a 300H&H:

Sorry, I need to get some better pictures of this rifle. I installed the red pachmayr, glass bedded it and scoped it and this is how she shoots:


That 300WBY has some potential, as does the 30-06 fwt. Both great rifles that I snagged because the prices have just been soft. We won't even talk about the 375WBY I bought a while back and then recently sold because I don't really have a need for such a big rifle...

Now on to the prices of parts. Damn I am always surfing the web to see what parts are selling for and prices haven't faltered a bit... When I go to local shops or when I'm out of town I am always looking for deals on rifles and parts. Parts are harder to find at shops, unless you are at a gunsmith's shop. A few months ago I ended up finding an exact era match stock for my 30-06 fwt. It actually came off the same year rifle as mine ('58), damn what a find, but I had to pay dearly for it because the smith knew what it was worth. Funny thing is he had a few featherweight and standard stocks tucked ways behind some things, but I spotted them from a mile away. I asked if the featherweight stocks were for sale and he said, "you know what those are for". I said yes. Then he said, "then you know what they are worth". I said yes... He said they were for sale... The one that caught my eye was the one I bought. He asked if I knew what year rifle the stock came off of, and I said, "I don't know, can you tell me"? Even though I knew, I was playing his game... He said 1958. I said, you know that for sure? He just smiled. I asked, well how much are you asking for it? He told me and I paid the man... The funny thing is I can re-sell it on ebay and make money:

Here's the stock I brought home:






A stock like this brings pretty good money on places like ebay. I don't know how many of you guys buy stuff there, but you'd be surprised what this one would bring..... The funny thing about the prices of stocks and parts is I could have damn near sold the stock off my recent 375WBY and that would have paid for the cost of the rifle. Those all original clover leaf tang stocks in good condition are getting to be rare as hens teeth. Especially the ones made for the H&H rifles. You just don't see them for sale anywhere.

You find some good stuff BSA. Great pictures by the way...

Problem up here in AK everyone thinks cause grand pa drug it to kodiak, or shot a 60 inch moose with it. It’s all of the sudden worth premium price.. like bro it’s a savage, yeah but my great uncle shot a caribou with it..

Yes BSA, I'm going to have you do my Pre 64 M70 shopping!
Having said that, although not looking hard, I recently did buy a 57' 300 H&H super grade ( shooter condition) and a 56' .308 fwt.... certainly more a want than a need.

A friend bought a 1955 Fwt 30-06 for $425 last week. He had two 1955 Fwt 243 barrels and wanted to covert it. It was going to cost over $200.00 for the short action parts!!!

Yep, thats what im talking about. Good snag on that 30-06 though.

We are pretty rural and I suppose it requires me finding some shops to cruise but I’d love to find some sub~$650 pre-64s like those.

Well, it happened again. Was down at the coast visiting my sister and had to stop by a gunshop. Found a 1956 fwt 243 winchester. Shop wants $800.00 for it with the Bushnell elite 3200 3-9x40 rifle scope. Man, I remember when every 243 I ran across was in excess of $1,200.00..... I didn't buy this one, but I am pretty sure it will still be there in a few weeks when I go back. The scope is in excellent condition, so it's a $175.00 sale on ebay, all day every day. If I sold the scope, I'd have roughly $625.00 in to the rifle. If/when I end up buying it, I'll post some pics...

I picked up a numbers matching 1955 FWT in 243(ser# 335xxx) a couple of weeks back from a gun shop. Had a nice uncut stock with alum butt which sealed the deal for me. Had mounts and rings also. I took it home out the door for $640. I was very happy! Your right on with parts BSA. I found a gunsmith that had the correct set of swivels. I cleaned em out. He had 2 complete sets. Cost me 70 bucks for both sets.

demand and rarity drives cost.
everyone must have their fill.
as old guys plan for the great journey, (or widows clean up after ones gone) the nice old guns find their way into the market.
the common ones become stale like all the others are.
but the rare ones will get someones attention and go for a lot.
then the cycle continues. itll go into another closet for another 40 years.
its how nice guns are preserved for the next generation, unless the new generation shoots the daylights out of them.
which drives the others in great shape to go up in value.
we seem to be in a calm period where everyone is happy, or everyone is broke.
dealers will either hold to their prices and ride out the storm or cut costs and move on. basic business 101 says if they dont move inventory, they will need to pay tax on it. so when you see lower prices...you know what they are up to.
if they hold fast...it means they can afford to pay tax and gamble. and they wait for you the buyer to open your wallets after the storm.

Thats excellent man. You scored.

Yep. However, around here, all the good guns are on consignment. I doubt the shop owner has to worry about paying taxes on them. I go to little mom and pop shops off the beaten path too. To give you an example of how log this guy has had this rifle on the rack, it had a fine layer of dust on it. I mentioned to the gunshop owner that he must have had this one for a while, and he agreed. He didnt know how i knew that, since id never set foot in his shop before. I told him it had a layer of dust on it at least a year old...

The crazyness continues! Last month i picked up a 1955 FWT in 243 for 640. Last friday I picked up a really sweet 1948(stamped 48 and 270 under the barrel) model 70 standard in 270 with the transition safety. Had the wrong stock on it but I have a great shape matching replacement. I traded a nice old H and R 22 bolt gun and 700 bucks for it. I now had too many pre 64 model 70s in 270 caliber in the safe. So i pulled out a 1958 standard that was strictly a shooter(stock cut and a pad) i purchased 4 years ago for 400 bucks. On a whim I offered it to my gun smith this morning. He said how much? Well I just saw a complete pre 64 model 70 action only(receiver,bolt,floorplate....) sell for 575. So I said 700. He gave me 650 and 2 boxes of 270 ammo. We were both happy!!

It’s a good time to cut up rifles.

this is when gun parts strippers buy guns for parts. protect your guns!

Not a model 70, but a Winchester model 54 carbine, 30-06. Still has steel buttplate, missing rear double leaf sight, and a receiver sight installed. $600.00 bucks. Picking it up tomorrow.

Jeeze man, send a text when you wanna sell stuff!

Hard to believe that all original, high condition M70’s are being found this frequently for these prices. I do acknowledge that it does happen occasionally tho.

I hear you, but some folks Hawk the stores pretty good. My local bait and bullet store usually sells rifles much less than I see on GunBroker, when I can catch them.

Again, I agree that it does happen on occasion, but in my admittedly limited experience no one makes a habit of selling old Winchesters below fair market value, just don’t see it.

The secret is not just keeping an eye on your favorite hole in the wall gunshop 2 blocks from your house. You got to always be looking for the deals. Eventually and frequently youll run across some damn good money makers. Im not going to tell you how much i made on the transition 375 WBY that i bought for $600.00, but lets just say it wasnt bad. The funny thing about that rifle was my buddy told me i was out of my mind for paying that much for that old re-chambered rifle. Now the corksucker wants to buy a beautifully engraved pre 64 model 70 375H&H that we found last month for $1,100.00. I told him its not worth it because theres too many things unoriginal about the rifle. Stock has a carving on it of a grizzly, floor plate has a silver inlay of a bighorn ram and the receiver used to be drilled on the side where its been filled nicely, but i can still see it. Rifle supposedly came from AK, but theres no documentation of who did all the custom work. Is it worth $1,100.00? Not to me, but maybe it is to someone else?

I’ve been looking for deals all of my life.

BSA is spot on. Im fortunate to be retired so i travel around quite a bit hunting, fishing..... I dont shop the same gun shops all the time. But I figure about 1 out of 7 times i visit multiple shops in different parts of the state I will run across a good deal or multiple deals. Kind of like gambling I guess. you dont always win. Also cash is KING. The truly unique and rarer guns coming on the markets everyday just amazes me. I too have made some mistakes. I passed on a decent Rem 722 in 257 Roberts for 500 bucks. And I missed on a really nice all original 1953 model 70 FWT in 308 Win for 1080 out the door. The reason I hesitated was because I already had a 1954 in fantastic shape! Everyone gave me hell for not picking that one up. I am also constantly looking for pre 64 Mod 70 parts. That way I always have spare parts for rifles that might have the wrong/ altered stock or missing hoods,sights,swivels,worn floor plates.... The right stock really increases the value of these fine rifles and unaltered or uncut stocks are getting VERY hard to find. I absolutely love those alum/metal butt plates.

Just talked to a buddy of mine. He said he just sold a complete pre 64 mod 70 bolt from 1956 for 300!! Just the bolt assembly.

Me too buddy. The aluminum butt plate fwt is a favorite of a lot of peoples. I prefer the montecarlo stocks as well. The low comb is not great for scope use. Last march, a buddy and I was in a small town checking out the local gunshops and ran across a cool gunsmiths shop. The guy had so many old guns it would make your head spin. He had model 52's, 71's, custom pre 64's in every chambering. It was there that I found some olympic sights for my winchester model 52. He said he'd let me have them for $200.00. I ended up buying a beautiful like new fwt stock. He also had more pre 64 stocks stuffed away. I spotted the fwt stocks and he said I had a keen eye. I probably should have bought more from the old guy, but felt lucky walking out of his store with the beautiful all original aluminum butt plate montecarlo fwt stock.

I paid 450 for a 1954 Standard 30-06, that to me looked like it had hardly been shot which was confirmed later. I was stunned that I got it for that price, and would have easily paid more for it. I think stainless steel and black stocks are what folks want today, and frankly those of us who know what these rifles are, we’re getting older, and sadly many of these rifles show up because men are passing on. They’ve been sitting in closets for years.

I was talking to Ed Lapour a couple of weeks ago about prices on Pre-64’s and that’s what he said. Guys are passing on, and these guns end up in gun shops. Lucky for us, and it’s just a sign of the times. I just picked up a mint JC Higgins for the same reason. The gun store owner knew what it was, and I knew what it was, but most don’t. Again, lucky for me.

And I consider a nice Model 50 JC Higgins every bit the equal of a pre-64 Model 70, except for the goofy trigger, and most have been more accurate once I replaced the triggers.

You are absolutely right. Its sad in a way. All we can do is enjoy these old rifles for as long as we can and then pass them on to the next person that will love them.

Yes. And not mess them up. I really debated changing the barrel and the stock on mine, but knew the guys that were doing the work would use the barrel and stock on the Standard to bring an old one that had been butchered, back to life. Those guys do good work. And understand the history and importance of the Model 70’s. In the not to distance future the pre-64 Model 70 will be appreciated by a very small group of guys.

BLR358WIN is always sending good pictures of scores he runs across. Really makes me jealous I don't have the time to scout too many shops, but I do run through every store I run across looking for old P64's standing in the rack!

Scotty, something i do is ask the gunshop owners if they have any pre 64 model 70's hidden away somewhere. They arent always on the rack. Youd be surprised at how many say yes they do have a pre 64 hidden away. If i was just relying on whats out on the floor, id go home empty handed a lot. Sometimes the older gunshop owners are looking for just the right person to send their pride and joy home with. Thats how i got my 300WBY for $499.00 last August.. That rifle is a sweetheart too.

What is weird to me is that the Savage 99s are climbing in price and the Winchester Model 70 Pre-64s are dropping in price. Some older folks are getting hard up and selling stuff as well. I paid 750.00 for this Pre-64 Model 70 Standard in 270 (1954) with a VX3 2.5-8 scope. The bore is perfect and I have yet had time to shoot it. Sure it has a recoil pad but I will buy every Pre-64 in reasonably good condition that I can find up here for what would be $500.00 without the scope.

Thats the kind of deal i look for. Well done. Nice rifle. Ill tell you a secret, id pick up a nice pre 64 like that over a damn 99 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I had a chance to take my dads 99 in 303 savage last year, but left it at my moms house. Totally unappealing to me.

The only 99’s that give me a reason to look at them are the 99F’s ( I think that’s the lighter one... ) in 308. Other than that you can have them. I started out hunting with a 99E I believe. Just a heavier 30-30 the way I look at it.

I thought heavier is good for recoil?

You should think about doing what I did. I had pre64win.com swap the barrel and the stock to turn my 1954 Standard into a Featherweight. Lot better handling rifle. And it dropped a lot of weight. They have excellent barrels, stocks and any other part you need. I highly recommend them.

Nice rifle you have there.

I bought a rough 1946 m70 in 30-06 and a nice 1953 m70 in 300h&h a couple weeks ago, I didn’t give close to a grand for the pair, I was a happy boy that day. Gonna shoot an elk with the 300 this fall!

Awesome man. Good luck on your elk hunt.. If you haven't decided on a bullet to use in the 300, give the 200gr partition a try. It will knock an elk flat...

Yes Breakshunter you did well alright, that H&H is about as classy as rifle as a guy could kill an elk with, enjoy.