New Member, New M70 Cape Buff Edition

SStomcat said:

No, I don’t think any lubricant is going to solve the problem. I had the same issue with my pre-’64 .30-06, there’s a post about it somewhere here.
I ended up opening up the bolt sleeve, removing the firing pin spring, and greasing the safety mechanism that toggles between “on” and “off.” It helped somewhat.
As someone else mentioned, I believe this is simply how the Winchester safety was designed. When you move the safety back to the “on” position, it compresses the safety spring slightly, which is why it takes that extra bit of force.
So, unfortunately, I don’t think it’s necessarily a lubrication issue it’s more a characteristic of the way the safety is designed.

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That little extra resistance is one thing, but a safety that feels downright stubborn gets old fast at the bench. Seems like the M70 setup has always had that character baked in.

Mine is not just the spring compression issue. I don't think it is machined to the tolerances of othera honestly. I love mine but now I am going up to get it out of the gun closet and sit here and work it back and forth for thr second half of the football game.

migrabill said:

I feel the same way. I will probably get one of these new Bass Pro Safari M70s, I just don’t want another 375. I’m interested in seeing what these other calibers will be. Will the Sable be a 338? The Kudu a 30-06? The Warthog a 308? Or will
They all be DG calibers like the Safari is now. It would just be weird if the sable or kudu had a more powerful caliber than the Cape Buffalo.

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That's a fine looking rifle.
Says, limited to 250 units per issue ?
250 rifles all up ?, if so they'll go like hot-cakes and be worth some coin in a couple of years.

I'd love to see them acknowledge the versatility and effectiveness
of the .338 Win mag with the "Sable" edition.

PaulT said:

That's a fine looking rifle.
Says, limited to 250 units per issue ?
250 rifles all up ?, if so they'll go like hot-cakes and be worth some coin in a couple of years.

I'd love to see them acknowledge the versatility and effectiveness
of the .338 Win mag with the "Sable" edition.

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“Per Issue” could mean per year or even multiple issues a year if demand is there. I’m always cautious about anything purporting to be a limited edition.

Interesting. I have a Model 70 style safety from Parkwest that I installed on my 98 Mauser 404 project. Engaging and disengaging safety both require equal pressure ... and not a lot. I do note that the scope relief striker safety on my 1903 Springfield does lift the striker a bit when safety is engaged and Parkwest safety does not move the striker when it's engaged. Springfield and Winchester Model 70 are essentially Mauser actions. Mauser and Springfield both are "cock-on-opening" ... almost. The final bit of cocking for both is done when the bolt is closed. However, much more final cocking is done by Mauser when closing the bolt. The striker is lifted noticably further on Springfield when safety is engaged. If the Parkwest safety lifts the Mauser striker, it is negligible. As in I can't measure it with my eye. The Springfield's 2-position safety does require slightly more effort to engage than Parkwest but difference is negligible. I don't own a Model 70 for comparison. Does the safety lift the striker when it's engaged? How far does it lift the striker? Presumably this backs the striker sear away from the trigger sear. On both my rifles the striker is fully cocked the last bit by pushing the sears together as bolt is closed (most of cocking is done when bolt is opened). The sears are in contact when the gun is ready to fire. From what I'm reading here it would appear comparatively less Model 70 cocking is done when bolt is opened and the safety, for whatever reason, is designed to back the striker off the trigger sear significantly further than needed. Thinking out loud here: does changing the trigger pull weight affect the pressure needed to set the safety on Model 70? Both my rifles have Timney triggers. My Mauser's trigger is set at Timney factory weight (3 lbs if I remember correctly) and Springfield's is set slightly lighter. IF the Model 70 safety significantly additionally "cocks" the striker when engaging to safe position, I'm wondering if this issue can't be fixed by building up the sear on the striker (or trimming the trigger sear?). In theory that should make more of the final cocking done by bolt on closing which should require the safety lever to do less lifting of striker to reach the positions where spring loaded pall inside the safety locks the lever post (= safety engaged). Another potential remedy might be to modify the bolt so more cocking is done on opening and less on final closing. A word of warning. While strikers and cocking pieces for both Mauser and Springfield are easily found and very cheap to replace if something goes wrong in modifying, replacement Model 70 strikers are pricey!

If this is such a common issue with Model 70, I'm sure some gunsmith somewhere has devised a solution.

IF anyone is interested and live near Buda or Fort Worth they have them in stock and can personally check them out.

One of my friends got one and says the wood is excellent and looks far better than a Gr 2. Looks to me a upgraded line of their Safari express.

Russ16 said:

“Per Issue” could mean per year or even multiple issues a year if demand is there. I’m always cautious about anything purporting to be a limited edition.

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Or it could be just marketing bullshit. How often does Winchester put out a new "issue"? Once a decade ... or once a week?

Thank you, everyone! For all the welcomes, opinions, and advice.

I would probably buy one if they released it in 300 H&H! The 375 is very tempting but I have several in the Ruger RSM already and don't need another 375...

BGHNTR416 said:

I would probably buy one if they released it in 300 H&H! The 375 is very tempting but I have several in the Ruger RSM already and don't need another 375...

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The .375 H&H is the first release in this series. More calibers are coming out.

RGRCD said:

The .375 H&H is the first release in this series. More calibers are coming out.

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If you read through the thread we have definitely covered that. Some of us were talking about what other calibers we hope to see.

A properly fitted M70 style safety should not be unduly difficult to engage to the safe position. They generally do require a bit more effort to go from fire to safe than from safe to fire because it is compressing the mainspring as was stated. The M70 style safety is not unique in withdrawing the striker and compressing the mainspring however. Many rifles have safety mechanisms that withdraw the cocking piece and striker against mainspring tension. As originally designed (read: not Timney replacements with safeties) M98s, Springfields, 1917/P14, Remington 30 Express, and yes, even the maligned Remington 700 safety withdraws the striker against mainspring tension. The key is proper fitting of the safety and cocking piece so that the camming effect is smooth and properly uses leverage to withdraw the striker.

Ontario Hunter, your Parkwest 3 position should definitely be lifting your striker off the sear on a M98. In fact if it isn't it is dangerous. Most likely it is lifting it a small amount that is imperceptible. I personally like to be able to visually see the striker retract when setting up a safety. I fitted a Parkwest Safety to my .458 M98, and it definitely withdraws the striker as it should. If a M70 style (Parkwest) safety is not fit properly to withdraw the striker, the rifle can fire when moving the safety to fire without touching the trigger if the trigger was previously pulled. To adjust this a small amount of material needs to be removed from the cocking piece or the sear, so that the safety is withdrawing the cocking piece away from the sear.

I drove to “town” yesterday to pick up some supplies for work this coming week. There’s a Cabela’s near that stop so I went in to look. I did not expect to like it so much. I’m not a fan of the engraving but in person it washes out and looks much more discreet than in catalog pictures.

I don’t like it better than my original m70 safari, just differently. It has an entirely different personality. It’s slim and trim and lively, has the feel of some vintage 375 rifles I’ve handled.

Safety is stiff, but they always are. They just need oil and to be cycled a few times and they’ve always loosened up well for me.

The barrel is touching very slightly at the forend. This rifle is a keeper but it is not as ready to go out of the box as the standard m70 safaris are I don’t think.

But.. it does feel like a 375 built to be a 375, not a magnum rifle designed for 458 on down with the only differences being action length and bore size. And for that reason I do like it.

Bedding is decent. It’s a single lug rifle.

Instead of sanding out the barrel channel, I just cut a piece of feeler gauge and dropped it down in the recoil lug slot. Fixed the floated barrel issue. .013 did the trick. I might paint the feeler to avoid rust.

Cleaned, oiled and assembled. Trigger came set at 4.5 but breaks super clean, decided to leave it as is. The level of filth and packaging grease was terrible. Will see how it shoots (and more importantly FEEDS), another day. Overall a nice little rifle.

I have the same rifle. So far, couldn't be happier. I had the same 4.5lb crisp trigger. I dropped it to 3.2lbs, so far it remains consistent.

I wonder if adding a recoil log on the barrel might be a prudent thing to do.
It’ll assist in preventing the stock from being split.
I’m sure it’s gonna shoot well enough the way it is configured or even with another recoil lug for the intended purpose.

I always get a chuckle out of guys talking about half minute five shot groups from a 375 H&H.

It isn’t a prairie dog rifle.

The feeler gauge in the bottom of the recoil lug mortise accomplished free floating the barrel, but the action really should be re-bedded in the stock now. The nice flat surface on the bottom of the action is now not in contact with stock and bedding, but floating above. I am not saying that the rifle will not give acceptable accuracy or wont function, but it is certainly not optimum. Now the rotational torque upon firing is handled by the action screws and recoil lug, not entire bottom of action as designed. Not only that, the front of your action is essentially standing on the recoil lug, and tightening the action screws are inducing stress into the action if not outright causing it to flex. Again, not saying it wont work but it is not ideal.

Nice looking rifle ! I would probably pick one up if I could convince myself I needed another .375.