Advice for my rifle

[rdog]

Why? If you read my earlier post, every Winchester of that era that I own has a trigger set at about 5 pounds. On my 375 I had to completely remove the screw to get it down to 3 pounds. It won't go lower. 5 pounds makes it difficult to hold on target when pulling that hard on the trigger. Lots of rifles out in the field at 3 pounds and lighter.

Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Keep the safety on until ready to put your finger on the trigger. Don't point the muzzle at people. You can hunt with a 3 pound trigger and practice safe gun handling.

No one should mess with the rifle if he intends to be unsafe. And you certainly would not want to scrape that epoxy or loc tight off the adjustment screw if you plan to be dangerous and sue Winchester when something bad happens. But if you are a responsible person and practice safe gun handling, the screw is there to allow adjustment....

I am not saying do not adjust the trigger ,i am saying know what you are doing & 3 lbs is fine on a hunting rifle, the original Win 70 trigger is easy to adjust the weight, on other makes you
must understand how the trigger works .I have seen rifles with sear angles changed & cocking pieces ground down, springs shortened & rifles that fired when the safety was disengaged, to the point of being dangerous by people who did not know what they were doing. With all the anti gun dick heads & media we do not want accidental discharges or shootings to fuel their agenda. Look what happened to Remington & the 700 trigger .

 

[SGW]

Also friend, when you reinstall the action screws be certain to torque the screws in increments. I usually do 5in increments alternating.

 

[Bush Buck]

You've put in significant effort and expense. 3 inch groups is not reasonable for a 7mm.
Winchester is still in business. I would give them a call.
You might end up with a new barrel for free.

 

[Hogpatrol]

One big plus of a re-barrel of a 7RM is getting a twist and chamber that will shoot the heavier, higher BC bullets. Recently a friend of mine had factory R700 7RM done by Douglas in West Virginia. Sent them the barreled action, they did the same contour as the original barrel, nine twist and sent it out to be blued. It looks almost brand new. IIRC, the whole deal ran around $450 with shipping and turnaround in less than a month.

 

[colorado]

My thoughts exactly. If the groups remain the same, sell it and start over. Maybe it's an easy fix or maybe you dump good money into a bad gun that you're never happy with. Every brand makes lemons sometimes. Punt.

Agree, sell it and start over. It's probably going to be a money sink. Cut your losses.

 

[Philip Glass]

I figured I’d get some input from more experienced Model 70 owners on the best way to proceed.

I have a Win Model 70 Sporter in 7mm RM. It does not shoot very accurately and it is frustrating me. I do have reloading components for it, but I feel like I would be wasting my time and precious components trying to find an accurate load for the rifle, given its poor factory load performance.

Here’s a summary of my shooting results with it:
I have shot about a dozen different factory loads through the rifle, a variety of grains, manufacturers, and premium vs value lines. The results are all bad. 160 grain Nosler Partition shoots a little over 3” groups at 100 yards. 162 grain Hornady SST Superformance shoots a little under 3” groups at 100 yards. 139 grain Browning BXS shoots just over 2” groups at 100 yards (most accurate load). I have shot numerous other factory loads, all with similar results.

What would you folks recommend I do? My choices seem to be: reload and hope I don’t waste too much precious powder and primers; contact Winchester and possibly send it in; contact a gunsmith and pay to have worked on (what work?); sell it and buy another that will hopefully produce better results. Feel free to throw out any other options you may suggest.

Thanks!

Sell it and buy a new rifle. Id suggest a Tikka T3X.

 

[Beck]

Sell it and buy a Sako 85

 

[mark-hunter]

I confirm above - I have both, sako and tikka, and both are great choices.

 

[dchamp]

Before you start spending a bunch of money why don’t try giving Winchester a call and talk to them about what’s going on.
I have a M70 in .375H&H. The stock was broken while traveling to Namibia. I called Winchester and told them what happened and asked them to replace the stock and that I would gladly pay their work, as I had a claim with the Airline. I sent it in, they put on a new stock and didn’t charge me for it. Needless to say I am very happy with Winchester and the service they provided.

 

[Muledeerchaser]

I would probably trade the rifle. I have gotten rid of my Sakos, Blazer R8s and Remingtons. I now just have FN Winchester Model 70s and Browning FN Mauser Supreme Action Rifles. I would get a Winchester Model 70 Alaskan with sights in 3006, Talley Rings and Bases, and lastly 2 Scopes. A Leupold VX 3 HD 1.5-5x and a Leupold VX 3 HD 4.5-14X CDS with BOONE AND Crocket Reticle….. My Alaskan shoots factory Nosler 180 grain Partitions into 3/4 groups all day long….

A note of caution, when sighting in a new rifle and scope do not keep trying to adjust every shot. Many times the track is not exactly .25 moa, it might take a few shots to settle down.
Also, on new scopes find the center of the reticle and make one turn of the dials right AND THEN BACK TO ZERO and then left one turn AND THEN BACK TO ZERO. This activates the springs, unbelievable but it works, the scopes settle down.

 

[TucsonFX4]

Before you start spending a bunch of money why don’t try giving Winchester a call and talk to them about what’s going on.
I have a M70 in .375H&H. The stock was broken while traveling to Namibia. I called Winchester and told them what happened and asked them to replace the stock and that I would gladly pay their work, as I had a claim with the Airline. I sent it in, they put on a new stock and didn’t charge me for it. Needless to say I am very happy with Winchester and the service they provided.

I think I’ll be giving them a call to see what they say. If it seems a lost cause, I’m currently torn between selling it or rebarreling it. It would be cheaper to sell and buy a new rifle, but perhaps the results of rebarreling would be a more accurate rifle in the end.

 

[Muledeerchaser]

I would sell the rifle and get a new FN Winchester Model 70 Alaskan or Super Grade if possible. Rebarreling rifles with a quality barrel can get expensive quickly.

 

[Bush Buck]

I would definitely try Winchester first. If you call they will probably ask you to send it in. They may even pay for the shipping. I know that Ruger does.
If that doesn't work and you like the rifle then have it re-barreled and bedded by a good smith - that's a pretty reliable fix.
You may get better response after the holidays.

 

[TucsonFX4]

I would definitely try Winchester first. If you call they will probably ask you to send it in. They may even pay for the shipping. I know that Ruger does.
If that doesn't work and you like the rifle then have it re-barreled and bedded by a good smith - that's a pretty reliable fix.
You may get better response after the holidays.

That’s my plan. I’ve been debating if I should call this week (almost over now) or just wait until later next week when staffing is probably higher.

 

[cash_tx]

I would not adjust the trigger until you have an actual trigger pull gauge to know what you're dealing with. I have a Model 70 Featherweight from about that same era, and it has a very-useable 3.0 pound trigger pull from the factory (as measured multiple times by my RCBS trigger pull gauge). I think the two most useable pieces of advice you have right now are:

1. Call Winchester and see what they say about the issue. While you have them on the phone, you might as well give them the serial number and have them tell you when the rifle was made (and where).
2. Have a look down the barrel with a borescope; paying particular attention to the condition of the rifling and whether the lands are even (e.g. start at the same points).

 

[ActionBob]

I am not saying do not adjust the trigger ,i am saying know what you are doing & 3 lbs is fine on a hunting rifle, the original Win 70 trigger is easy to adjust the weight, on other makes you
must understand how the trigger works .I have seen rifles with sear angles changed & cocking pieces ground down, springs shortened & rifles that fired when the safety was disengaged, to the point of being dangerous by people who did not know what they were doing. With all the anti gun dick heads & media we do not want accidental discharges or shootings to fuel their agenda. Look what happened to Remington & the 700 trigger .

You are talking in circles now.

Its not a Remington, it is a Winchester with what sounds like an adjustable trigger. Why should the guy buy a replacement when he can back a screw out for free?
I'm sure your a great guy with the best intentions but to flatly state a person should not adjust an adjustable trigger sounds like uninformed advice.

 

[csmiffy]

How many action screws does it have, 2 or 3? I have never played much with my M70 243 and TBH i was never a group fiend when i was younger. If it could hit a cigarette-sized target 3 shots at a hundy it was fine and i never shot past that anyway. Last time I checked it was doing 1-1/2" 5-shot groups with an NZ-developed 95gr projectile based on a Berger jacket. Probably overthinking it with 5 shot groups and the thin barrel.
Anyhow back on task, I have an acquaintance that had issues with his M70 270 but found a method of tensioning up the action screws that helped. I believe without being to specific that the middle screw doesn't need to be very tight at all, only the front and back ones.
Its worth a look maybe?

 

[TucsonFX4]

How many action screws does it have, 2 or 3? I have never played much with my M70 243 and TBH i was never a group fiend when i was younger. If it could hit a cigarette-sized target 3 shots at a hundy it was fine and i never shot past that anyway. Last time I checked it was doing 1-1/2" 5-shot groups with an NZ-developed 95gr projectile based on a Berger jacket. Probably overthinking it with 5 shot groups and the thin barrel.
Anyhow back on task, I have an acquaintance that had issues with his M70 270 but found a method of tensioning up the action screws that helped. I believe without being to specific that the middle screw doesn't need to be very tight at all, only the front and back ones.
Its worth a look maybe?

Just two action screws.

Hunting inside 100 yards is a rarity for me in AZ. Not saying it can’t be done, but tags are tough to get to begin with, if filling them were as hard or harder than getting the tag itself, then it would be tough to justify the time I think.

 

[flatwater bill]

I bought a bad horse once. After 200 hours of training, it was adequate. I should have started with a better horse.........good luck with whatever you decide.....FWB

 

[ARHinAK]

I’m going through the same issue with a brand new M70 Featherweight in 7mm08. It shoots like crap with everything I’ve tried.
I decided on a minimalist approach by hogging out the factory beading at the front recoil lug and re doing it. Leaving space with 3 layers of 10mil tape on the sides, bottom and front of the recoil lug.
the only contact is the rear of the lug and the flat where the stock screw goes in. Sorry to say I only did this yesterday so I haven’t had a chance to clean it up and shoot it.
I’ll report back with the results.
If no improvement, a pressure point will be next.