Pre-64 Model 70 Value

[cam1936]

I impulse bought this rifle last week. It's a pre-64 Model 70 in 270 WCF with an early 1950 serial number and a 49 stamped barrel. Bolt matches, sights are original. It's missing the front sight hood. The stock has an older (but still soft enough) Pachmayr pad. LOP measures 13 3/8" so they must have trimmed a bit of walnut to get that LOP with the new pad. Stock has been bedded as well. The bore and crown look great, but there is lots of bluing wear on the front half of the barrel, plus some scuffs in the bluing on the receiver and floorplate. The bolt side of the receiver looks worse than the other side. No pitting and the metal underneath the stock looks brand new.

Definitely just a shooter grade rifle. I bought it as a package with Leupold rings+bases and a Leupold 3-9x40 Vari-X iic (Made in 2000 according to serial #). I paid $1300 CAD ($940 USD) for the package. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I don't usually impulse buy rifles and values are all over the place on pre-64 Mod 70s. Was that a fair deal?

I took it out to the range today just to see how it would do with a box of cheap Federal blue box 130 grain. I shot one group at 100 (1.6" 5-shot group) and 2.8" 5-shot group at 200 yards. Not bad for a random box of ammo. I don't yet have dies and brass for .270.

 

[Mekaniks]

You did good. Take it hunting

 

[ARHinAK]

Nothing wrong with that!

 

[deewayne2003]

I think you did well, people want $300+ for those scopes used alone and I really like the wood.

 

[Hedge774]

Yep. That was a good score.

 

['68boy]

Look at rifles listed on pre'64win.com to get an idea. I think you did just fine.

 

[Hedge774]

Yep. If you are worried about the finish ( I'm a Rust-O-Phobe) get it cerakote finished and never worry about it again. You probably won't have to.

 

[RedTag]

The price you paid is fair. Some would say that you underpaid. I don’t think anyone would say that that you overpaid. I have several pre-‘64 Winchester 70 rifles, acquired in various “fixer upper” or “shooter grade” conditions, and the prices I’ve paid, adjusted for inflation, are approximately consistent with the price you paid for your “new” rifle. You seem to be getting acceptable accuracy. These were generally not sub-MOA rifles (as few were in those days) but at the same time generally not outside the 2-MOA mark. All of mine are pretty consistently between 1 and 2 MOA, which is totally acceptable for hunting at ordinary distances inside 300 yards. My .300 H&H is the most accurate of the bunch, as was common among rifles chambered for that cartridge in those days from all that I can gather.
The bottom line is you got a classic rifle at a fair price. You don’t have to worry about ruining any collectors value by taking her afield. Just pay attention to your pmcs and you'll be fine. These are the best rifles ever made, for the money, in my honest opinion. There are more “modern” rifles that may be capable of sub-MOA accuracy, but most these days have cut corners in other parts being made of plastic that simply won’t stand the test of time. Newer rifles may have arguably better barrels but that barrel is the consumable part of a rifle. The action is the heart of the gun, and the pre-‘64 Winchester 70 has the heart of a champion. Wear out the original barrel and refit with a modern replacement. You’ll then have a rifle with both a classic action and modern capability; the best of both worlds, as the saying goes. In the meantime, enjoy your rifle as is. You have a winner.

 

[pilar]

Good buy , I had to sell mine during a period of hard times, replaced it with a 1980’s m70 light weight, then went shooting with a buddy who said I should sell it because it would never be a real replacement for my old one, much to my surprise he pulled out a 1953 m70 and said take it home , it was his grandpa’s and thought I would like! it shot great after sitting in a closet for 25 years, it’s now mine on the condition that I never sell it, and put it to work again.
Keep some renaissance gun wax on that old beauty .

 

[Tex .416]

I impulse bought this rifle last week. It's a pre-64 Model 70 in 270 WCF with an early 1950 serial number and a 49 stamped barrel. Bolt matches, sights are original. It's missing the front sight hood. The stock has an older (but still soft enough) Pachmayr pad. LOP measures 13 3/8" so they must have trimmed a bit of walnut to get that LOP with the new pad. Stock has been bedded as well. The bore and crown look great, but there is lots of bluing wear on the front half of the barrel, plus some scuffs in the bluing on the receiver and floorplate. The bolt side of the receiver looks worse than the other side. No pitting and the metal underneath the stock looks brand new.

Definitely just a shooter grade rifle. I bought it as a package with Leupold rings+bases and a Leupold 3-9x40 Vari-X iic (Made in 2000 according to serial #). I paid $1300 CAD ($940 USD) for the package. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I don't usually impulse buy rifles and values are all over the place on pre-64 Mod 70s. Was that a fair deal?

I took it out to the range today just to see how it would do with a box of cheap Federal blue box 130 grain. I shot one group at 100 (1.6" 5-shot group) and 2.8" 5-shot group at 200 yards. Not bad for a random box of ammo. I don't yet have dies and brass for .270.

Model 70’s in .270 of that vintage are very capable of sub-MOA with good loads from first hand experience.

Replace the Leupold with a different scope and see if the rifle starts shooting better. For factory fodder, Barnes brand ammo shoots well every time I’ve tried it, but make sure to start with a clean barrel.

 

[45-70guy]

I impulse bought this rifle last week. It's a pre-64 Model 70 in 270 WCF with an early 1950 serial number and a 49 stamped barrel. Bolt matches, sights are original. It's missing the front sight hood. The stock has an older (but still soft enough) Pachmayr pad. LOP measures 13 3/8" so they must have trimmed a bit of walnut to get that LOP with the new pad. Stock has been bedded as well. The bore and crown look great, but there is lots of bluing wear on the front half of the barrel, plus some scuffs in the bluing on the receiver and floorplate. The bolt side of the receiver looks worse than the other side. No pitting and the metal underneath the stock looks brand new.

Definitely just a shooter grade rifle. I bought it as a package with Leupold rings+bases and a Leupold 3-9x40 Vari-X iic (Made in 2000 according to serial #). I paid $1300 CAD ($940 USD) for the package. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I don't usually impulse buy rifles and values are all over the place on pre-64 Mod 70s. Was that a fair deal?

I took it out to the range today just to see how it would do with a box of cheap Federal blue box 130 grain. I shot one group at 100 (1.6" 5-shot group) and 2.8" 5-shot group at 200 yards. Not bad for a random box of ammo. I don't yet have dies and brass for .270.

Good deal, if you change your mind I’ll impulse buy it from you lol
Enjoy that rifle

 

[cam1936]

Thanks for the replies all, yes I plan to use it. The nice thing about worn bluing is you aren't too afraid to actually hunt with the thing!

Model 70’s in .270 of that vintage are very capable of sub-MOA with good loads from first hand experience.

Replace the Leupold with a different scope and see if the rifle starts shooting better. For factory fodder, Barnes brand ammo shoots well every time I’ve tried it, but make sure to start with a clean barrel.

I am a handloader, I just don't have dies or brass and wanted to shoot it. 1.5 MOA 5-shot (not cherry picking a 3 shot) groups are completely acceptable for a random cheap factory load. In my experience that will be improved with load development. How will changing the scope help?

 

[Tex .416]

How will changing the scope help?

Swapping scopes with one that is known to be reliable is a quick way to check whether issues are related to the rifle or the scope. Scopes tend to be a problem far more often than the rifle. Yet people fret about the rifle, but not the scope.

If you are satisfied with the rifle’s performance, then go shoot the heck out of it and it enjoy. The rifle should be capable of even better if you want to try, if not then call it good enough and enjoy it.

Nice rifle. You did good.