[kixonrt66]

Hello all!

The Pre 64 Winchester model 70 Featherweight rifle I won on Gun Broker has arrived and boy is she a beauty!!! This rifle has the "IT" factor all over it. For those of you that have not read my previous thread about this rifle, it is a 1954 Model 70 Featherweight chambered in .308 Winchester. It came with the original sights including the sight hood on the front sight, a period Bausch & Lomb Baltur 2 1/2 power scope mounted in a Vintage Kuharsky B&L mount. The rifle also has the original sling swivels, a Boyt sling (which I removed for the photos) and the original aluminum butt plate. The rifle is easily 85-90% overall with 98% bluing on the barrel and action. The blue is very thin on the bolt handle and there is evidence of some corrosion on the ball of the bolt handle. The wood is a solid 85-90%. There is a little wear where you would expect to see it and virtually none in other places. The bore is absolutely pristine. After a wipe down and a drop or two of oil, the bolt is silky smooth...actually slicker than a greased ice cube on a mirror! The bolt has the same serial number as the rifle. The action feeds and ejects with authority and the bolt sounds like a bank vault when being closed. Holy Smokes! I LOVE this rifle!!! Check it out!

Thoughts, opinions, comments?

Kix

 

[Shawn Crea]

Very nice find kix. Congrats! Let us know how it shoots.

 

[doubs43]

Kix, I know you're excited and you have good reason to be. That's a rifle to be proud of. It'll be interesting to see how the rifle shoots with the vintage scope and base. It should be a great big game getter!

 

[OneShotKill]

Well done mate. You proudly own a real classic!

 

[kixonrt66]

Pre-64 Model 70

Thanks to all for the nice comments! I'm pretty stoked about this rifle as you all can clearly see. I'll post a range report as soon as I can get the rifle out to my shooting club

Kix

 

[BigBob3006]

Kix,

Thank you for your pictures, they brought back a lot of memories. At one time I owned a kissin' cousin to your rifle. I hope yours shoots as well as mine did. Even the scope reminded me of The B&L Balvar 8 scope I put on what may have been the first .264 Win. Mag. to hit the state of New Mexico. I started out using the B&L two piece scope base but could never get the rifle to shoot well. Finally I tried the one piece Kuharsky Bros. you have on your rifle. That cured my troubles. My favorite load was 65.5gr of 4831 with the Sierra 120gn bullet. I didn't know but thought that gave me in the neighborhood of 3300fps. Shot that barrel out in 14 months and a little over 1200 rounds. I made some long shots with that combination.

Winning that rifle was great, somehow I think you should have been buying lottery tickets that day.

 

[kixonrt66]

Pre-64 Model 70 Featherweight

Kix,

Thank you for your pictures, they brought back a lot of memories. At one time I owned a kissin' cousin to your rifle. I hope yours shoots as well as mine did. Even the scope reminded me of The B&L Balvar 8 scope I put on what may have been the first .264 Win. Mag. to hit the state of New Mexico. I started out using the B&L two piece scope base but could never get the rifle to shoot well. Finally I tried the one piece Kuharsky Bros. you have on your rifle. That cured my troubles. My favorite load was 65.5gr of 4831 with the Sierra 120gn bullet. I didn't know but thought that gave me in the neighborhood of 3300fps. Shot that barrel out in 14 months and a little over 1200 rounds. I made some long shots with that combination.

Winning that rifle was great, somehow I think you should have been buying lottery tickets that day.

Hello Bob!

Thanks for the nice comments and insight into your experiences with B&L and Kuharsky scope mounts. I see that you live in RR. I'm a long time ABQ resident and I love hunting in NM and Colorado. I grew up deer hunting in south Texas and it was fun but nothing compares to elk and antelope hunting out here IMHO. To hear a bull elk bugle on the side of a canyon wall in the Jila is very exciting! I hope to take one soon with this rifle!!!

I'm headed out to the Zia shooting club today to shoot this rifle and see what she'll do. I'll post a report later today.

Kix

 

[kixonrt66]

Range Report!!!

I took this wonderful old rifle to the range today to stretch her legs a bit after many years in the gun safe. Much to my surprise the old B&L Baltur 2 1/2 power scope was still awfully close to the mark. Here is how things went at the range today:

RANGE REPORT 08/15/2010 by Kixonrt66

WEATHER: Warm, Sunny with a slight breeze.

RIFLE: Vintage 1954 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. 22" Barrel, standard stock.

CALIBER: .308 Winchester

OPTICS: Vintage Bausch & Lomb Baltur 2 1/2 power scope with vintage Kuharsky external adjustable mount.

BENCH INFORMATION: Concrete shooting bench with Caldwell Rock BR Front Rest and rabbit ear rear bag.

AMMUNITION: Federal 150 grain HI-SHOK Soft Point hunting ammunition

RESULTS: The rifle was shot straight out of the shipping box with only a minimal cleaning and no adjustment to the scope. The first three shots were below and slightly to the right of the point of aim, but the three shot group was impressive for a cold barrel at 100 yards, especially with only a 2 1/2 power scope. The target squares are 1".

Adjustments were made to get the gun on zero at 100 yards and the following group was produced. I chose the target just for fun! The paririe dog is life size.

The rifle was then tested at 200 yards with no adjustment to the 2 1/2 power scope. There was a steady left to right breeze at the time this target was produced. At 200 yards a 2 1/2 power scope is almost like using iron sights. Still the group was acceptable in my opinion.

CONCLUSIONS: This 1954 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight is a superb rifle. It has that magical smoothness and solid feel that made the pre-64 Model 70 rifles so legendary. It is easy to see why so many sportsmen speak in glowing terms about these rifles after spending a morning at the range shooting this one. The bolt is silky smooth, the lockup is positive and the feed and ejection are flawless. In spite of its relatively light weight, the rifle is pleasant to shoot with noticeable but not uncomfortable recoil. The trigger is excellent for a hunting rifle with a crisp let off and no creep or griity feel and almost no overtravel. The accuracy is outstanding...not a one hole shooter target rifle but certainly satisfactory for hunting purposes. Overall, I give this rifle 5 out of 5 stars. I'll be keeping this one folks!

Kix

 

[tpv]

That, my friend, is a beautiful rifle.
I love the classics! and that is sure enough one of them.
Want to sell it? HA

 

[doubs43]

Kix, that's a dead deer at 200 yards and I'm guessing a lot farther once you get your load doped out. I think you got every penny's worth and maybe more. It's a rifle you can brag about and rightly so! two thumbs up..... WAY up!

 

[Shawn Crea]

kix, you did well on that rifle purchase! And, you are apparently shooting it well. Other than POI changes for your load choices, don't change a thing.

 

[OneShotKill]

Well done mate! Great work.

 

[BigBob3006]

Kix,
I think I'm the only Conlin in RR, Give me a call. When I married Kathy most of my rifles were Pre 64 Win M-70, including a .264 WM with a 22" bbl. Right now I have no hunting or varmint rifles. The only I have are two pistols. One of which is to require rent from "uninvited" night time callers. I don't sleep at night anymore.
looks to me as if that rifle is shooting MOA. You're lucky I don't walk anymore or I'd make a midnight requisition and add that rifle to an empty gun case. looks as if this rifle is one of those that bring nothing put joy.

 

[kixonrt66]

Kix,
I think I'm the only Conlin in RR, Give me a call. When I married Kathy most of my rifles were Pre 64 Win M-70, including a .264 WM with a 22" bbl. Right now I have no hunting or varmint rifles. The only I have are two pistols. One of which is to require rent from "uninvited" night time callers. I don't sleep at night anymore.
looks to me as if that rifle is shooting MOA. You're lucky I don't walk anymore or I'd make a midnight requisition and add that rifle to an empty gun case. looks as if this rifle is one of those that bring nothing put joy.

Hello Bob,

I went to high school with a fello named Mark Conlin in Houston in the early 1970's

Kix

 

[kixonrt66]

Ammunition choices

kix, you did well on that rifle purchase! And, you are apparently shooting it well. Other than POI changes for your load choices, don't change a thing.

Could anyone suggest a type or brand of hunting type ammo that this rifle may shoot well? All rifles are different, even among the same brand and model. I am now getting ready to embark on a search to see what this particular rifle performs best with. Bear in mind that I will be hunting elk, antelope, mule deer and white tail deer with the same loads. I prefer 150 grain bullets.

Kix

 

[jaybirdjtski]

Well Kix,

You made a great purchase. After your post I started looking at pre '64s on all the sites and I'd say that you easily bought that for at least $400 under market. With that scope, you might have made an even better deal. Be sure to save the comps to show her just in case! Great investment and great rifle. It looks as good as it shoots! That is one to keep in the family.

 

[BigBob3006]

Kix,

I do have a son named Mark, but the time frame is off. We were living in Phoenix, Arizona about that time. Makes you wonder though doesn't it?

 

[Brotus2]

In the early, early 80's I bought a 1952 Model 70 in 270 Win for $400. I bought it from the original owner who had shot exactly 10 shells thru it. I got the other half of the box from him along with a never used Lee Loader. All the paperwork was with it as well as the box, hang tag etc.

Well, it sat in my safe in 99+ condition until six months ago when I decided enough is enough. I took the Weaver El Paso KV off it, replaced it with a Nikon 4X14X40 mil dot, took the half box of Remington and went to the range. I haven't had so much fun in years!

Now, I reload for it and shoot it a least twice a month. I'm up to shooting about 800 yards out, now, and the old girl is just fantastic. It's outshooting my buddies plastic Model 70 in 300 Win Mag and it's killing him. I love it!

Enjoy.

 

[kixonrt66]

Old Model 70's

In the early, early 80's I bought a 1952 Model 70 in 270 Win for $400. I bought it from the original owner who had shot exactly 10 shells thru it. I got the other half of the box from him along with a never used Lee Loader. All the paperwork was with it as well as the box, hang tag etc.

Well, it sat in my safe in 99+ condition until six months ago when I decided enough is enough. I took the Weaver El Paso KV off it, replaced it with a Nikon 4X14X40 mil dot, took the half box of Remington and went to the range. I haven't had so much fun in years!

Now, I reload for it and shoot it a least twice a month. I'm up to shooting about 800 yards out, now, and the old girl is just fantastic. It's outshooting my buddies plastic Model 70 in 300 Win Mag and it's killing him. I love it!

Enjoy.

Hello Brotus!

Man! I LOVE stories like this! It's great that you finally got the old girl out for some range time! Excellent!

Kix

 

[Shawn Crea]

Could anyone suggest a type or brand of hunting type ammo that this rifle may shoot well? All rifles are different, even among the same brand and model. I am now getting ready to embark on a search to see what this particular rifle performs best with. Bear in mind that I will be hunting elk, antelope, mule deer and white tail deer with the same loads. I prefer 150 grain bullets.

Kix

Kix,
Take a look at the Federal loads. Nosler partition, Speer Grand Slam, Sierra gameking, they're all good. If just deer and antelope, you'd do fine with the 150's in any of those. 165's would be better, and minimum what you should use for elk. 180's would be even better for elk.