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winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options

23 Jul 2016
@ 08:39 pm (GMT)

Sebastian Shand

i have a winchester m70 featherweight in 270 that my dad owned and hunted with for many years and gifted it to me before he died, i hunted with it for a few years but the barrel is well and truly shot out so it has sat in the cupboard waiting for something to happen to it. I've decided I'm going to rebarrel it and tune it up and start using it as my everyday go to hunting rifle as i always loved shooting it and its a good weight and size for the type of hunting i do in the south island.
unfortunately the safety got snapped off so i will have to try find another one from somewhere.
im considering calibres for the new barrel and I'm interested to see what peoples thoughts are? I'm leaning towards keeping it in 270 or 280 or possibly 30-06 but open to ideas. I'm after something reasonably flat and fast shooting for new zealand game from goats to large red stags, ranges from 0 to 700yards or further if the rifle is upto to it , i realise any of the above will do the job but I'm interested to see if theres something i haven't thought of? i also toyed with the idea of a AI case in the above calibers?

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23 Jul 2016 @ 08:43 pm (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options
23 Jul 2016 @ 10:19 pm (GMT)	Quote this Chris Murphy Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Hi Sebastian I could look at the safety if you like I maybe able to make one if you can't find one. As for calibers the 270 is a great round but you have better projectile choice with 280 or 30-0sexy. 280 with 162 A max / eld would be my choice but only cos I'm a 7mm guy
23 Jul 2016 @ 10:46 pm (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options gidday chris that'd be awesome if you have the time to have a look at it at some point. yes i like all 3 calibers a lot but I'm leaning away from 270 because of projectile choice and windy issues. i defiantly like the sound of the 280 and i think it will be perfect for what i want to do. i am very interested in the possibilities of a ackley version of the 280 or even in 30 odd 6. I currently have a 300 win mag so a 280 could be the winner? does anybody on here shoot a ackley improved 280? or even AI 30.06?
23 Jul 2016 @ 11:19 pm (GMT)	Quote this Mike Davis Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options I'm a .270 guy and more than happy with it. granted my shots are 400 and under. but as I don't own a range finder that would be my limit no matter the calibre . the 280 is getting a bit of a following but the 06 is king. as for which of the 3???? go into 4 sports shops and stock n station agents and see if you can find 280 ammo point being you are traveling away for trip and get to say Fairlie and realise ammo on freezer at home..... with .270 or 06 you will have good chance of buying it there or Twizel and snowballs if have .280 or .25/06 there are guys out there using .270 well past 700 yards...they have the gear and spent the time.... no different to any other calibre in that regard. as for projectile choice.......how many do you need????? if the one you use works.
24 Jul 2016 @ 06:06 am (GMT)	Quote this Thomas Kitchen Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options i'm with the keep it in 270 win camp, its the really is a good all round caliber, easy to get dies, brass projectiles. every gunsmith has a reamer for it to it would be very hassle free. you could get Grant to put a nice 24" barrel on it and you could really get your loads moving. im hoping hornady brings out the ELD-X in 270 soon to
24 Jul 2016 @ 07:48 am (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options that will defiantly be one point I'm looking into is what calibre will perform better with a shorter barrel around 24inch or less. it would be nice to keep the rifle as close to the original as i can within reason as i have many memories of hunting with dad with the ol cannon. the last time i went hunting with dad on our annual trip to durville island before he died i shot 3 deer with this rifle at 300yards while shaking like a leaf and then attempting to carry one on my back while dragging 2 behind me 1.5km back to camp....ahh the good ol days.
24 Jul 2016 @ 11:10 am (GMT)	Quote this Warwick Marflitt Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Have you thought about a 35 Whelen?
24 Jul 2016 @ 06:16 pm (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Haha I was waiting for 35 to be mentioned Warwick. I have thought about it abit but I'm just not sure this is the rifle for that and I currently have a 375 H&H which covers all my needs as far as a hard hitting caliber. In saying this it's not completely off the table I just need to research it abit more to see if it's what I'm after in this particular rifle
24 Jul 2016 @ 11:20 pm (GMT)	Quote this Thomas Kitchen Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Hi seb Not sure what other calibers you have but if don't have 30 call and from memory you have a swede a 30.06 might be a good choice. The possibilities are endless from basic 284 to doing things like 30/06 icl caribou or 7mm icl tortilla. What a great memory you must have of this rifle and your dad. my suggestion is keep it simple a rifle that you will want to grab out of the safe and never feel like you grabbed the wrong rifle a do everything kinder caliber
24 Jul 2016 @ 11:51 pm (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options yeah thats the direction I'm leaning towards is my go to hunting rifle that will be a great all rounder. I'm not overly concerned if the cartridge isn't run of the mill as i always like something abit different. i have a 300 win mag and a 6.5 swede aswell as a 7x57. I'm leaning towards 7mm or 30 cal just for ease of great hi bc hunting projectiles. seeing as i have the 300 win mag I'm interested in a beefed up 7mm so maybe a 280 ackley. it doesnt sound like it would be overly challenging todo with dies being made by hornady and rcbs. nosler make cases if you don't want to fireform altho i don't no how hard it would be to get these in nz. i'll start doing some reading on it as it looks pretty much right up the alley I'm looking.
25 Jul 2016 @ 12:19 am (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options all righty after a few hours searching the intergoogle web it appears that a 280 AI will be fairly straight forward and not overly expensive. trueflight do barrels and have the reamer so i'll be giving grant a call at some point. dies are available in nz and so are nosler cases which are the most expensive part but if i run mild loads they will last awhile. from what i hear nosler do make very good brass. the next thing is barrel length. I'm thinking of starting at 26inch as i can always go shorter
25 Jul 2016 @ 12:30 am (GMT)	Quote this Thomas Kitchen Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Hi send Just check you mag length then check the cartridge book for 280 coal. I'm sure the mag can be modified but it's just something to be aware of
25 Jul 2016 @ 12:56 am (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options so looks like my magazine length is 86.48mm and in my adi loading manual for 280 ackley improved C.O.L for 175grain soft sp is 83.058mm
25 Jul 2016 @ 04:30 am (GMT)	Quote this Warwick Marflitt Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Have a read ? https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2013/10/23/america-s-rejected-caliber/ As you have the 375 H&H and the history of your Dad's rifle maybe the 270 is the way to stay? I have my 6.5 Swede and the 35 Whelen. A 12 gage snotty + my .22 LR That covers everything I need really. Do what you want that makes you happy mate.
25 Jul 2016 @ 05:53 am (GMT)	Quote this Paul Leverman Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Might as well throw my two cents in. That's a beautiful piece of walnut. I would keep it at 270, but if your heart is set on new, then the '06 is a viable option. The AI makes it a little better, you get the performance of the improved, and if you do leave your ammo on the freezer, factory ammo still works in it. Even though it's not in vogue, and maintenance is high, I would stick with the ChromeMoly barrel if you can. I'm not sure of the environment you hunt in, so it may be SS is the only realistic choice. I really like that stock.
25 Jul 2016 @ 06:16 am (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options gidday paul yes the stock is a beautiful piece of work, it has taken thousands of hunting trips into the nz bush to get it to that state along with many barrel cleaning agents and oils. it has character and a home feeling you just can't find in a modern rifle. my dad bought this rifle when new Zealand was still using pounds as currency so at a wild guess he got it somewhere in the 50s or 60s. this was my first thought to keep it fully original putting it back into 270 and chrome molly but Im wondering if i need to make a few changes so it will actually suit my needs and what i need in a all rounder hunting rig for myself. I'm a huge fan of chromemoly but unfortunately i live right next to the sea and a lot of my hunting is based close to the sea so I'm wondering if maybe i need to go sainless and possibly try get it coated so it looks cromemoly and matches the action?
25 Jul 2016 @ 07:04 pm (GMT)	Quote this Bryan Webster Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Personally I think my first choice would be the 30/06 in a 24 inch barrel since you mentioned the Hornady ELD-X bullets and those whould become more available in the 170 grain versions. For my 7mm Rem Magnum I just bought a box of their 175 grain ELD-X bullets and plan to do a load workup for those soon. As is somethimes the case with other 7mm cartridges like the A-Max it may be the .280 barrel you buy could be fussy, but the 175 grain ELD-X would be a great choice I think if you develope a decent load...from short to far. I never have been a fan of wildcats of any sort and like the AI versions of the .280 Remington and .30/06 for the same reasons as have been mentioned...getting stuck by forgetting or loosing your ammo while far from home, and in the back of my mind I have always liked the idea I could just go to a local store where I was going to be hunting if needed....this happened to me once. Remember too that there is a wee trick Nathan mentions in his book on bedding this rifle.
25 Jul 2016 @ 07:10 pm (GMT)	Quote this Bryan Webster Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options for the 30/06 it should have read 178 grain ELD-X not 170 grain. Damned fingers!
26 Jul 2016 @ 03:42 am (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options so had a big read up of nathans write up on the 280 and looks like to achieve something worth the build i need a 90mm magazine which would mean extending mine by 4mm or so. also looks like 26inch barrel is needed to get decent velocities out of it. that would be the good thing with a ackley chamber bryan is it sounds like you can shoot normal ammo thru it if need be. 30-06 could be the way to go as i'll get away with a 24inch barrel. hmmmm so many options
26 Jul 2016 @ 04:16 am (GMT)	Quote this Nathan Foster Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Hi Sebastian, 87mm will be the approximate max COAL with current reamers and the 162gr ELD-M in .280 or .280AI. You'll want to seat to around 86.8mm, so you need about 87.8mm for smooth feeding etc. Your mag box might only be blocked (spot welded sheet metal block) which is easy to remove. If the mag box is an issue then yes, the .30-06 or .30-06 AI may be the go. When throated for the 208gr, the max COAL can be set at 86mm to 87mm, requiring an 87 to 88mm mag box. Having said this, even a stock standard .30-06 running shorter COAL's can push the 200-208gr at 2700fps with Superformance powder - if you can get your hands on it. Thats a heavy pay load for Thar or Reds, though it is down on the .280 by 150 to 200fps. The Sierra TMK bullets are also worth considering if opting for .30-06 as a means to combine max velocity with max BC and max wounding. I am also pretty sure you will be able to run the 175gr ELD-X at around 2750fps in the .280AI. BC is is .675. The book series will help you once once you receive your set. If you like, you may want to hold off, read first, then decide after using the Cartridges book step by step approach to cartridge selection. In any case, for now, pull the rifle apart and check how the mag box is constructed.
26 Jul 2016 @ 06:39 am (GMT)	Quote this Paul Leverman Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options If you have no choice but to go with the SS barrel, Cerakote may be the answer. A fellow here does it, and it is available in just about any colour or colour combination you could want. He even made a PINK .243 for his daughter, and it looks good.
26 Jul 2016 @ 08:08 am (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options thanks nathan that will give me some good info to get started on. i have read thru the book series already but had to buy another set as my mate keeps running off with them, i will be reading back thru them again when my new set turns up. i'll pull it apart and see what the situation is and try get some photos up. it looks as tho if its not to hard todo i will be better off extending the mag regardless of which direction i go calibre wise as i want to use long heavy projectiles. im in no hurry with this as i have other projects on the go currently so will work my way thru slowly and try do things sensibly... haha that'd be a first for me :P i think that will be the way to go paul cerkote it all to try get it to the original cromemoly color of the action.
26 Jul 2016 @ 08:43 am (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options hopefully these are clear enough to see whats going on.
26 Jul 2016 @ 06:45 pm (GMT)	Quote this Sebastian Shand Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options Also if I do end up going down the 280 road I'm guessing I'll need a 1 in 9 twist barrel for the heavier 7mm pills?
26 Jul 2016 @ 06:45 pm (GMT)	Quote this Thomas Kitchen Re: winchester m70 featherweight rebarrel options im no expert but its not looking that simple, its that step at the front of the receiver that's interesting the mauser's and p14 don't have it and the screw goes into the recoil lug itself. hopefully Grant or Nathan or someone that's modified one before has a look and comments for you. just on the paint side of things, it has come up before on here. no matter what paint you use, you will get chipping eventually, you could look at chrome molly barrels or painting a stainless. but sometimes we have to get over it and think about the practicality of it. its like marrying a woman that can't cook sure it might look good but its not very practical is it ha ha