Win Model 70

[DLT]

Hello All

I have been reading posts on this site for quite awhile and really like the site seems to be alot of knowledge floating around here. I am not much for posting on any sites so forgive me if you think newbi looking for quick info and then leaving just more of a reader than poster, anyway my question for you gun guru's I had the good fortune to be given a Win. Model 70 in a 30-338 serial no. below 200,000 with some old B/L glass on it does anyone have any input on this caliber or gun itself?

Thanks in advance,

Dave

 

[.270]

the factory never offered a pre 64 in that caliber. in fact i've never seen factory ammo for it. i've seen a couple custom rifles chambered for it. the balistics are a lot like a 300 short mag. it must either be a rechamber or it has a different barrel on it. there are a lot of custom model 70's out there. model 70's seem to really fluctuate in price. one gun show will have a bunch real reasonable, the next they are all higher than heck. if it's in good shape, not all rusty and beat and up, has a good sound stock on it, it will be worth from $600 on the low end to over a grand. if it's a super grade or featherweight, it will be worth a little more. interesting sounding rifle. does it have the old beuhler scope mounts on it? most of the old bausch and lomb scopes did. all the adjustments are in the bases and there are no knobs on the scope. post a photo if you can. Lark.

[DLT]

Thanks for the info Lark sorry yes it is a custom barrel made in Prescott I will post the name of the Co. if you are interested. It has alot of twist in it, way more than anything else I own looks interesting I have not had the chance to shoot it yet.

[.270]

yep, them are beuhler mounts. not a bad set up. a little hard to sight in, but they almost never get knocked off and there are a lot less places for the scope to leak from. B&L made a lot of fine scopes with no adjustment on them. if it's clear, i'd leave it on it. they just look right on a model 70. i'd love to have one to put on one o' my old ones. looks like an original stock. appears to be a standard grade. featherweights have an alluminum trigger guard and magazine plate and the blue is always a little off colored. supergrades have fancier wood, deeper blue and different checkering. they also have a plastic tip on the forepiece. seems like some of them have a cap on the pistol grip too. does it have an orignal barrel that has been rechamberd? they could have done that with an '06 real easy. or is it a custom barrel? the .300/.338 is an interesting cartridge. quite a bit hotter than an '06 but a little less than a .300 win mag. should be a lot like a .308 norma. probly a bit hotter than a short mag. and being a hair shorter than the .300, it will work a little better in the action. the .300, both the win and h&h's have to be loaded just a little shorter than in some other actions, because the pre64 isn't a big long action. the h&h's, both the .300 and .375, along with the .300 winchester, are quite long cartridges. i always kinda figgerd that the .338, .458 and .264 were made the length they were in order to work well in the action. they're all on the same case. one thing i know for sure, that is one dang fine rifle. i'll swap ya 2 mossberg .22 autos, a three legged dog and whole case o' montezuma's revenge tequila for it. you said it had a lot of twist? you mean barrel twist? how quick is it? maybe they set it up for heavy bullets. 200's and 220's take a quick twist, like 8". i hope ya told whoever gave to ya thanks. that's a neat rifle. Lark.

[DLT]

Lark,

Thanks for the info, I took a better look this evening getting out the old model 99 to take in the AM. The barrel is Atkinson and Marquart rifle co. looks like they made guns in the fiftys in Prescott I will be doing some more research we I get back. I recieved the gun from a family member who for whatever reason must like me otherwise I have always wanted a three legged dog. Dare to dream anyway Thanks again for the info I'll let you know how it shoots.

Dave

[audsley]

I have this same wildcat caliber in a 1917 Remington that was re-barreled and re-stocked by Harry Lawson. Obviously my gun is not as good as yours, but I like it anyway. Great elk rifle.

 

the .30-.338 was a Fred Huntington wildcat, and RCBS supports it with dies. It didn't hammer my shoulder as much as I expected. But I do find it more expensive to reload as the .338 brass is a little pricier than .270 or 6.55x55 or 7mm SAUM, the other calibers I reload for, and each cartridge eats up a lot of powder, like 70 grains, compared to maybe 46 for the Swede.

[kcw]

You have agreat gun. The A&M barrel on your gun is one the finest you could ask for. I wish I had one on my rifle. Atkison and Marquart made barrels for high dollar rifle customers all from all over the world they were one of the priemer makers of thier era.

[Benbrown]

You have a very nice set-up there. Don't let anyone talk you out of it.

 

The .30-.338 came into being after the introduction of the .300 Winchester Magnum because a fair number of rifle loonies thought that the neck on the .300 Win Mag was too short. Conventional thinking at the time held that the neck of a bottle-necked cartridge should be no shorter than 1 caliber diameter--in a .30 caliber rifle, the minimum would be .308 inches. The SAAMI specs on the .300 Win Mag were for a .264 inch neck length. Fred Huntington's solution was to take essentially the same case (the .338 Win Mag) and reduce the body length enough to give a neck of the "right length" for the caliber. As Lark noted, the resulting case is almost exactly the same as that of the .308 Norma Magnum, and reloading data for the two are interchangeable.

 

I had one made up years ago on a Remington-made Springfield 1903 action with a Douglas Premium barrel and found it to be an accurate cartridge and very easy to reload. I did not have a chronograph in those days, but I am sure that my handloads were basically duplicating factory .300 Win Mag ballistics, based on drop tests out to 300 yds. As time went by, I acquired a couple of other .300 mags (a Winchester and a Weatherby) that were lighter and easier to carry. I eventually rebarreled the rifle to .338 Win Mag, after I started hunting in Alaska.

[.270]

ive got several .300's and have never had a problem with the bullets shaking loose. i've read that analogy a bunch about the neck length, but i've never had any negative stuff with mine. it does look sorta funny with that stubby little neck. a .300 mag's case is 2.62" long and a .338 is 2.5". you can get more powder in the the .300 and it shoots a bit faster. i always wondered why nobody ever necked up the .300 up to .338? o' course then the neck would be really short compared to the bullet diameter. guess a guy could get a .340 weatherby. i have had problems with .264 bullets coming loose and with an '06. my son's .270 short mag tikka had some problems with that too. recoil was pushing the bullets in the magazine back into the case. had to put a little crimp on em. i'd really like to see that rifle. i really like model 70's and this one sounds like something special. Lark.

[Hooked_on_Coues]

My Dad had a 308 Norma that was built in the same era. It had a micro groove barrel that shot like crazy. Only other thing I have seen that type of barrel on was a .22.

 

Maybe that was a thing then?

[ruffcountry]

Cool rifle , thanks for showing us , I've never seen that type of scope setup before .

[DLT]

Thanks everyone for the info looks like I need to spend a little more time with it. Lark I like the Model 70's alot myself if your around my neck of the woods sometime let me know.

Thanks again,

Dave