The Mystique of the Model 70

I’m not sure who first coined the phrase the “Rifleman’s Rifle”, but he was a marketing genius!

Few rifles in American history have achieved legendary status. What comes to mind, perhaps is the Winchester Model 1873; (“the Gun That Won the West”). Digging back into the shady recesses of my mind, I can think of the Colt Model P; (the Single Action Army, the Frontier Six Shooter, the Smoke Wagon, Col. Colt and His Jury of Six, the Thumb Buster…I could go on). Thinking of modern marketing slogans brings to mind the Remington Model 700 with its “three rings of steel” slogan used to describe its strength and breeching system. But the one rifle that emerges as the all time winner, at least to me, is the Winchester Model 70…the Rifleman’s Rifle!! I’m not sure just who came up with that phrase, but he was a marketing genius!

Now before we get too far along, I must reveal a few facts. I grew up reading Jack O’Connor, who for years was the arms and ammunition editor for Outdoor Life Magazine. Mr. O’Connor also authored several books on guns and shooting.  To me, reading Jack O’Connor was like opening a fine bottle of brandy and smoking a Cuban cigar…it just didn’t get any better! To this day, I’m a sucker for any book that he authored and is not already in my library.

The two things that I had in common with Jack O’Connor was that we both taught young people (although in different curriculums) and we both loved a good Model 70 Winchester.

The Model 70 can trace its ancestry back to returning Doughboys from World War I. Up until the time of the “Great War”, the lever action rifle ruled the roost in America. After all, it was an American invention, and was and still is, an American icon. However, due to their exposure to the US Model 1903 Springfield, and Model 1917 “Enfield”, returning service men began to appreciate the strength, reliability and accuracy of a bolt-action rifle. Having its finger on the pulse of consumer demand, Winchester entered the scene in 1925 with its Model 54, chambered in the perennial favorite, the .30/06 (US Army; .30 caliber; Model of1906) and a new barnburner which they dubbed the “.270 Winchester”.

The Model 54 borrowed the “coned breech” design from the 1903 US Springfield, which greatly enhanced feeding of cartridges from the magazine into the chamber. Its “lock time”(the length of time required for the firing pin to strike the primer of the cartridge, measured in milliseconds) was much faster than the Springfield. The fit and finish of the rifle was as good as it got, and still be made available to the average sportsman.

For the years between 1925 and 1934, sales of the Model 54 were “steady”, considering that a Great Depression put the skids on a lot of “unnecessary” purchases. By 1934, however, there was at least some light at the end of the tunnel, and the research and development teams at Winchester began to take a close look at some of the “flaws” in the Model 54 design. By 1936, some of the “kinks” in the Model 54 had been addressed: the safety was reconfigured, the floor plate (called a magazine cover for us Model 70 purists) was hinged to allow quick release of cartridges from the magazine, the lock time was increased, and the bolt was lowered to allow the use of a new fad: telescopic sights. What emerged from this process was the legendary Model 70.

When first introduced, the Model 70 was chambered in nine calibers, ranging from the diminutive .22 Hornet to the mighty .375 H&H Magnum. What was interesting was the ability of the factory to utilize only one action length and modify it to accommodate various cartridge lengths. Later, in its production life, an additional nine calibers were added. Today, for the collector of “Pre-’64 Model 70’s”the rarity of the caliber plays a vital part in the value of the rifle!!

Throughout its many years of production, Model 70’s have undergone significant changes in the methods of manufacturing. Those produced between 1937 (when it first appeared on the shelves of dealers) and 1964 are referred to as“Pre-’64” Model 70’s. This production run consisted of no less that three distinct modifications: pre-War (World War II, when production was suspended to allow for the war effort); second transition (from 1946 to about 1949) and finally third transition (from about 1950 to 1964). During these phases, the rifles required scores of machining operations and were hand fitted to the final product. The barrels were lapped to ensure smoothness, and were usually stamped with the year and caliber on the underside Stock designs changed with the more prevalent use of scopes. It was during this period of time when Jack O’Connor was the arms editor for Outdoor Life, and his tales of hunting in exotic places with his Model 70’s gave us youthful readers the stuff of which dreams were made!

“OMG….What Happened?!?!”

For those of us who worshiped at the alter of the Pre-’64 Model 70, the year 1964 was an Armageddon!! Production and labor costs steadily rose in the years following WWII, and by1964 the efforts at machining and fitting the beloved Model 70 were no longer economically feasible; the company was loosing money on each and every one produced. In order to reduce these costs a newer and more “economical” Model 70 arrived on the scene.

No longer was the stock checkered gracefully by hand. The barrel channel looked as if someone took a roto-tiller to it, the barrel was left floating in space! Parts that were once machined were now stamped. The reliable claw system was abandoned to a “push feed system”. This brought howls of anguish to the legions of aficionados and instead of being profitable to Winchester, sales plummeted. By 1968, it was obvious that something had to be done! The end result of this became known as the “Post ‘68” version. While it still used the more economical push feed system, parts were better-fitted and finished, and more machining was used rather than stampings.

A Return to Yesteryear

The Post ‘68 Model 70 enjoyed a somewhat “reserved” acceptance from the “purists”. It was accurate, the stock design had much improved, and the “push feed” system wasn’t all that bad. Except, it just wasn’t like the original. By about 1980, the parent company of Winchester, Olin-Mathieson, decided to divest itself of the firearms manufacturing division and concentrate on producing ammunition. Rather than see the 120 year factory close, the employees, stockholders and other interested parties formed “USRAC” (United States Repeating Arms Corporation) and continued production of the Winchester product line, including the Model 70. The rifles produced during this period still enjoyed the reputation earned by the predecessors. By about 1992,however a new and exciting production method began to be applied: CNC!

Computer Numeric Control manufacturing allows a computer to do the intricate machining operations once performed by skilled (expensive) craftsmen. Because of this tolerances could held to tighter levels than ever before, which meant that the old controlled round system of feeding cartridges could again be offered to the shooting public. Once again, a “newer” version of the pre’64 Model 70 could be offered.

Good Times and Bad

 By 2005, the old factory at New Haven, Connecticut needed improvements, and employee costs were rising at an alarming rate! It became apparent that the firm (now owned by the Belgium firm FN who also owns Browning Firearms) could no longer afford to keep the New Haven plant open. After a 145 year span, the Winchester Firearms firm came to an end, shocking everyone in the firearms world. But not quite…

By 2008, Winchester again returned to the American scene. But instead of returning to New Haven operations and manufacturing located in South Carolina, where FNH (the parent company operates a facility not only devoted to the production of US Defense small arms, but the production of what can be argued as the most advanced line of Winchester products yet offered, including the Model 70!

With new manufacturing techniques, and a state of the art factory the future of the Model 70 again appears to be bright. Thanks to this a variety of calibers and actions lengths to accommodate them can be offered to the public. Exactly what lies ahead no one knows, but it’s nice to know that with Mom, Apple Pie and Chevys, we can also have our Winchesters!!!

WHAT!?!?

 

What do you mean that my rifle has “headspace”? Is it catching??

The “Good Old Days”

In a far simpler time, all we needed to do was pour some powder down the barrel, seat a lead bullet, put a percussion cap on the nipple and pull the trigger. Most of the time, at least, the gun would go bang and hopefully, we would achieve some desired result.

Ah, but now with smart bombs, space shots and Lady Gaga, we’re in the “modern age” and we’ve brought our firearms with us.

Shortly before our Civil War, two Yankee entrepreneurs, Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson (recognize the names?) developed the idea of a fully self contained cartridge which was housed in their “Volcanic” pistol. With the help of a mechanical genius by the name of B. Tyler Henry (who later went to work for a Connecticut shirt maker by the name of Oliver Winchester; again, recognize the name?) the Volcanic was marketed, but had limited success, It did inspire the creation of the Winchester Model 1860, that “Damned Yankee Rifle that you loaded on Sunday and fired all week”. The idea of a fully contained metallic cartridge took off and the rest, as they say, was history.

As smokeless powder developed in the late nineteenth century, increased chamber pressure resulted from within the cartridge case which held the primer, powder and the bullet. The problem was that metallurgy hadn’t quite caught up with the pressure and cartridge cases would fail, sometimes with disastrous results. We soon learned that some material holds pressures much better than others. The coiled copper cases and soft brass of the earlier days couldn’t withstand the pressure and would often separate inside the rifle chamber. In addition, the primers of the day often utilized a fulminate of mercury to ignite the powder within the case. The problem there was that the fulminate was very corrosive, both to the case and the rifle’s barrel.

Fast Forward Sixty Years

Fortunately, today’s rifles and ammunition have benefited from modern metallurgy as well as precise production techniques. Brass is much more ductile(the ability to expand within the rifle’s chamber) than ever before and with today’s CNC (computer numeric control) methods of manufacturing, rifle, barrel and chamber tolerances are more precise than ever before possible. With the possible exception of those of us who are hand loaders, the terms “incipient head separation, headspace, datum lines, primer pocket expansion” as well as other terms are largely unknown. Still, certain parameters exist, and must be adhered to.

First of all, all firearms and ammunition manufactured in the United States, at least, adhere to SAAMI (Small Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) specifications. This establishes minimum and maximum tolerances within the rifle’s chamber and barrel dimensions. The ammunition designed for a specific caliber must conform to these minimum and maximum dimensions. Even with CNC manufacturing, no two rifles manufactured in the identical caliber are exactly the same. Therefore a little “wiggle room” is built in. For example, this means that any .30/06 ammunition made by any manufacturer will fit into any .30/06 rifle made by any other manufacturer. Since the brass case has to expand, these SAAMI tolerances allow it to do so and fit that specific chamber. When the tolerances are too great, however, we start to encounter problems. Here is where we may hear the term “excessive headspace”.

Headspace refers to the distance from the face of the closed bolt (either in a bolt action, lever action, semi-auto, etc) to some point within the chamber. The cartridge case has to fit within this distance. If the distance is too great, the case is too loose in the chamber and can expand too much and could separate. With a typical .30/06 for example, we’re dealing with over 50,000 lbs per sq. inch! That pressure, if not contained within the brass case supported by the rifle’s chamber, will go somewhere. If the worst case scenario happens, it usually wrecks the rifle and could injure (or worse) the shooter. Normally, we find this in older rifles, some military surplus rifles or those that are “custom” made and not necessarily to SAAMI specs. Today, it’s practically unheard of in production firearms or ammunition.

Enter the Handloader

Handloaders have the advantage of using their equipment to produce cartridges that fit a specific rifle. If you are in doubt as to whether you rifle may have excessive headspace, your can take a trip to your local gunsmith. Most gunsmiths use “headspace” gauges” that are produced in acceptable (“GO Gauges) and non-acceptable (NO-GO Gauges) tolerances. Using these simple gauges, a gunsmith can check your particular rifle, especially if it happens to be a military surplus rifle, which sometimes were purposely made with loose tolerances so they could function reliably in adverse conditions.

Handloaders can use resizing dies in their presses to bring fired cartridge cases back into SAAMI dimensions. If your rifle’s chamber happens to be somewhat “loose” the handloader can adjust his resizing die so it doesn’t “squeeze” the fired case as much, so it can fit the chamber somewhat better. This procedure is usually much more critical with rimless bottle necked cartridges than with other types of cases, and allows a better fit for the case in that particular rifle’s chamber. A bottle necked rimless cartridge headspaces (fits the chamber) based on a particular point on its shoulder called the datum line. This controls the fore and aft movement of the case in the chamber. Squeeze the cartridge case in the sizing die too much and you push that shoulder (and the datum line) back too far which allows too much “wiggle room” and too much expansion in the case.

Hand loading is a rewarding hobby, but it does require a “learning curve”. I’ve only scratched the surface in this short blog. Learning to hand load is the fun part, especially if you happen to have a friend who has had some experience and is willing to share that experience to get you started. The National Rifle Association offers a program to teach individuals in hand loading and is well worth the time and effort.

Oh happy days!

For those of us that do not hand load, factory ammunition is widely available especially for our more common calibers. Today’s ammunition is infinitely superior to that loaded by the major companies even ten years ago. It actually rivals and in some cases, even is superior to our best hand loaded ammunition. In today’s market a wide variety of “custom” loaded factory ammunition will utilize premium bullets and carefully constructed brass cases. The powder used is often customized to produce superior velocity and accuracy in the given caliber, and in many cases is not even available to the hand loader in component form. Issues involving “headspace” are practically non-existent.

In the past, those of us using lever action rifles with tubular magazines were limited to blunt noses bullets to prevent one bullet from detonating the primer of the cartridge in front of it in the rifle’s tubular magazine. For “woods” hunting, blunt nosed bullets were perfectly fine because our shots were normally not longer than 100 yards and their arch like trajectory was not a big deal. In recent years Hornady Manufacturing has introduced their “LeveRevolution” ammunition which employs a flexible tipped bullet that will not detonate the cartridge in front of it in a tubular magazine. The result is now the good “ole 30/30 (as well as other lever action calibers) can reach out to distances that before were out of reach with blunt nosed bullets. Now, we can take a crack at that deer that’s 200 yards across the bean field!

Use the Experts!

Being the typical male, when all else fails read the directions! Usually when we’re traveling, I trust my “instincts”. I never ask for directions! Over the years, I’ve managed to tell my wife that we’re not lost, we’re just taking a different route. It normally doesn’t work, and I usually get the “silent treatment”. But with arms and ammunition, it never hurts to ask directions. That’s how we learn!

Hunting in Morgan County

Hyland and his friends hunting in Morgan County. The birds are chukars, a type of grouse that’s found largely in the western United States, pheasants, a Chinese bird that was imported into this country about 100 years ago and quail.

Buying Used Guns

“It’s too good to be true”:

When it comes to buying a previously owned firearm, the old adage “it’s too good to be true” is usually closed to reality than one might think.  Firearms, like beautiful women come in all sizes, shapes, and conditions.  As with any married couple, I’m usually in trouble for something, being the male species.  When my wife threatens to trade me in on a newer model, I’m quick to point out that with her years of investment in me, I’ve become a classic (especially if I’m loosing the argument, which is 99% of the time).  Much the same can be said of a used gun.

“It pays to do your homework”:

One of the very first considerations in purchasing a used firearm is who made it, and when was it made.  Was the gun made by a well known manufacturer?  A 12 gaugeWinchesteror Remington shotgun may command a far higher price than say, a shotgun manufactured inBraziland imported into theUS.  Even with US manufacturers, a wide range exists between current and discontinued production models.  For example, a Winchester Model 12 shotgun (no longer made) will fetch a higher price than a Remington Model 870 (still in production).  Values depend on rarity, availability, condition of the firearm and even the “mystique” of the maker.  A “Pre-64” (made prior to 1964) Winchester Model 70 earned the nickname “The Rifleman’s Rifle”.  It was machined from solid bar stock, and all parts were hand fitted, and the action was housed in walnut stocks.  As production costs increased, shortcuts in manufacture and assembly were made.  Finally in 1964, a new version of the same model appeared, much to the disgust of rifle “loonies”.  Sales plummeted and it literally took years and changes in manufacturing forWinchesterto recover its lost revenue.  The old “Pre-64’s” commanded collectors prices and sold for 2 to 3 times the cost of a brand new Model 70.  The irony is that the newer Model 70’s were held to tighter tolerances, had better stock designs and an overall better finish than the pre-64”s, and yet it was the older model that brought the money.

The point of this is that research goes a long way before making your purchase, whether from a dealer or an individual.  Just because the gun is old and your grandpa owned it won’t necessarily mean that it’s a “classic”.  Sentimental value is one thing, but the hard, cruel facts are sometimes another.  With today’s internet and all of the blogs, research engines, twitters, tweets and what have you, research is at your fingertips.  There are always the good old fashioned reference manuals; publications like the Gun Digest, Shotgun News, and similar periodicals which will provide an idea of current market prices as well.

“Condition is everything”:

Once we have located the buy of our dreams we need to determine in just what condition it is in.  Honest wear is one thing.  A firearm that has been honestly used, but properly maintained will last for generations.  Is the bore bright, or is it dark and has noticeable pits?  How about the exterior?  Is the stock in good condition?  Scratches are signs of “honor” and tell the story of years of hunts, but poor repairs, gouges, poorly installed recoil pads, tell yet another, sadder story.  Is the gun in its original condition, still showing the original blueing and varnish or finish on its stock?

Years ago, I noticed an ad from a fellow selling a “pre-64” Model 94 Winchester in .32 Winchester Special caliber.  Now, the fact that it was a “pre-64” and in a somewhat less produced chambering that the traditional .30/30, my interest was aroused.  I met the guy who told me that the gun came from the great State ofMaine where it was used to hunt deer and bear.  The exterior showed some signs of minor pitting, but the interior was well cared for, with the bore bright and shiny.  I negotiated what I felt to be a fair price and voila, it was mine!

When I returned home I noticed some “kitchen table” gunsmithing on the rear sight.  No big deal, as I frequent many gun shows (I guess you could call me a “groupie”).  At the next show I paid a premium for an original rear sight for that Model 94’s vintage and went home to install it.  When I tapped the old rear sight out of its dovetail, the front sight fell off of the barrel!   As those sights were silver soldered (again, research pays off) on the barrel and not screwed on, my only recourse was to take it to my local gunsmith, since I’m well aware of my limitations.  While I was there, and since he had to do some soldering anyway, my next “brainstorm” was to have him remove those ugly minor pits and reblue the rifle.  The end result was that I became the proud owner of a re-blued, re-sighted, re-stocked (oh yes, I bought a new stock and fore end) original Pre-“64 Model 94Winchester.  The problem was I now had invested twice the cost of what an original condition Model 94 would bring.

It always helps to know with whom you are dealing!  After my Model 94 fiasco, I began dealing with a reputable dealer that specialized in vintage Winchesters, Remingtons, as well as other makers.  This dealer stood behind what he advertised and sold.  After this, not only did I begin showing some value with my investments, I learned quite a bit along the way.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Finally, buying a used gun can be an enjoyable experience or it can be a nightmare!  It’s always good to remember why you wanted to buy that firearm.  Is it for hunting, plinking or for fun?  Are you buying it for an investment?  What do comparable models sell for?  Is the demand for that particular gun climbing or is it steady?  What is the condition of the firearm?  Normal wear is to be expected, but that’s far from signs of abuse or neglect.  Who are you dealing with?  Is it an individual or a dealer?

Remember the old Latin warning: “Caveat Emptor”;  let the buyer beware!  Mainly, do your homework and have fun.

Patrick Hyland