Legendary Rifles: The Winchester Model 70

The Winchester Model 70 Is A Legend In The Pantheon Of 20th-Century Bolt-Action Rifles

The Winchester Model 70 has been a mainstay for American hunters since the ‘30s, and the “rifleman’s rifle” has had more gun-writer ink spilled over it than most rifles could ever hope for. 

What makes this seemingly simple bolt gun so important? 

The Model 70 History

The Mauser 98 Controlled-Feed Action

The Model 70’s action was based on a Mauser 98-type action, which could be considered the grandfather of all modern bolt guns. This action was used in the German Gewehr 98 rifle, made by Mauser for the German Empire from 1898 to 1935. It was later replaced by the Karabiner 98k, which used the same action and used from 1935 to 1945. 

The design combined a number of bolt-action features and concepts that had been developed in the late 1800s and basically made the best version of the action possible. 

The action is a controlled-feed bolt action, a big design feature that was regarded by many as the reason for the action’s reliability. 

When a shooter unlocks the bolt on a bolt action and pulls it rearward, the spring in the magazine pushes a cartridge up to align with the breech while the spent casing is ejected. When the bolt is pushed forward, it also pushes the cartridge into the chamber.

A controlled-feed action grabs the rim of the new cartridge with the extractor as it’s stripped off the magazines and guides it into the chamber. Wherever the bolt is aligned to go, that’s where the cartridge is going to go. The ejector on a controlled-feed rifle is stationary and located within the receiver. 

Contrarily, a push-feed action, like the action in a Remington Model 700, doesn’t grab the cartridge rim on the way to the chamber, rather, it simply pushes the cartridge into the chamber. The extractor claw doesn’t grab the cartridge unless the bolt is pushed all the way forward, so it can extract a spent case. The ejector on a push-feed is a spring-loaded apparatus located on the bolt face (like an AR). This became important for the Winchester Model 70 right around 1964. Stay tuned. 

So what’s the difference? Rifle shooters have been arguing about it for about a century. Push-feed designs are a bit simpler and more inexpensive to produce; consequently, most bolt guns these days are push-feeds. 

Some people maintain that controlled-feed actions, while more complicated and expensive, are more reliable, especially under certain circumstances. 

A double-feed malfunction can occur with a push-feed that isn’t possible with a controlled-feed. If a shooter pushes the bolt most of the way forward but doesn’t fully seat a cartridge, it’s possible to pull the bolt back and then push it forward, which will begin loading a new cartridge and bind things up. 

In some battlefield scenarios and high-stress hunting situations requiring multiple, rapid shots, this could occur, but under most shooting circumstances, even combat, it’s not likely. That’s what push-feed fans say. They will then point to the fact that most of the U.S. military’s sniper rifles since WWII have been push feeds and that most Precision Rifle Series shooters, who shoot from a number of unconventional positions, almost all use push feeds of some kind. 

The fact that this malfunction is impossible with a controlled-feed leads many to logically conclude it’s a better design, and they have a point. It becomes even more important when your target is shooting back, or if it’s a few hundred pounds of charging dangerous game. 

It is also possible for feeding to go wrong if the rifle is held sideways or upside down and gravity can act on the cartridge during its journey from the magazine to the chamber in a push feed.   

Design and Production History

The Model 70 was based on the Winchester Model 54 and was manufactured by Winchester from 1936 until 1980. From that year until 2006, the gun and all other Winchester rifles were made by U.S. Repeating Arms under contract with the Olin Corporation, using Winchester branding. 

In 2006, production ceased for a year until FN Herstal of Belgium resumed Model 70 production. They were made by FN in South Carolina until the assembly was moved to Portugal in 2013. 

The original Model 70 rifles, known as the Pre-1964 Model 70s, were made from 1936 through 1963. Combined with a .270 Winchester chambering, it became a star largely thanks to famed gun writer Jack O’Connor. 

The controlled-feed Pre-1964 rifles became known for their high-strength, high-quality actions which featured two forward locking lugs and a Mauser-style non-rotating claw extractor, which was considered by many to be a better extractor, and it also very positively grabbed cartridge rims while feeding. 

The ejector was a blade-type, again similar to a Mauser 98 ejector, but improved. These rifles featured a three-position wing-style safety, a cone breeching system that prevents damage to the nose of bullets during cycling, a machined steel trigger guard and floor plate, a one-piece bolt construction, and a trigger that could be tuned for pull weight and over-travel.  

Pre-1964 Model 70s vs. Post-1964 Model 70s

As the Winchester Model 70 competed with the Remington Model 700, it was decided to change the Model 70 to reduce labor costs. The biggest change was switching to a push feed design. The stock shape was also changed and pressed checkering was used instead of cut checkering. 

For the reasons above, many fans of the platform freaked out and like many Van Halen fans in 1985, swore off the new guns. The Model 70’s biggest cheerleader, Jack O’Connor admitted he also freaked out at the changes, but that the new guns were not inherently flawed. 

"I was informed by Winchester brass that the Model 70 was being redesigned. I told them that I was glad to get the information so I could lay in four or five more before they loused the rifle up. Then I saw the pilot model of 'New Model 70'. At the first glimpse I like to fell into a swoon. The action was simplified, the trigger guard and floor plate made of a flimsy-looking one-piece stamping." O’Connor wrote. 

He went on to add: "Actually the post-1964 Model 70 is not a bad rifle in spite of the fact that rifle aficionados have never taken it to their bosoms the way they did its predecessor. It is a stronger action than the pre-1964. The head of the bolt encloses the head of the case. It has a small, neat hook extractor, which is adequate. With this extractor, the cartridge is not as surely controlled as it is with the Mauser-type extractor. However, the new model seldom gives feeding problems."

Later Winchester Model 70s had forged and machined receivers with heat treatment localized to necessary areas like the cams and locking nuts. 

The bolt face was enclosed so that it fully surrounded the rim of a cartridge instead of an undercut bolt face required by a controlled-feed. It was also strong and gave more support to the case head. The bolt was also two pieces instead of one — the bolt handle and the collar and bolt body were brazed together. 

The Mauser claw extractor was ditched for a small wedge-shaped extractor within the lug of the bolt head that only clips onto the cartridge rim when a round has been chambered and the bolt locked shut. 

The rifle’s barrels were hammer-forged instead of being cut by hand and the machined steel trigger guard and floor plate were replaced with stamped parts made of aluminum alloy for weight savings and cost savings. This was the same assembly used on pre-1964 Featherweight Model 70 rifles. 

In 1968, some improvements were added to address concerns from shooters, like an anti-bind feature that made the action smoother, a feature still included today. A steel floorplate and a stainless steel magazine follower from the Pre-64 rifle were added. 

In the 1990s, many of the pre-64 features were reintroduced to the line, and in 1992, Winchester introduced a Classic Model 70 with a controlled feed action. 

Regardless of where you fall on the pre- vs. post-1964 debate, it’s true that the earlier Model 70s were better-made, higher-quality rifles, but that doesn’t necessarily make them better hunting rifles. Through design changes and manufacturer changes, hunters have continued to rely on the Model 70 to take game throughout North America and all over the world. Today, the Winchester Model 70 is still produced in Portugal and imported by BACO, Inc. in Utah.