Questions about a Winchester M70

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SteelyNirvana

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I was in the local pawn shop yesterday and saw that they had a Winchester M70 in 7mm for $360. It said that it was new in the box and had a cheap looking scope on it. It had a blackl synthetic stock. I've never owned a bolt action rifle, but the bolt seemed to slide open and closed fairly easy. Is this normal? I don't do any hunting but this rifle kinda struck me as something I would like to own. Is $360 too much?

Thanks guys,
Brian
 
Just to help make this more clear.. 7mm what? There is a whole family of 7mm calibers that are actually quite different in capabilities. 7mm-08, 7mm mauser, and etc at length.
 
yes its normal, and $360 is a pretty good price - not a screaming deal, but ok.

the rifle sounds like winchester's black shadow. the scope of unknown quantity may have to be replaced, so walk into the deal being aware of that. doesn't mean it will, but you never know when a scope is gonna go, and if it is a recoil producing caliber (7 rem mag or hotter), you may want to replace the scope anyway just to make sure you have enough eye relief.
 
If it has positive feed and is one of the recent rifles that was built on the pre '64 style action, it's a pretty good deal. I have one with the David Miller designed wood stock in 30-06 that I love. If it is the Black Shadow, it is push feed. Still a decent deal, just not quite as good.
 
"Just to help make this more clear.. 7mm what? There is a whole family of 7mm calibers that are actually quite different in capabilities. 7mm-08, 7mm mauser, and etc at length."

As 41magsnub said, there's a whole family of 7mm (.284") calibers. I even have a 7mm pistol - it's a Remington XP-100 7mm IHMSA. For that matter, there are two entirely different, but popular 7mm Magnums - the 7mm Remington Magnum and the 7mm Weatherby Magnum.
My wife has two M-70 Winchester 7mm rifles - one is a M-70 Classic Featherweight chambered for the 7mm-08 Remington, and the other is a 7mm Remington Magnum, semi-custom built using a Winchester M-70 Classic action. It's kinda important to know what 7mm you're buying and very important to know what 7mm ammunition you're putting in it.:D
But to answer your question, as Cougfan2 said, if it's a "controlled round feed," that means it has the "Classic" action and $360.00 is a pretty good deal. If it's a "push feed" action, the deal's okay, but not wonderful. Now if it was built on an orginal pre-64 M-70 Winchester action, it probably wouldn't be there and it certainly wouldn't be priced that low.
Both the "Classic" and pre-1964 Model 70 Winchester actions are easy to spot - just look at the bolt. If it has a "bar" looking thing (about a half inch wide) attached to the bolt and running lengthwise up the side of it, that's the extractor and it means it's a "controlled round feed," Classic or pre-64 (very unlikely) action. If the bolt is just round with no bar mounted on the side of it, it's a regular "push feed" action. Not that there's anything wrong with "push feeds," some shooters actually prefer them. It's just that when it comes to Model 70 Winchesters, "controlled round feeds" are generally more in demand and therefore sell for more money.
 
I go along with everything said.

The only tiny bit I can add, which you've probably
done, is check it out as you would any used rifle.
Good strong bore, muzzle not abused, stock fits
without undue pressure, no holes drilled deep into
the barrel etc.. Also is it what you want? not just
a readily available piece. Go on Gunbroker.com, look
at the competition. A Remington 700 is probably
the closest. Same with caliber.

The chances of it being a pre-64 are nil, but if it is,
buy it!
 
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