Winchester Model 70 - 1964 Through 1991 Model 70

1964 Through 1991 Model 70

Competing as it did with the Remington Model 700, it was decided that changes needed to be made in the face of rising labour costs. Accordingly, in 1964 Winchester made a number of design changes to the Model 70. Few to none of these changes were popular with the rifle-buying public, or with the US Military. The changes included dropping the controlled round feed feature, a change to the basic stock shape and the use of impressed chequering rather than cut chequering.

Jack O'Connor, long a proponent of the Model 70, wrote of the post-'64 version that ". . .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." Despite this initial reaction, O'Connor grudgingly went on to say, "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."