winchester 70 .30 heavy barrel?

jborushko · November 19, 2010, 11:55 AM

i have a Winchester 70 chambered for .300 win mag (post 64). i want a heavy/bull barrel but cant seem to find any thing specific.

the question is will any Winchester m70 heavy/bull barrel or barrel blank work if its .30cal? or does it have to be .300winmag specific? the barrel i want would have to be 1-1/4" diameter to fit the stock i have in mind

yes, i do know that a barrel bank would need to be threaded and chamber reamed.

the idea is to mount this is a Choate Ultimate Sniper Rifle Stock and start tuning this in for long range matches

Scorch · November 19, 2010, 02:07 PM

Quote:

will any Winchester m70 heavy/bull barrel or barrel blank work if its .30cal?

Yes, there is no difference between barrel blanks, the difference is in the chambering.

jborushko · November 20, 2010, 09:56 AM

great!! it so turns out that we had a .30cal 27" bull barrel for a pre-64 laying in the shop. apparently we pulled it back in the day because of throat wear, and the customer wanted a lighter barrel. i will cut the pre64 threads, re-thread and re-chamber.

somebody had originally re-chambered this barrel from a 30-06 to a 300winmag.

after running a bore scope through it we discovered the rifling still in good shape and after some love it should hold up for a good life of shooting

PetahW · November 20, 2010, 10:45 AM

If it was to be my barrel, I'd shorten it to at least 26" from the chamber end prior to rethreading/rechambering, just to be on the safe sife, to ensure eliminating any unseen old throat wash.

.

Scorch · November 20, 2010, 01:17 PM

jborushko, where are you in Tacoma? I'm in Puyallup and am working on meeting more local machinists with firearms capabilities.

jborushko · November 20, 2010, 02:03 PM

pm sent - i dont know the rules for posting that info *shrugs*

jborushko · March 28, 2012, 09:33 PM

well two years after i made this post i wound up buying a

Douglas XX premium airgauged #9 stainless 30"

shipped to my house at $415-

so we are just gonna turn this blank to fit my m70

alan · March 30, 2012, 05:29 PM

Re Douglas barrels, I've had several, chrome-moly, premium air gage installed on rifle actions, both post 64 M 70's and a Remington 40X. Never had a bad on. Found the people at Douglas great to deal with.

Re prices, they have gone up quite a bit, from the figure you mentioned, as memory serves. That's life, the cost of rifles has gone up too.

tango1niner · April 4, 2012, 07:10 AM

What is the twist of your old barrel compared to the replacement, just another important consideration.

Bart B. · April 7, 2012, 02:26 PM

jborushko, I hope you don't have any "holding still" problems with that No. 9 Douglas barrel. It's about 3 pounds heavier than their No. 7 contour which parallels what folks used years ago on 30 caliber magnum barrels for long range prone matches. If you're going to shoot it atop a rest atop a bench, then its fine. Otherwise, I think your rifle's going to be way too heavy to hold an area on paper 1/2 to 3/4 MOA which is what's needed for good scores in long range prone matches.

alan · April 7, 2012, 08:36 PM

Re what one can do with one weight barrel or another, the following might prove of some interest.

With a post 1964 Model 70 Standard Target Rifle, barrel length was 24", muzzle dia. was around 0.750", give or take a little, it was the factory barrel, the rifle weighed about 10 pounds, and was chambered for 308 Win, rifling twist was 1 in 12, chrome-molly, not stainless...

Shooting prone, with a military sling, and my elbows in the grass, I could regularly hold 10 ring elevation at 600 yards with Redfield Iron Sights. I could not shoot effectively, with a 308 Win. at 1000 yards. With a 30-06, different story.

The Douglas Barrels I had on my rifles, when they were rebarreled, were 24" long, muzzle diameter was about 0.750, straight taper, I suppose equivalent to a # 6 barrel. Rifles so barreled ran 10 plus to perhaps 12 pounds, and handled very nicely.

jborushko · April 9, 2012, 10:05 PM

this rifle is for bench shooting, or prone supported off the bipod. this is deffinatly not being built for holding prone or carried shoulder firing. so weight is not a factor to me with this gun. though if i shoot holding prone the weight on the tail end of the stock might help with "holding still" - but like i said its pretty much just a bench gun. The stock is heavy as well. id be surprised if this doesn't tip the scale at 15-20 lbs by the time im done.

the original barrel was a feather weight sporter contour, im not sure of the twist, though i would assume 1:10, but this new barrel is 1:10 for sure

i tore down this origninal hunting rifle because i found hunting with a .300win mag WAY to much for anything i hunt. and due to my antisipating the recoil of the .300wm on such a (orginally) light rifle, my accuracy was severily reduced. basically i shoot my 30-06 about 1000% better when im hunting

so i stick with what im good at when hunting and ill stretch my skills with other guns in a more controlled situation

alan · April 10, 2012, 10:30 PM

jborushko:

Re shooting off a bench, I guess that weight is not a consideration, though in bench rest competition, I thought that there were weight limits according to the class of rifle you were shooting in.

Speaking personally, the only thing I ever hunted as long range was the 5 V Target, used at 1000 yards and one match in 1972 as I recall, when they were "expirementing" with a 10 point decimal target for 1000 yards.

I never myself found it necessary to use anything more powerful than the 30-06 for 1000 yard shooting, but thren all I was doing was making a 30 caliber hole in a sheet of paper. As I had mentioned, in National Match Course of long range competition, I felt that a rifle in the range of 10-perhaps 12 pounds was quite comfortable, and with a properly designed stock, would handle recoil quite nicely. Bench Rest shooting, except for load development/testing was not anything I involved myself in.

Good luck with your "new" rifle.

Alan

November 19, 2010, 11:55 AM	#1
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	winchester 70 .30 heavy barrel? i have a Winchester 70 chambered for .300 win mag (post 64). i want a heavy/bull barrel but cant seem to find any thing specific. the question is will any Winchester m70 heavy/bull barrel or barrel blank work if its .30cal? or does it have to be .300winmag specific? the barrel i want would have to be 1-1/4" diameter to fit the stock i have in mind yes, i do know that a barrel bank would need to be threaded and chamber reamed. the idea is to mount this is a Choate Ultimate Sniper Rifle Stock and start tuning this in for long range matches __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts

November 20, 2010, 09:56 AM	#3
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	great!! it so turns out that we had a .30cal 27" bull barrel for a pre-64 laying in the shop. apparently we pulled it back in the day because of throat wear, and the customer wanted a lighter barrel. i will cut the pre64 threads, re-thread and re-chamber. somebody had originally re-chambered this barrel from a 30-06 to a 300winmag. after running a bore scope through it we discovered the rifling still in good shape and after some love it should hold up for a good life of shooting __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts

November 20, 2010, 01:17 PM	#5
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	jborushko, where are you in Tacoma? I'm in Puyallup and am working on meeting more local machinists with firearms capabilities. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

November 20, 2010, 02:03 PM	#6
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	pm sent - i dont know the rules for posting that info shrugs __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts

March 28, 2012, 09:33 PM	#7
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	well two years after i made this post i wound up buying a Douglas XX premium airgauged #9 stainless 30" shipped to my house at $415- so we are just gonna turn this blank to fit my m70 __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts Last edited by jborushko; April 1, 2012 at 01:23 PM.

November 20, 2010, 10:45 AM	#4
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	If it was to be my barrel, I'd shorten it to at least 26" from the chamber end prior to rethreading/rechambering, just to be on the safe sife, to ensure eliminating any unseen old throat wash. .

March 30, 2012, 05:29 PM	#8
alan Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 1999 Posts: 3,847	Re Douglas barrels, I've had several, chrome-moly, premium air gage installed on rifle actions, both post 64 M 70's and a Remington 40X. Never had a bad on. Found the people at Douglas great to deal with. Re prices, they have gone up quite a bit, from the figure you mentioned, as memory serves. That's life, the cost of rifles has gone up too.

April 4, 2012, 07:10 AM	#9
tango1niner Senior Member Join Date: March 5, 2009 Location: NY Posts: 317	What is the twist of your old barrel compared to the replacement, just another important consideration.

April 7, 2012, 02:26 PM	#10
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	jborushko, I hope you don't have any "holding still" problems with that No. 9 Douglas barrel. It's about 3 pounds heavier than their No. 7 contour which parallels what folks used years ago on 30 caliber magnum barrels for long range prone matches. If you're going to shoot it atop a rest atop a bench, then its fine. Otherwise, I think your rifle's going to be way too heavy to hold an area on paper 1/2 to 3/4 MOA which is what's needed for good scores in long range prone matches.

April 7, 2012, 08:36 PM	#11
alan Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 1999 Posts: 3,847	Re what one can do with one weight barrel or another, the following might prove of some interest. With a post 1964 Model 70 Standard Target Rifle, barrel length was 24", muzzle dia. was around 0.750", give or take a little, it was the factory barrel, the rifle weighed about 10 pounds, and was chambered for 308 Win, rifling twist was 1 in 12, chrome-molly, not stainless... Shooting prone, with a military sling, and my elbows in the grass, I could regularly hold 10 ring elevation at 600 yards with Redfield Iron Sights. I could not shoot effectively, with a 308 Win. at 1000 yards. With a 30-06, different story. The Douglas Barrels I had on my rifles, when they were rebarreled, were 24" long, muzzle diameter was about 0.750, straight taper, I suppose equivalent to a # 6 barrel. Rifles so barreled ran 10 plus to perhaps 12 pounds, and handled very nicely.

April 9, 2012, 10:05 PM	#12
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	this rifle is for bench shooting, or prone supported off the bipod. this is deffinatly not being built for holding prone or carried shoulder firing. so weight is not a factor to me with this gun. though if i shoot holding prone the weight on the tail end of the stock might help with "holding still" - but like i said its pretty much just a bench gun. The stock is heavy as well. id be surprised if this doesn't tip the scale at 15-20 lbs by the time im done. the original barrel was a feather weight sporter contour, im not sure of the twist, though i would assume 1:10, but this new barrel is 1:10 for sure i tore down this origninal hunting rifle because i found hunting with a .300win mag WAY to much for anything i hunt. and due to my antisipating the recoil of the .300wm on such a (orginally) light rifle, my accuracy was severily reduced. basically i shoot my 30-06 about 1000% better when im hunting so i stick with what im good at when hunting and ill stretch my skills with other guns in a more controlled situation __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts Last edited by jborushko; April 9, 2012 at 10:10 PM.

April 10, 2012, 10:30 PM	#13
alan Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 1999 Posts: 3,847	jborushko: Re shooting off a bench, I guess that weight is not a consideration, though in bench rest competition, I thought that there were weight limits according to the class of rifle you were shooting in. Speaking personally, the only thing I ever hunted as long range was the 5 V Target, used at 1000 yards and one match in 1972 as I recall, when they were "expirementing" with a 10 point decimal target for 1000 yards. I never myself found it necessary to use anything more powerful than the 30-06 for 1000 yard shooting, but thren all I was doing was making a 30 caliber hole in a sheet of paper. As I had mentioned, in National Match Course of long range competition, I felt that a rifle in the range of 10-perhaps 12 pounds was quite comfortable, and with a properly designed stock, would handle recoil quite nicely. Bench Rest shooting, except for load development/testing was not anything I involved myself in. Good luck with your "new" rifle. Alan