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Old May 15, 2013, 01:00 PM   #1
dbuffington
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Is It a National Match Model?

Hi Folks!

In this week’s exciting episode of “What the Heck Did I Buy?” we have a Winchester Model 70, which was sold to me as a National Match model.

The serial number is 351433, which would place its date of manufacture in the mid-1950s. The barrel is approximately 24 inches long. The sights are Redfield International, front and rear.

Here’s a photo …



Please excuse the crappy cell phone image. I promise to post better images later, but what should I be taking photos of to establish whether or not it really is a National Model.

Thanks!
Dave
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Old May 15, 2013, 01:23 PM   #2
Jim Watson
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It LOOKS like a M70 NM with sporter weight barrel in Marksman stock, with target peep and globe sights.

Is the barrel drilled and tapped for a front target scope block?

Does it have a clip slot?
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Old May 15, 2013, 01:38 PM   #3
dbuffington
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Hi Jim!

Quote:
Is the barrel drilled and tapped for a front target scope block?
Yes, I think. There are two drilled-and-tapped holes in the barrel. They're roughly 2 inches apart aligned front to back on the barrel.

Quote:
Does it have a clip slot?
I'm not sure. On the top of the receiver at the back of the loading/ejection port, there's a roughly oval cutout. Is that the clip slot?

I'll get photos of both.

Thanks!
Dave
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Old May 15, 2013, 04:25 PM   #4
kraigwy
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Quote:
Is that the clip slot?
Yes that is the clip slot. and Yes I believe you have a NM Model 70.

Which by the way was quite popular back then for high power shooting. They were AND still are great guns.

I have one just like it in 308 Win.

Suckers are dern accurate and will serve you well if you decide to get into target shooting.

Get some stripper clips and learn to load it, they are fun to shoot and fairly fast.

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Last edited by kraigwy; May 15, 2013 at 04:32 PM.
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Old May 15, 2013, 07:34 PM   #5
dbuffington
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Quote:
They were AND still are great guns.
Arrrrrgh, don't do this to me. My plan was simply to flip the gun. Now, I want to spend spend time with it
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Old May 15, 2013, 07:47 PM   #6
dbuffington
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Here are some better photos. Enjoy!









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Old May 15, 2013, 08:48 PM   #7
kraigwy
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That is one nice gun,

Your choice but if it was mine, I'd never let it go.

Take it out and shoot a High Power match, impress the kids and tacti-cool crowd.

I enjoy beating fancy high price guns with a relic.
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Old May 16, 2013, 05:28 AM   #8
dbuffington
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Quote:
Your choice but if it was mine, I'd never let it go.
But I must, and it's up on Gunbroker now. I really bought the gun mainly to help out the very nice elderly gentleman who owned it for years. He's going into hospice shortly

Quote:
I enjoy beating fancy high price guns with a relic.
Oh, I do my best to do that with shotguns This morning I'm taking my $425 auction-bought Superposed up against a friend with a shiny new $3,000 Beretta. Wish me luck!

Thanks!
Dave
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Old May 16, 2013, 05:35 AM   #9
Pilot
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Classic. Very nice!
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Old May 16, 2013, 07:21 AM   #10
dbuffington
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Quote:
Classic. Very nice!
Thanks to all for the kind words! And Kraig, thanks for your service!
Dave
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Old May 19, 2013, 09:26 AM   #11
hooligan1
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Beautiful rifle.

That sure is a beautiful rifle, boy I'd like to shoot one, once maybe.
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Old May 19, 2013, 01:48 PM   #12
James K
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FWIW, that rifle takes M1903 Springfield clips.

Jim
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Old May 19, 2013, 04:06 PM   #13
dbuffington
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Quote:
FWIW, that rifle takes M1903 Springfield clips.
Thanks! I was wondering about that.
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Old May 21, 2013, 07:37 PM   #14
Bart B.
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Yes, that's the original National Match model with a standard weight barrel
complete with rear sight boss. They used regular hunting/sporter barrels.
But I don't think those Redfield front and rear sights are original with the rifle; they were made after Winchester quit making the National Match models.

Here's another picture of a different one equipped with an Unertl scope typical of what WWII and Korean Conflict snipers used:



All the "National Match" models were made in .30-06. Later ones with
heavier barrels, including those made after 1964 with push-feed actions and
hammer forged barrels were plain "Match" models.

The "Bull Gun" was Winchester's first heavy barrel match rifle and first made
in the late 1940's (?). Chambered for the .300 H&H Mag, it was a popular
over-the-counter long range target rifle. One's shown below:



Winchester custom made a dozen or so round actions with the receivers not milled out for a magazine. Solid bottom and weighed over a pound more;
one of the stiffest bolt actions ever made. And fitted with a .308 Win. chambered Hart barrel. All under contract with the US Army Advanced Marksmanship Unit in 1959.
Interesting link to this rare thing from Winchester:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=fw1n...ceiver&f=false

Last edited by Bart B.; May 21, 2013 at 08:00 PM.
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Old May 21, 2013, 10:50 PM   #15
dbuffington
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Thanks! Are they yours?!?
Dave
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Old May 22, 2013, 06:30 AM   #16
Bart B.
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Dave, nope, not mine. Just pictures and info I got searching the web.

Missed a chance to buy one of the Win. 70 single shot barreled actions some years ago; a friend beat me to it. Had Winchester put that single shot action on the market, Remington's 40X ones would have never survived.
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Old May 22, 2013, 07:19 AM   #17
dbuffington
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Still, very nice. Thanks for the info ... and for your service!
Dave
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Old May 22, 2013, 01:43 PM   #18
James K
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From the "who cares?" file of gun lore:

The terms "bull barrel" and "bull gun" do not come from any comparison to the size and weight of the male bovine, but from Freeman Bull, a Springfield Armory employee who advocated using heavy barrels for accuracy in the Armory's match rifles.

Jim
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Old May 22, 2013, 01:57 PM   #19
dbuffington
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Quote:
The terms "bull barrel" and "bull gun" do not come from any comparison to the size and weight of the male bovine, but from Freeman Bull, a Springfield Armory employee who advocated using heavy barrels for accuracy in the Armory's match rifles.
I was really, really, really tempted to call BS on this, but here's more from a document on the National Park Service web site:

Quote:
Freeman R. Bull &
The Springfield Armory Rifle Team

Freeman R. Bull deserves a large portion of the credit for introducing the shooting world to the precision of the Springfield rifle. Bull, machinist and gauge maker at Springfield Armory, began shooting Springfield rifles in competitions as early as 1875. He and his fellow Springfield Armory Rifle Club members profoundly influenced the design and manufacture of all small arms.

Bull built precision adjustable sights for Springfield match rifles. Before computer advanced ballistics, he developed accurate sights by firing the arms themselves. His sight designs were later adopted for use on U.S. service rifles. One of these was the Model 1884 Buffington Sight used on the later Krag*Jorgensen Rifles and the Model 1903s.

Bull's legacy as a sportsman continues today with the application of the term "bull" to describe the extra-heavy match barrels used in competitions. Freeman R. Bull was one of the first to fit such barrels to military rifles.
Thanks!
Dave
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