Pre 64' Winchester Mdl 70 30-06

[MaineGuide35]

When my father was a submariner in the Navy he wished and saved to buy a Winchester mdl 70 30-06, and when he was discharged he did! A Winchester Pre 64 MDL 70 30-06, Unfortunately this beautiful gun wasn't cared for in the right way. He got busy with work, family and life in general, and the gun was left in a hard case in a damp basement for years. I now have possession of this once great rifle, and it's condition is sub par to say the least!!! It brakes my heart to look at it now in the condition it's in. The outer barrel has considerable pitting from rust, as well as the outer frame of the action. From what I can tell, and thank god the bore and bolt assembly of the barrel and rifle looks great!! The rust hasn't gone deep just on the surface. Also the safety is frozen, which I understand is common on Win. Pre 64's. What can I do to bring this rifle back to its hay day. Can I fix the safety by disassembly and cleaning, and the outer barrel I'm open for suggestions, sanding, grinding, than rebluing HELP...... I have provided some pictures and any info or help would be very much appreciated. Thanks -MG35

 

[DrMike]

From my perspective, the great thing is the history of the rifle. It is an heirloom that deserves a place in your family for generations to come. Is the bore pitted? Clean it and inspect it to see if there is marked pitting. You might need to ask a gunsmith to run a bore scope down the barrel to make that determination for you. If the barrel is not pitted and if there is no significant throat erosion, the barrel can be reblued, tefloned or powder coated together with the action. It may well be worth the extra cost of surrendering this rifle to a qualified gunsmith for a thorough cleaning and inspection. The wood looks to be in good condition. Stripping it and careful application of boiled linseed oil may be all it needs.

 

[kendog]

throw the bolt in some ATF and it should free up and let you take it apart. I second the gunsmith part, get it done up to look like new.

I had one just like it, same caliber and everything, shot great but it was soooo heavy I didn't like carrying it hunting so I sold it and bought a Featherweight in 7mm08. It is much lighter but having a bit*h of a time getting it to shoot.

 

[BK]

I pretty much agree with the above, my only comment is that if you intend to hunt it in bad weather, I would definitely look into getting it Ceracoated rather than blued. If you intend to pamper it, then a nice satin blue job would be my choice.

 

[cloverleaf]

+1 to all noted above. You may find that a company that specializes in metal refinishing will do a a good job job in re-bluing your rifle. When I had my Mauser done, thats what I did. They did a great job with the bluing and screwed up the crown when they bead blasted the rifle. Have the work doine by a custom shop. They will understand the particulras of a rifle not just the metal finishing. Expensive yes, but you are restoring a memory. Incidentally, there are resources out there for your scope as well. That old weaver is part of the classic, hang on to it! CL

 

[JD338]

MG35,

I would try to find a gunsmith who is qualified to restore this fine rifle.

JD338

 

[BK]

This thread is reminding me that I have a Browning BPS that needs some attention. Somehow, the bluing was messed up after we rolled around in the alkali mud when goose hunting a couple of years ago.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

The references to a good gunsmith are sound advice. Here's a couple of additional notes.
If the bore is toast, Lawton can provide you a replacement barrel in the original Winchester Countour at no additional charge. It's alreayd programed into their CNC machine.

If you wish to do some of the work yourself remember, start gentle. For rust removal I would start with Croils penetrating oil and a brass or nylon brush. I've also used liquid wrench to remove small rust spots in the past. I'm not sure how well it would work on a large project, but It might be interesting to hear the thoughts of others on this.

I've also restored some blades in the past. For this I used fine, autobody sand paper. Start with a fine paper, and work up until you find something that takes off the material the way you want, then work back down to a fine paper again. I generally use papers ranging between 180 and 2000. When I re shined by Vaquero, even the 2000 was almost too course. It would take alot of elbo grease and patience, and they still might be a better way. I'm by no means a professional at this.

 

[6mm Remington]

You need to get her fixed back up by someone who knows what they are doing. That is a fantastic rifle!

 

[MaineGuide35]

throw the bolt in some ATF and it should free up and let you take it apart. I second the gunsmith part, get it done up to look like new.

I had one just like it, same caliber and everything, shot great but it was so heavy I didn't like carrying it hunting so I sold it and bought a Featherweight in 7mm08. It is much lighter but having a bit*h of a time getting it to shoot.

Thanks Kendog, I'm going to let the professionals handle this one, it's over my head.

 

[MaineGuide35]

MG35,

I would try to find a gunsmith who is qualified to restore this fine rifle.

JD338

Thanks friend, your right.

 

[MaineGuide35]

You need to get her fixed back up by someone who knows what they are doing. That is a fantastic rifle!

Thanks 6mm Remington, your right. Got to get that girl lokin good, soon, soon.

 

[MaineGuide35]

+1 to all noted above. You may find that a company that specializes in metal refinishing will do a a good job job in re-bluing your rifle. When I had my Mauser done, thats what I did. They did a great job with the bluing and screwed up the crown when they bead blasted the rifle. Have the work doine by a custom shop. They will understand the particulras of a rifle not just the metal finishing. Expensive yes, but you are restoring a memory. Incidentally, there are resources out there for your scope as well. That old weaver is part of the classic, hang on to it! CL

Thanks cloverleaf, leaning twards a profesinal handling this old girl, and the scope and mounts. There from a time gone by, which we will never get back, your right.

 

[Guy Miner]

Expensive to be sure, but Turnbull could likely do a very, very nice job on bringing that classic rifle back.

http://www.turnbullmfg.com/

They do a lot of work on lever actions, and classic doubles, but I understand that they've also done bolt actions. I've only seen a little of their work, but it's superb.

Guy

 

[FOTIS]

MG35,

I would try to find a gunsmith who is qualified to restore this fine rifle.

JD338

Ditto or scrub the crap out of it and ceracoat it!