Model 70 rifle build

[Elevendysixty]

I thought I'd ask for some opinions since it's a little too late anyhow gun)since it's put together....

I have a model 70 308 Winchester that treats me very well so I thought i'd put something together in a similar setup with a little more horsepower in the hopes of longer range hunting as i'm a fan of muscle memory and all.

I had a model 70 300wsm put together with a hawk hill tactical contour 26" barrel which is 1.2 straight taper to .750 with a 1 in 10 twist, single port brake, and a hs precision stock.

both rifles have 20 minute bases and will share a nxs 3.5-15x56 moar optic until I can slide another one under the radar (which will be a while I'm sure). I don't think it will be a problem for the time being since one will be a target gun and one will be a hunting rifle.

I'm looking for thoughts on bullet/load data with a little longer barrel than you typically find on short mags. The quarry this fall will be whitetail/moose hunt in maine. Thanks in advance.

 

[dmax1800]

This is not quite what you were looking for, but I have to chime in anyway. I had a 300 win mag built from a model 70, AND I WILL NEVER BUILD ANOTHER RIFLE ON A MODEL 70!!! When trying to seat Barnes bullets 70 thou off the lands, the cartridge is too long for the ejector. The ejector holds the end of the base of the second round and won't let it chamber. The bolt just rides over the top of the second round. I'm looking into grinding some off of the ejector so that the second round won't be held down.

Sorry that this was a little off topic.

 

[blksno]

"I BELIEVE" the M70 to be a far superior action to the M700...I believe the quarks to using one, are greatly outweighed by the benefits.
The biggest reason it's not used, is the 700 is just plain easier to work with, and being a military selected action...EVERYONE makes after market parts for it.

Use a smith that has experience working with one "Chad Dixon" at LRI comes to mind...and you'll have no issues.

As for bullet/load options for the caliber. I would strongly look at the 190 Bergers with RL17. You could run the 210s or 215 Hybrids, but you'll have to shoot a LONG ways for them to perform better than 190s.
You could even drop down to 185's if you wanted to.

I ran the numbers for all three bullet weights in my 300 SAUM and found that at 1 mile...there was less than 1 MOA of difference in wind drift between the three bullets...and the 185s had almost a 7 MOA flatter trajectory. The 190s were nearly 5 MOA flatter than the 210s.
I had to send them well beyond my scopes elevation capabilities for the 210s to "catch up"

See how long you can seat and cycle a live round. I doubt you'll have issues...but if you do...its really not a difficult fix.
A smith with M70 experience should have no problems working with it.

I built my first true LR bolt gun on an M70 Classic CRF and have a regular M70 LA waiting for me to decide what turn her into.

 

[winmag]

"I BELIEVE" the M70 to be a far superior action to the M700...I believe the quarks to using one, are greatly outweighed by the benefits.
The biggest reason it's not used, is the 700 is just plain easier to work with, and being a military selected action...EVERYONE makes after market parts for it.

Use a smith that has experience working with one "Chad Dixon" at LRI comes to mind...and you'll have no issues.

As for bullet/load options for the caliber. I would strongly look at the 190 Bergers with RL17.

+1
I absolutely Love the Model-70 action, & will continue to use them for every forseeable build I do.
I prefer the integral recoil lugg over having a "spacer" or "washer" if you will, for a recoil lugg. IMO, the strength in the Model-70 action trumps the shortcut advantage of the 700. Personal preference. I also prefer the 3 position safety, & extraction design.

You'll never want for aftermarket support with either the Model-70 or the Rem-700. It's strictly a matter of personal preference, & a quality, component gunsmith. Both are great actions. I'm just a Model-70 fan.

I had my 300WSM built on a Long Action Model-70, that started life as a 30-06.
It cycles properly, & shoots tiny lil groups consistently with RL-17 & 180 Accubonds.
It wears a fluted #4 taper 26" Hart 10 twist with a Mini Muscle brake. Had it throated for 200gr Accubonds, but have yet to try them due to the excellent performance of the 180's.
I will give the 190 Long Range Accubonds a whirl when I get some.
I could care less about drops for this rifles intended purpose, & range, but I like the idea of less wind drift, & 1300 fps vs 1800 fps expansion threshold.
Mine is strictly a LR hunting rifle inside 1k, but if I was punching paper or steel, out past that, the BC of the Bergers would be tempting.
If I was whackin' Elk at or past 1k I'd just as soon bump up to a big 338 anyway.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

I'm a Model 70 man for my Deer & Antelope rifle .264 Win Mag, Pre 64 Model 70 300 H & H for bigger game. My Remington's .223 Rem is my Varmit Rifle & 6mm Rem is Varmit & Deer & Antelope rifle. in Model 700. I like both & always will.

 

[Elevendysixty]

Thanks for the replies. The Smith already all but finished the rifle, waiting on the brake which should be here Thursday for the project to be complete. I was thinking about a h. Extreme powder for its stability. A few votes were for rl-17. How's it hold up in the real world with temperature changes?

Any thoughts on Sierra game kings? Match kings are highly regarded, but not much talk of their hunting counterpart.

 

[clemens]

Got a win 70 in .06 that I am still deciding what to do with it. Win mag gave me heads up in his .300wsm that is running around in my head. Sighted it in this last sat and **** that trigger us terrible. It will work for brush hunting this year. I think the win gets a bad rap I have seen quite a few in the gun photo section. Would like to see more to get idea of what is possible.

 

[Elevendysixty]

My 308 for the thread. The wsm will be a near twin.

 

[blksno]

Sighted it in this last sat and **** that trigger us terrible.

A factory M70 trigger is probably the easiest factory trigger to adjust and improve.
Also, the after market replacements are usually far less expensive than those made for the 700.

I have a Timmny set at right around 1.5 lbs and LOVE IT...especially for a sliver over $100.

 

[clemens]

Been quoted $70 to 170 to fix my trigger on my M70 by same Smith on to diff conversations. So not trusting this guy very far can't even give me same quote. That's why I figured just replace it be done with it.

 

[clemens]

Be nice to see the wsm when it is done hope it turns out like you planned.

 

[Elevendysixty]

I'm am excited! First build and all. Pictures will come when it's back home. I'm still waiting on the brake to come in the mail. So much for paying for expidited shipping I guess. I did the trigger on my 308 pictured above. I don't have a trigger pull gauge, but it's a touch lighter than a friend's gun which I know is 3lbs done by a smith. No creep, and smooth. Nice in my rather novice opinion.

 

[winmag]

I just wasted 2 hrs , & 15 min trying to post pics on here, from photobucket, from my phone..... I'm Done! Ill just go back to lurking in the shadows when it comes to posting pics on LRH.
I'm soooo ****ed !
Oh we'll, that's why I quit trying to post Any pics here years ago.

Sorry guys. They're cool pics tho

 

[clemens]

I see there ID a sticky on putting pics on LRH directly from owned computer instead of photobucket etc.. not sure if that helps I don't have any pics. Photo bucket looks like a pain.