doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Early M70 Win custom rifles

Asking a favor...Does anyone have pictures of custom rifles made prior to WWII or at least before 1950, based on Winchester M70 actions. Interested in all but especially English made rifles or G&H on this action. Sure wouldn't be disappointed with any help.
I finally came across the right M70 rifle that I can rebuild without feeling like you are depleting the collectors stock. I have a most excellant stock that I bought from a forum member a couple years back that will work for this gun. The pictures are to help develop the design for the gun. The action is a transision model 1947 vintage.
Thanks in advnce for any assistance.

This is my Griffin & Howe sporter, caliber .30-'06, serial number 2182, built on a pre-War Model 70 action. The barrel has been trimmed down and shortened, anticipating the Featherweight model which was introduced after the War. It is fitted with a G&H side mount with windage adjustment in deference to the Unertl Hawk scope and its non-centered reticle. It also has a Tilden safety, which moves the safety lever from the port to the starboard side of the bolt shroud.

Here is another pre-War G&H, No. 1696, which started life as a .220 Swift, and was still in that caliber when I found it in the G&H showroom several years ago.

Having a varmint rifle caliber combined with a 2 1/2X Lyman Alaskan scope and a sporting stock made no sense to me, so I had G&H rebarrel it in 7X57, using a replacement barrel with the original Model 70 profile.

It is a beauty of a rifle and accurate as well. The slide for the Lyman 48 receiver sight is contained in a butt well accessed by a trap buttplate.

Very nice thanks it will be used in the plans

Bill,
These rifles are superb. They make me want to rework my M70s along these lines. And the photography is superb as well. I always add your photos to my collection for future reference, in case I want to steal ideas!

While not a fan of that style cheek piece, the rest of that rifle, to me, is about as sweet a M70 custom I've ever seen.

Kirk,

Thanks for the compliments. Credit for the photography belongs to Rob Hoffman, a friend from undergraduate days and a professional photographer, who has kindly snapped a selection of my accumulation of firearms. The equipment he uses is pretty elaborate, involving an oblong light box and an overhead light with a clear shower curtain as a diffuser, and a Nikon D700.

I hope to prevail on him to do more in the future.

Bill

Bill,
I am curious about the burnishing on the 7x57 extractor. I assume that is hand burnished and not engine turned. Is the bolt finished the same way?

Kirk,

I can't say how the treatment of the bolt and extractor was done. As you say, it doesn't appear to be engine turning. It is extremely uniform, however.

Bill

WOW:

What beauty!

I have been saving a Prewar Swift and a 1954 30-06 for restocking. These guns give me great impetus to get cracking on the projects!

Stay well,

Franchi