Winchester M70 XTR FWT .308 Build ALL ADVICE WELCOME!!!!!!

Hi all, i recently picked this rifle up off a close family friend, he owned it from new and i grew up going hunting with him. now that he is older i got the opportunity to purchase said rifle and jumped at the chance. Now i know its not everyones cup of tea to modify a "classic" rifle but i wanted something i could use out to 400m and swap the scope out for the Thermal scope for deer pest control when needed. Rather than have it done for me i set about trying to do everything myself with YouTube and advice from a friend as guidance. I'm pretty sure i have done some things wrong but the result was a short, light rifle that shoots bloody well. Still, Any advice is most welcome for the next build. Cheers.

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Re-shaping the stock to fit new butt pad

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Final shape

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Added a block to strengthen butt, Northland recycled Kauri.

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Spartan bipod adapter

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Sh*%loads of careful sanding and cleaning up checkering

Attachment 224190 Broken parts, there are 2 legends on this forum that helped me out with getting this part. thanks heaps, you know who you are.

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Trying my hand at pillar bedding

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Devcon plastic steel bedding compound, Kiwi shoe polish release agent. came out pretty mint for a first try.

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Bedded and fitted rail, leupold quick release rings

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New scope, nice and light.

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Free-floated the barrel

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DPT suppressor, several cotes of boiled linseed. will give it 5 or so more cotes and cerakote all the metal once bank account recovers.

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Most importantly, tried Hornady precision hunter, Superformance, American whitetail, Federal fusion, winchester super x and finaly SAKO gamehead 150gr which it loved. after shooting this group i took the scope off, wound the turret up and down and shot another group, repeated this 3 times, zero stayed rock solid. Even though removing a scope several times feels very wrong, good quality Pic rail and quick release rings ensure that the zero doesn't move an inch. will radar and work out a drop sheet then hit the hills. As i said at the start, i am a mechanic not a gunsmith, all feedback appreciated. cheers.

Great practical improvements, good work preserving the checkering, I would never have the patience. The only critique is that you filled the snack compartment in the stock with wood.

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Originally Posted by jdd

Great practical improvements, good work preserving the checkering, I would never have the patience. The only critique is that you filled the snack compartment in the stock with wood.

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Haha is that what that is for. Yeah was character building trying to clean it up but happy with the result. Many beers were put away carefully sanding.

Looks like you did a nice job on that. And nice to see an old classic modernised without losing its character.

Refinishing stocks and tidying up the checkering can be daunting at the start but it’s good when you get to the end.
The only problem then is the reluctance to scratch it in the scrub after all the painstaking hours getting it perfect.

Is this one a pre 64?.
Either way, you now have yourself a nice piece of work.

Hi, thanks. Rifle is 1994 i believe. No worries about scratching it up, its my favorite part about wooden stocks, they gain character over time. Checkering sure was daunting, way more work than i thought but worth it in the end.

beautiful...AND you have done all the wee tweaks I PMed you about already... now heres a wee test for you...seen as though you have numerous different loads.. shoot a group with one of each type.... if your lucky and the rifle is like 3 of mine are..your combination group will still be hovering around an inch...

Sounds like a plan, any excuse to hit the range

Finally finished, Had Bolt and barrel fluted by Greystone guns and Cerakoted. came out pretty good I think.

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excellent thats very sexy- whats rifle weight alone?

thanks mate, 2508grams, or 5.529lb. was a Featherweight to start with, i just wanted to make it more "modern"

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

beautiful...AND you have done all the wee tweaks I PMed you about already... now heres a wee test for you...seen as though you have numerous different loads.. shoot a group with one of each type.... if your lucky and the rifle is like 3 of mine are..your combination group will still be hovering around an inch...

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Don't know how to tag you, thought you may want a look at the finished product. cheers

Beautiful mate.truely beautiful

Nice wee rifle, only thing I would change is that spartan adapter to a flush fit one

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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Nice wee rifle, only thing I would change is that spartan adapter to a flush fit one

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Yeah quite a fan of those, put one in my carbon Tikka, however, was worried the thin wood wouldn't be strong enough? what do you think?

As a fellow M70 XTR FWT owner (in the other calibre), I must admit, my cheeks clenched a wee bit reading "now I know it's not everyone's cup of tea to modernise a classic".... but that has turned out a bloody beaut! Makes me want to give mine a tidy up now.

Can't be much steel left on that barrel after fluting, there's not much there to begin with!

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Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

As a fellow M70 XTR FWT owner (in the other calibre), I must admit, my cheeks clenched a wee bit reading "now I know it's not everyone's cup of tea to modernise a classic".... but that has turned out a bloody beaut! Makes me want to give mine a tidy up now.

Can't be much steel left on that barrel after fluting, there's not much there to begin with!

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haha thanks, yeah was a bit of a decision as the rifle has history with me but not much use sitting in the safe, rather get it humming and use it. You're right about the barrel, thin little bugger but should be fine... only shooting box ammo. Biggest gains were in the bedding/floating i think, old stuff was pretty soft and barrel was rubbing bad. What "other callibre" do you mean?

Ha, strictly speaking, I should probably have said cartridge, but .270... you could turn yourself blind and/or mad reading all the banter back and forth about .270 Vs .308 on here... all the others are not really worth considering, eh.... apart from .223 - I have .223, .270, and .308, so covered all arguments.

That's really good to know, my groups have started wandering a bit, so might have a look at whether the forestock might be in contact. Thanks!

I have a stock standard Featherweight in .308. Cut 2 inches off the barrel for close in bush work, put a Leupold 4-12 scope on it. I shot a red hind at 425 metres. Every deer I had in my sights went down with 1 shot: 150 grains for reds, 100 grain HP for falllow. These are a great firearm.

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Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

Ha, strictly speaking, I should probably have said cartridge, but .270... you could turn yourself blind and/or mad reading all the banter back and forth about .270 Vs .308 on here... all the others are not really worth considering, eh.... apart from .223 - I have .223, .270, and .308, so covered all arguments.

That's really good to know, my groups have started wandering a bit, so might have a look at whether the forestock might be in contact. Thanks!

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"Other Calibre"? you spelt Superior wrong. I'm a big .270 fan, Does everything the .308 does but better

Shit, careful mate, you'll start a fight with that sort of talk! Ha ha!

Hey mate, You have done a great job on this! I also have a model 70 ''lightweight'' 270 inherited from my grand father and after seeing your post youve inspired me to give it some love. How did you tidy up and sand the checkering without damaging it? I didnt realise you could flute the bolts on these but thats gone straight on the wishlist! How many hours do you think you have put into this roughly? Cheers

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Originally Posted by TroyMclean

Hey mate, You have done a great job on this! I also have a model 70 ''lightweight'' 270 inherited from my grand father and after seeing your post youve inspired me to give it some love. How did you tidy up and sand the checkering without damaging it? I didnt realise you could flute the bolts on these but thats gone straight on the wishlist! How many hours do you think you have put into this roughly? Cheers

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with checkering I use a varnish stripper and a soft tooth brush then linseed dont do much more than that great believer in letting a rifle show some wear gives the stock character

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Originally Posted by TroyMclean

Hey mate, You have done a great job on this! I also have a model 70 ''lightweight'' 270 inherited from my grand father and after seeing your post youve inspired me to give it some love. How did you tidy up and sand the checkering without damaging it? I didnt realise you could flute the bolts on these but thats gone straight on the wishlist! How many hours do you think you have put into this roughly? Cheers

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cheers, Awesome to hear, they are beautiful rifles, worth "saving" and even better in the world's best caliber (.270) Resene paint stripper applied generously then wrapped in gladwrap for a few hours then a stiff brush, fine chisels to tidy up stubborn bits. Greystone guns now has a jig to flute the bolts so should be cheaper than what i paid as i had to pay for the jig. Probably 20-30 hours i think. well worth it

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

with checkering I use a varnish stripper and a soft tooth brush then linseed dont do much more than that great believer in letting a rifle show some wear gives the stock character

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Your not wrong there, best part about a wood stock is having a few battle scars

Hi William thanks for the reply, ive been gawking over your photos all weekend and making a plan in my head for my one.. silly question but do you feel that the pillars and bedding made a big difference? I love the story the stock tells but I also would like to replace the butt pad and free float the barrel hence maybe just giving the whole stock an overhaul, I intend to replace the old redfeild 2-7 with a modern dial up scope and use this as my main hunting rig so getting it shooting right will be important. Do you have any other tips or advice for me before i start down this road? Last thing what colour scheme is that cerakote? Cheers Troy

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Originally Posted by TroyMclean

Hi William thanks for the reply, ive been gawking over your photos all weekend and making a plan in my head for my one.. silly question but do you feel that the pillars and bedding made a big difference? I love the story the stock tells but I also would like to replace the butt pad and free float the barrel hence maybe just giving the whole stock an overhaul, I intend to replace the old redfeild 2-7 with a modern dial up scope and use this as my main hunting rig so getting it shooting right will be important. Do you have any other tips or advice for me before i start down this road? Last thing what colour scheme is that cerakote? Cheers Troy

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Sounds like you are forming a nice plan, cerakote was midnight blue i believe. Pillars are quite important as the wood is quite "soft" on these and if you are going to the effort of bedding (which these need) you might as well do the easy part of putting pillars in. it all made a massive difference to the group size, biggest limiting factor is the caliber for me as i don't hand load. Leupold or Burris scope and send it, find a type of ammo it likes and go from there. my old and current .270 loved precision hunter and nosler 130 grain, but every rifle is different. the recoil pad is another very good upgrade if you value your shoulder, as well as a suppressor to give it some manners. feel free to PM me and i can give you a call if you have other questions. my knowledge is limited but i work with a couple of exceptional gunsmiths.

Thanks mate, will do some more planning etc and take you up on that phone call, cheers