Early 70’s Winchester Model 70. Worth building on?

[SUD1988]

I know nothing about Model 70’s. There is an early 70’s model for sale locally. Would it be crazy to build on it? I saw Stockys has VG stocks for them.

 

[Castle Rock]

Edited to say my comments below refer to a pre 64 Winchester , I didn’t read the OP well enough.
The early post 64s are the least desirable models


They used to have a big following, you either love them or not.
Personally I prefer either a Mauser, Remington then M70 in that order for a classic old school build.
The only functional issue with them is they don’t handle ruptured cases and gas leakage and are downright dangerous in that situation.

Their biggest advantage when building a classic is that you don’t need to worry about expensive modifications like the trigger and safety

 

[PopNFresh]

the post 64 classic series added venting to help with case failure, I like me a good crf Winchester. still looking for a SA classic stainless.
for what you'll run getting it trued, rebarreled and the new stock you may get in deeper than finding a modern crf, and the extractor cut would give you some grief if you like prefit barrels

 

[Wrench]

I love to build on winchesters. Bulletproof trigger, perfect safety....no lug timing issues.

 

[Choupique]

I think push feed model 70's are fantastic rifles and dont get the credit they deserve. You get the excellent trigger and safety of the model 70 and much easier rebarrels than the CRF models. Its definitely a great rifle to build on. They're usually dramatically cheaper than their pre-64 counterparts and can be a really good bargain. Do it.

Dont get hung up in the controlled round feeding vs Push Feed crap youll see on the internet. Its a big to-do over nothing. People fight wars with push feed rifles. A lot of people think they have a CRF rifle but what they really have is a push feed rifle with a mauser extractor and feed rail issues. A whole lot of mass produced "crf" rifles have feed rail problems and arent CRF at all.

All that to say im a big fan of push feed model 70's

 

[gbflyer]

PF Winchester is a good base to start with. They can be trued up nicely. There just isn't a million aftermarket parts and accessories like the Remington pattern.

 

[Adbarnes01]

I have a model 70 from the 1970's that was my fathers The push feed action on it is slick as a button. Had the action trued, rebarreled with a #3 bartlein chambered in 25-06. Its the most accurate gun I've ever shot

 

[rileybassman]

As others have said, the PF model 70s can be cool. First rifle my dad bought me (still have it) is an early 70s model 70. It's been a great rifle through the years and if it wasn't so sentimental, I would build off of it as well

 

[Wrench]

PF Winchester is a good base to start with. They can be trued up nicely. There just isn't a million aftermarket parts and accessories like the Remington pattern.

Luckily the only thing that needs addressed is the stock and rings...of which there's plenty.