Keep the old and upgrade or buy new. Winchester M70 / Kimber

[Coach529]

Spent the last 5 days hunting my ELK rifle season. Borrowed a buddies Kimber Mountain Ascent and fell in love with it..... 6.5lbs.

My Winchester M70 7mm is a plump 10lbs.

So the dilema.........try to drop weight off the Winchester, or buy a new rifle?

Obviously there is always a budget.....not even sure I could justify the Kimber based just of weight savings alone.

 

[mtwarden]

if you're looking to save weight, but not wanting to fork out $1500+ for the Ascent- check out the Kimber Hunter Project thread

my Hunter now weighs just a little over 5.5 lbs (w/ scope/mounts), the accuracy is MOA (or better) and they can be had for half of what an Ascent costs

you can certainly lighten a M70, but it's going to cost a fair bit of cash as well (a McMillan stock runs $500-ish alone)

 

[Silvereagle50]

Probably spend as much on loosing weight on the 70 as buying a Kimber.
Do like I did and watch the classifieds here and other places or gunbroker.
I picked up an awesome Kimber Montana in 280ai. Shoots factory Hornady PH to 1/2”moa.
Topped it with a vortex razor LH (16oz) and it weighs 6.61#.

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[realunlucky]

Get a new rifle it'll be same price or cheaper in the end. I got sucked down that hole lightening up a rem700 but it's sentimental so totally worth it.

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[LightFoot]

You'll never be able to get the Kimber out of your head until you have one. You know you it fits the bill.

Go for it!

>>>-------JAKE---------->

 

[mcseal2]

I'm a big M70 fan and my main 2 big game rifles are M70's. I had Rifles Inc build me a LW70 that I have used successfully in several states over the last few years. They say right on their website to add 3/4 of a pound for the M70 action over a Remington 700 on their builds. I would probably go Kimber if weight is the primary concern. Not many people offer a true lightweight stock for an M70. My 264 win mag is supposed to be back from Manners in the next couple of weeks and will have a new EH1 with their light fill. It won't be super light but that's fine for that rifle. A primary reason I went with Rifles Inc for my other rifle is the weight of their stocks. My postage scale shows the stock from my LW70 at 18oz with a 1" recoil pad. It's pretty amazing to me how well that rifle shoots and handles the recoil of the 300 win mag with such a light stock.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Them mountain ascents are awesome.

 

[TBHasler]

Last 2 years Cabela’s had their Kimbers (Hunters and Ascents) on sale right after the new year. If you can wait, I’d check them out. Ascents were $1195-$1295 Hunter’s were around $650 if I remember right.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I have a mountain ascent in 300wsm with a nightforce shv 3-10, it’s a great set up, I’ve only shot it about 10 times though so far.

 

[16Bore]

No matter how light you get the M70, it won’t be a Kimber. That Kevlar stock is the trick to soaking up recoil. Trip the 70 unless you have a sentimental reason to keep it. Sell off junk to make up the difference. 70’s are tanks.

 

[Fishmaster196]

I have both. A Model 70 Classic Stainless in 300 WSM and a Kimber MA in 30-06. Both have Leupold 4.5x14 vx3i cds on them and both shoot moa. Same felt recoil. 1 is a WHOLE LOT LIGHTER then the other.

 

[AK Troutbum]

6.5 lbs., sounds kind of heavy! All joking aside, I’ll echo what’s already been stated, I think you will/could spend a lot of $$ trying to trim 4 lbs. off your 10 lb. Win., and I know how easy it is to get attached to a Kimber MA, so I get it. That said, if you weren’t in a big rush, you could shop around on some of the sites (Gunbroker, 24 hr. Campfire, here, etc.), and probably pick up a used Montana in the $800ish range, change out the trigger guard and bolt handle for $125, and have a Kimber that’s only a few oz. heavier than a MA, and put the money you saved into some nice glass.
But again, like what’s also already been stated, that MA sure is a sweetheart of a rifle.


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[Trees91]

Get a Montana off Gunbroker, Reeds out of Walker Mn sells them for $1200ish. They ship free, no tax(assuming you’re not from Mn or Sd). The weight difference between the mtn ascent and Montana is not worth the money difference. I also prefer the texture of the Montana stock. Both KImbers I have owned have been shooters too.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

6.5 lbs., sounds kind of heavy! All joking aside, I’ll echo what’s already been stated, I think you will/could spend a lot of $$ trying to trim 4 lbs. off your 10 lb. Win., and I know how easy it is to get attached to a Kimber MA, so I get it. That said, if you weren’t in a big rush, you could shop around on some of the sites (Gunbroker, 24 hr. Campfire, here, etc.), and probably pick up a used Montana in the $800ish range, change out the trigger guard and bolt handle for $125, and have a Kimber that’s only a few oz. heavier than a MA, and put the money you saved into some nice glass.
But again, like what’s also already been stated, that MA sure is a sweetheart of a rifle.


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My Montana has the same trigger guard as my mountain ascent. I did get a skeletonized bolt handle for my Montana though.

 

[Silvereagle50]

My Montana has the same trigger guard as my mountain ascent. I did get a skeletonized bolt handle for my Montana though.

where did you get the skeletonized bolt handle?

 

[AK Troutbum]

where did you get the skeletonized bolt handle?

A guy in Wisconsin (find him on 24hr. campfire), makes them out of titanium and sells for $75.


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[thinhorn_AK]

where did you get the skeletonized bolt handle?

Theres a guy on the 24 hour campfire forum I got it from. I forget what I paid but it shipped fast and is high quality.