Winchester model 70 "Coyote" version worth building on?

[B23]

My dad recently gave me, for my daughter, a basically new Win model 70 Coyote 22-250 that doesn't have 25rnds through it. I have numerous other 22 cal CF's including a 22-250 so we're good on varmint guns and since Wa state requires 24cal or larger for deer I was thinking about rebarreling this to a 6mm Creedmoor since I already have a 8tw .243/6mm ACE barrel sitting on the shelf. Also, my dad had a detachable mag system installed in this gun. I believe it's PTG bottom metal and uses a Accuracy International single stack mag that allows up to 2.970 OAL. It has an aftermarket trigger in it too I think it's a Timney but not positive until I pull it apart and look. The stock on these isn't plastic it's a relatively decent piece and I think made for Win by Bell and Carlson.

It appears to be a decently built rifle with some upgrades to it but I don't know a lot about Winchester model 70's other then the basics of the CRF pre64's then they went to a PF and back to a CRF but the one this one I believe is what they call a controlled round push feed. I don't know if that's a short action thing only for the newer Model 70's and don't really care I only care to know if they suck or are worth building on.

Are the actions decent on these things? Is it worth rebarreling to a 6CM or are they prone to issues I don't know about? All I really want to do would be rebarrel it to 6CM and have the stock skim bed to the action. Good idea, bad idea, what are y'alls thoughts on this???

I guess worst case scenario I leave it as is and shoot it but would prefer to make it something she could use for varmints/coyotes and deer.

 

[leachguy]

Biggest issue I've run into is weight. Hard to get a Winchester to be a light gun.
I own a Tikka T3X, a Sako 85, and 2 newer model 70 CRF. The smoothness and feeding is better on my Winchesters, but they just look beefy and bulky compared to the other 2.
One of my Wins is a custom 6.5x55 and it shoots bug holes with a factory featherweight stock and a #4 contour barrel. Just had the barrel shortened and fluted, so we'll see what that does for the weight.
To summarize, I love them, and I wouldn't hesitate to build on any of their feed iterations. Just know it won't ever be Remington light.

 

[B23]

Soooo I guess it's safe to assume not many build off of these things.....

 

[TaperPin]

Soooo I guess it's safe to assume not many build off of these things.....

The model 70 is a good action, it’s just not as common as others. There is probably a model 70 owners forum somewhere with 100’s of custom guns. Stock options are a little more limited, not because most stocks can’t be inletted for a Winchester, it’s just more common to follow a Remington pattern.

 

[Spoonbill]

Soooo I guess it's safe to assume not many build off of these things.....

There are custom guns built off model 70s, you can search around and find examples. The biggest “issue” is the extractor cut when rebarrelling just costs more but I wouldn’t view it as a negative as long as the gunsmith doing the rebarrelling knows what he is doing.
In the stockys thread, stockys mentioned they were coming out with a model 70 stock if you wanted to get a lighter wieght stock.

 

[Bert01]

I think that one is a push feed? If it is then it’s a straight forward rebarrel on what I think is an underrated action. You wouldn’t need to worry about the extractor cut, not that’s it’s a problem either way. I’m using one for a 7prc build now. They have good safety and factory triggers.

 

[Darryle]

There is nothing wrong with building off of a Winchester action, it's just going to be different and could be more expensive in certain instances.

Is this a New Haven or South Carolina gun?

I would talk to your dad about trading towards a clone or 700 action and build from there. You'll be money ahead and you can tailor it specially for your daughter, even go the prefit route and allow her to help with the build.

 

[Spoonbill]

There is nothing wrong with building off of a Winchester action, it's just going to be different and could be more expensive in certain instances.

Is this a New Haven or South Carolina gun?

I would talk to your dad about trading towards a clone or 700 action and build from there. You'll be money ahead and you can tailor it specially for your daughter, even go the prefit route and allow her to help with the build.

I’m going to have to disagree that trading a model 70 for a rem 700 is money ahead. Winchester has a 3 position safety, which allows the gun to be unloaded on safe. The trigger won’t fail and freeze or decide to fire when the safety gets tripped. The only advantage is aftermarket parts availability but this gun sounds like it has a lot of aftermarket upgrades.
I am biased towards the model 70 though, it was my first left handed rifle and if they ever made left hand model 70s I would probably not buy anything else.

 

[xsn10s]

I have a Winchester XTR pushfeed 30-06 and I really like it. It's probably the easiest Winchester to have a barrel installed. Three position safety is a pretty nice feature on a hunting rifle. And the triggers are decent for a hunting rifle. I've never had any issues with my rifle. My brother owns several Winchester M70's in the controlled round feed and they hunted just fine. I think I'd talk it over with your Dad. if he had any sentimental feeling towards your daughter having that rifle then see if he's okay with having a new barrel installed. If he doesn't care and says trade it/ sell it. Tikka and new Remington 700 come with 1-8" twist.

 

[B23]

I think that one is a push feed? If it is then it’s a straight forward rebarrel on what I think is an underrated action. You wouldn’t need to worry about the extractor cut, not that’s it’s a problem either way. I’m using one for a 7prc build now. They have good safety and factory triggers.

The post 64 Model 70 push feed actions no longer had the big claw extractor and the bolt was very similar looking to a Rem 700. Then, some years later Winchester changed back to using the big claw extractor. The version Model 70 I have has the big claw extractor but isn't a true CRF bolt. I believe Winchester calls this one a controlled round push feed which would make sense considering it's kind of a halfassed hybrid of both.

As mentioned earlier, this already has a Timney trigger in it and a very nice aftermarket detachable mag setup. I'm pretty sure the bottom metal is PT&G and it takes single stack AI mags.

The gun is basically new and has no sentimental value so I could sell it and build something different but my daughter likes it and it seems to fit her pretty well.

I don't really want to do anything more then have it rebarreled to a 6mm Creedmoor so hopefully these actions are true enough from the factory to not need any work. I'm going to talk to Karl Kampfeld w/Kampfeld Customs next week and go from there. Karl is a pretty good guy and has always done me right so I'll know more after talking to him.

 

[Darryle]

I’m going to have to disagree that trading a model 70 for a rem 700 is money ahead. Winchester has a 3 position safety, which allows the gun to be unloaded on safe. The trigger won’t fail and freeze or decide to fire when the safety gets tripped. The only advantage is aftermarket parts availability but this gun sounds like it has a lot of aftermarket upgrades.
I am biased towards the model 70 though, it was my first left handed rifle and if they ever made left hand model 70s I would probably not buy anything else.

I guess you missed the part about it having a Timney, that wasn't an upgrade. The stock is going to be heavy, it's a B&C and it's a later production rifle, it's hit or miss as well. A properly built 700 or a clone is money ahead. The availability of aftermarket parts alone would sway me.

While you can build out the Coyote, it's going to have a chunky barrel contoir and appropriate barrel channel, weight on top of the already heavy stock, rifle is 7lbs 8oz as it came from Winchester, add the detachable bottom metal and it's going up.

It's a rifle with a varmint hunter following and it has low mileage. It could be possibly traded into one of the more feature rich clone actions, won't know until it's out there.

I have built multiple rifles off of 70 actions, both long and short, post and pre, each comes with caveats. It's only money and the sky's the limit.

Even a Tikka would be a better foundation, depending on the young lady's physical build now and planning into the future, the 70 is one of the poorest choices for a rifle build from a support aspect which will only decrease in the future.

I do agree with you about a factory 700 rifle not being an upgrade, more of a lateral move with potential payoffs.

 

[Spoonbill]

I guess you missed the part about it having a Timney, that wasn't an upgrade. The stock is going to be heavy, it's a B&C and it's a later production rifle, it's hit or miss as well. A properly built 700 or a clone is money ahead. The availability of aftermarket parts alone would sway me.

While you can build out the Coyote, it's going to have a chunky barrel contoir and appropriate barrel channel, weight on top of the already heavy stock, rifle is 7lbs 8oz as it came from Winchester, add the detachable bottom metal and it's going up.

It's a rifle with a varmint hunter following and it has low mileage. It could be possibly traded into one of the more feature rich clone actions, won't know until it's out there.

I have built multiple rifles off of 70 actions, both long and short, post and pre, each comes with caveats. It's only money and the sky's the limit.

Even a Tikka would be a better foundation, depending on the young lady's physical build now and planning into the future, the 70 is one of the poorest choices for a rifle build from a support aspect which will only decrease in the future.

I do agree with you about a factory 700 rifle not being an upgrade, more of a lateral move with potential payoffs.

Stockys is going to release a model 70 stock, so that should help with aftermarket support.
What is your experience with Timney triggers in model 70s? I put one in mine since the factory trigger was awful but I still have the original that I could have worked over.

 

[Darryle]

I am patiently waiting for them to release that stock, same for the X-Bolt stocks. I have a LA 670 bare action that I want to build off of. The problem I see is, FNs support of the model 70 series. With the new XPR gaining traction and people gravitating towards cheaper rifles, cheaper rifles that are accurate, how long does the model 70 have?

You are correct about the original model 70 trigger being trouble free, The Timney is subject to freezing or becoming sluggish if exposed to moisture or excessive lubrication like any cartridge trigger, regardless of manufacturer. With proper maintenance and cleaning regimen, it's a rare occurrence. I have never understood why someone thought a cartridge style trigger was an improvement for the Model 70. It was a simple and bulletproof design if the person who was working on it had a basic concept of mechanical principles. It's about as simple as the old Mauser triggers, far exceeds the new MOA trigger group, IMO, although I must admit, I am a fan of the X-Bolt trigger.

It's a shame that they have a minimum bore diameter, because a 22 Creedmoor would be perfect, there's nothing that would walk away from a well placed 88gr or 90gr bullet.

 

[B23]

I was curious about the stock weight so I just pulled it apart and weighed it. The stock on these really isn't that heavy, it weighed 33.3 ounces. I'm not all that surprised though because the B&C stocks I've weighed in the past were always a few ounces lighter then a comparable HS Prec.

The bottom metal including one five round mag and action screws weighed 12 ounces. Total weight of this rifle, scoped with pic rail and rings, ready to shoot less ammo is 9 lbs 7 ounces. The barrel I have for it is just a tad smaller contour as well as it'll be 2-4 inches shorter, depending on if I go 20 or 22, then what's currently on it and I'm thinking about pulling the pic rail and ring combo off and using something like a Leupold direct mount to get the scope a little lower but I'm guessing all in all done, even with those changes, it's most likely going to be a 9lb rifle or very close to it.

Darryle, earlier you asked "Is this a New Haven or South Carolina gun?". This rifle I have says made in the USA imported by BACO Inc Morgan Utah but doesn't say anything about being made in Portugal so I'm not sure where it was made and or who by.

 

[B23]

It's a shame that they have a minimum bore diameter, because a 22 Creedmoor would be perfect, there's nothing that would walk away from a well placed 88gr or 90gr bullet.

If we didn't have that here in Wa I'd be ok going that route but we have to be 24 cal or larger here so that's why I'm going 6CM.

 

[Darryle]

It's a Portugal produced rifle, nothing wrong with that.

9lbs 7oz is heavy, you might get a 1/2lb off with a smaller contour.

Looking forward to seeing the finished project

 

[Tom-D]

There is nothing wrong with building off of a Winchester action, it's just going to be different and could be more expensive in certain instances.

Is this a New Haven or South Carolina gun?

I would talk to your dad about trading towards a clone or 700 action and build from there. You'll be money ahead and you can tailor it specially for your daughter, even go the prefit route and allow her to help with the build.

hey mate can i ask what the difference is for where they are made? My old man has a new haven one and im just curious

 

[FLS]

The FN Winchester Classics (South Carolina) were some of the best rifles to wear the Winchester name.

 

[Choupique]

As a model 70 fanboy, it's not what I would get for a "build." They cost more, weigh more and don't have the aftermarket support of other stuff out there. It can be done, but make sure what's available is going to give you what you want.

 

[Darryle]

hey mate can i ask what the difference is for where they are made? My old man has a new haven one and im just curious

For some, myself included, prefer the original style 70 trigger versus the new MOA trigger and I prefer the heritage of the old factory. Granted, Winchester went down the Remington road quality and QC wise towards the end and yes, the South Carolina guns were an improvement over the final years of New Haven, but far from being the best Winchester, USRAC, OLIN or BACO ever produced. IMO, BACO is disqualified simply because they chose to discontinue the original trigger in favor of the Browning influenced MOA trigger.