Winchester model 70 target u.s. property

[vintage hunter]

Supposedly these were used by the shooting teams of all branches of service. Is it would be interesting to find out which this rifle belonged to. The Cody museum is no help as their m70 records only cover those made between 42 and 46. It doesn't appear to be one of the Evaluators Limited rifles as the s/n doesn't show up on the list of those known to have passed through their hands. Where else could one look for info on where this rifle went when it left the factory? S/N is 409601 made in 57. Caliber 30-06 in heavy target stock 24" medium weight barrel .790" muzzle dial. U.S. Property ep'd left side of reciever. Apparantly it saw little use, over all condition is 99%. Closest thing I've ever seen to a nib pre 64 m70.

Information

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[RCS]

This M70 Target in 30-06 caliber was manufactured around 1947. It was sold in a lot of 12 M70 rifles that ranged in good condition with broken stocks, to excellent condition (like the one in photos) by Great Lakes Naval Station around 1966 or 67 to a local dealer by auction.

Outside of the knowledge that the dealer purchased these rifles from the US Navy, there is not any record of these serial numbers to be found. These were (I think) team riflesAttachment 100022Attachment 100023Attachment 100024Attachment 100025

[Chuckindenver]

iv owned a few M70 U.S. marked model 70s over the years, most were target rifles. and one was a standard hunting rifle.
I also have owned a few Remington 700 U.S. marked rifles, however all of those had heavy barrels.
and now own one Remington 721 that is known to have been owned by the U.S. Army.
the reason I listed those .
as much as we all want to think that these were match, or sniper rifles.
fact is. that during that time frame. some hunting clubs would check out rifles for active duty , that wanted to hunt and or shoot.. the 721 I have as well as the model 70 I had were most likely loaner rifles, both are in mint shape the 721 came to me with a M82 mounted on top. and has a rack number 4 on the bottom of the pistol grip. when I took the rifle apart it was packed with cosmoline and had been for a long time. Cody has some sporting rifles that were Government property owned as well, some Winchester 100 rifles in .308 that had been modified to take a M1 carbine bayonet, and had been parkerized..

[rcathey]

some Winchester 100 rifles in .308 that had been modified to take a M1 carbine bayonet, and had been parkerized..

Wouldn't mind stumbling across one of those in the wild!

[Chuckindenver]

the ones I saw, sit in the Cody museum.. very cool...

[browningautorifle]

Winchester 100 rifles in .308 that had been modified to take a M1 carbine bayonet, and had been parkerized..

Wouldn't mind stumbling across one of those in the wild!

You COULD have... Winchester Military Model 100 Semi-Automatic Rifle | Rock Island Auction

[rcathey]

No no, I want to be the guy that found it at a pawn shop for about $600 haha!

[cplstevennorton]

I've been able to run a few of these US Property Model 70's like this, in the low 400k range. Everyone I have ran so far has came back property of the US Army.

[Frederick303]

There is a joint US Army /Air Force manual for these from July 1959 that covers the competition rifle/pistols and has such items as the Rem 40X in .22, Win model 70 in 30-06, S&W Masterpiece in 38 SPL, Win 52, High standard .22 pistol, etc.

Number is: TM9-1005-226-14 (US Army)
: AFM50-11 (Airforce)

Same manual has both numbers on it.


Win 70 (special match grade) was equipped with the Lyman 48 WH rear and 77 front.

In that post Korea, pre Vietnam period there was a lot of interest in competitive shooting in the US Army and Airforce. There was an entire competition package for the Airmen who were interested in competition.

[Cosine26]

Types of Winchester M70 target rifles.
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The M70 NM was very rare. Someone indicated that there were only ~2000 manufactured
Target Model was the most popular. Mostly in 30-06. It was never offered in 308/7.62 , but many were converted to this caliber
The Bull gun was most popular in 300H&H though it could be had in 30-06
This is my Bull Gun with a 12X 1 1/4 inch Unertl
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FWIW