Winchester model 70, 7mm Rem mag

[gordyd4]

Hey all, been reading here a lot lately and decided to make a post. We shoot 600-1000 yards and want to upgrade this rifle, or purchase something that is more suited for precision shooting; strictly target shooting. This gun the way it is setup, kicks like a mule, and has thin a hunting barrel.

We were all over the board looking at building a lapua, or something big, but have come to the conclusion to stay with 7mm. Now we have to decide on a new gun, or upgrade the model 70 we have.


I have a 1980's Winchester model 70, 7mm Rem mag that I may decide to change to a heavy match barrel and change the stock or, just buy a Remington 700 in a more desirable 7mm cartridge if, there is one....I don't know.

The 7mm round is awesome, but is this rifle worth spending money on? We don't know what to do.

Is there a better 7mm round? Is the model 70 a good platform for precision shooting?

Would like some opinions, good or bad.

Thanks, Gordon

 

[whiskey08]

I think 7mm/.284 is a very good round. Probably one of the best at this time for long range accuracy.

For rifles either way rem or win, your gonna have to dump some money into it. How much money are you willing to spend? That might help determine which way you go. I know my gunsmith prefers rem action over the win action.

take a look at this page if you havent yet, it breaks down the "7"

http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/7mm/

 

[jonbearman]

I have a friend who has built 3 of them for not obscene amounts of money.It would be good to find an hs precision varminter stock for this rifle and a good barrel,shilen,hart,brux,etc etc .Then you should change out the trigger or have it reworked.I would call sid goodling of Goodling Rifles in pennsylvania.He works with these fairly often and could steer you in the right direction.I think someone had an hs precision for a long action winchester on this site recently or predator masters.

 

[TonyR]

In his book on benchrest actions, Otteson calculates the the Pre-64 Winchester Mod 70 reciever is about three times as rigid as a Rem 700 of the same vintage. According to Otteson, the magazine well on the M70 adds greatly to the reciever cross section and therefore the rigidity. I believe that John Whidden uses a Mod 70 action on at least one of his match rifles.

 

[gordyd4]

I called Shilen and they are 25 weeks out for a barrel. Good to hear someone in this country is busy. Not good for me though, however that was for a barrel complete, maybe getting a blank barrel and having a gun smith machine and install it would be better.

I figured I would spend at least $1000.00 on this rifle.

What do you guys think of the Remington 7mm mag?

 

[40X Guy]

I have a 7MM Mag hunting rig on a model 70 chassis and I love it. If you like this rifle, then by all means build it into something you can use at LR. Buy a heavy barrel with 1 in 8 or 1 in 9 twist and sling some 168 or 180 bullets. The 7MM bullets have hi BC's and they do well at LR.

Keep your eye open here in the marketplace for barrels and stocks, and IIRC there is a 7 MM barrel blank for sale now. Or go to Bruno Shooting Supply and order up a barrel as he has several barrels in stock if you don't want to wait 4-6 months.

About 15 years ago I had a 7MM STW built on a Remy 700 LA with 8 twist Lilja barrel and shot 180 JLK's out of it at PD's in S. Dakota. This rifle was a hammer! This cartridge had not been out long when I stumbled onto it and had one built.

Frank

 

[wapiti25]

My new long range hunting rifle is a Rem 700 in 7mm Rem Mag. The barrel is a Krieger 1:9 twist chambered to shoot the Berger 168 VLD. I finnished it to go hunting in Nov and have about 60 rnds through it, while working up loads it is shooting 1" at 300yds and 3 3/8" at 500. I like M70's as a platform to build on. You need to do the truing so it is square and concentric to the barrel. My Rem action was very good out of five I checked. You may look into something like the 7mm Saum or 7mm WSM as some think that the short cases are more accurate when used for target shooting. Look at what is winning at long range matches. The reloading needs to be done to give low ES velocity to work at long range, This is not the average reloading as it is very specialized. Good luck on your build.

 

[wapiti25]

I would build rather than buy a factory rifle. The chamber need to be "match" or special to the case. The gunsmith needs to know about accuracy not just put a factory chamber in the barrel. You need a reamer that is ground with the neck and throat adjusted to your use. I hope some of this helps.

 

[M700]

I'm a big fan of the 7mm Rem mag, but if you're not hunting, you don't need all that horsepower for punching paper at long range. There are plenty of milder cartridges that will shoot accurately out at 1,000 yards, with nowhere near the muzzle blast & recoil of the 7mm Rem mag. They'll burn a lot less powder and barrels will last longer too.

The various 6.5's spring to mind, as does the 7-08.

But I'll fully understand if you just have to have the punch of the magnum cartridge, simply because you like it!

Regards, Guy

 

[roninflag]

you could sell yours and get a remington sendero. you could rebarrel a remington with a krieger. my gunsmith will only rebarrel remingtons.