Pre-War M70 .220 Swift Question


Copper BB
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:24 am
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 8:14 am
Hi Guys and Gals! New guy form Ontario, Canada.



I just came across a pre-war (reportedly 1937) M70 in .220 swift. I bought the gun sight unseen from a reputable seller for what I think is a very reasonable price. He says the bluing is excellent (possibly re-blued) and the stock is very nice, but not original. All fine, as I'm not a hard core collector. He says the bore/rifling is excellent and the rifle is a great shooter with suspected low round count.

My question lies in the barrel length, which is reportedly 23". I can't find any info to confirm is this was a factory barrel length offered in the .220 Swift. The seller says there is no evidence the barrel was ever cut, so either it's factory or it was very well done.

Perhaps is was a standard 26" cut from the chamber end and re-chambered to remove throat erosion? (wild guessing until I see the rifle and looks for clues).

Is there as way I can obtain info from Winchester via the serial number? (S/N is 1xxxx and correctly dates to late 1937, as seller reported). I'd love to get a letter back from Winchester confirming this rifle left the factory as a 23" Swift!

Thanks
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:24 am
Welcome to the Winchester Owners Forum !!

Enjoy our community...

{ I'll leave the reply to the experts }
User avatar
Moderator
Posts: 278
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:18 am
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:50 am
From the information I have on factory produced Winchesters, the early first model 220 swift would most likely have had a 24" barrel according to one source or 26" barrel according to Roger Rule. There are some original odd number lengths recorded like 21", 23" etc. , but they are extremely rare.

Copper BB
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:24 am
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 1:27 pm
I received a few pics from the seller. The barrel has no sights so has definitely been cut down and turned to remove the rear sight band (all pre-64's had raised ring around the barrel for the rear sight, I think?). The barrel is factory marked from Winchester as a .220 Swift, but I guess there's a possibility is was a newer take-off barrel that was used on the old action. It looks to be a good quality gunsmith job, "modernizing" a nice old M70. The stock certainly looks like a beauty. I paid $1k CDN for this rifle (about $750 USD) and think that's still not to bad of a deal for a nice updated shooter. (?) the seller said it is very accurate, so maybe I'll just use it to slay a coyote or two and then (assuming I don't fall deeply in love) trade it away for the next "must have".

Image
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
Moderator
Posts: 278
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:18 am
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 8:32 am
It is a nice looking stock for sure, it would also be nice to see some close up pics of the bolt and left side of the action.

Return to Winchester Model 70

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests

Winchester Owners Forum is privately owned and operated. It is not affiliated or operated by Winchester company. Views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily that of Winchester.