Where is the Winchester Model 70 Made?

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:21 pm
Winchester Model 70.
http://www.winchesterguns.com/customers ... asp?id=287

Today's Model 70 bolt action rifles are made at our factory in South Carolina, U.S.A. The Model 70 factory is part of the same state-of-the-art manufacturing complex where the rifles and machine guns used by America's Armed Forces around the world are built. They are made to the exact ISO 9001 standards of quality that the U.S. Government insists upon for military firearms. Previous production was at the New Haven, Connecticut factory. That factory closed in 2006.

.410
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Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:49 am
PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 2:38 am
In 2018 the answer is more complex. The parts are mostly made in the USA. The rifle has a lot of work done in the Carolinas as is posted in the opening of this thread. Niwdays the final assembly is done by FN in Portugal. A new Winchester Model 70 will be stamped accordingly. The lever actions and many of the shotguns are made in Miroku Japan where the Browning rifles and shotguns are made. All of 5hese current manufacturing sites are doingbas fine work as ever has been done in the history of Winchester.Dhnovich post though is still the ultimate shirt answer as it accurately addresses the ownership and quarry assurance that drives one of the world’s finest endeavors.

.410
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Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:39 pm
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 10:03 pm
TheHuntingRifle wrote:In 2018 the answer is more complex. The parts are mostly made in the USA. The rifle has a lot of work done in the Carolinas as is posted in the opening of this thread. Niwdays the final assembly is done by FN in Portugal. A new Winchester Model 70 will be stamped accordingly. The lever actions and many of the shotguns are made in Miroku Japan where the Browning rifles and shotguns are made. All of 5hese current manufacturing sites are doingbas fine work as ever has been done in the history of Winchester.Dhnovich post though is still the ultimate shirt answer as it accurately addresses the ownership and quarry assurance that drives one of the world’s finest endeavors.


I was able to trace it down to the same conclusion after I bought my 70-30-06 Featherweight a couple of weeks ago and saw it was made in Portugal. Most of the info is on the Winchesterguns.com website. It appears that not all the 70's are made in Portugal. The Featherweights definitely are.

.410
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Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:49 am
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:03 am
The final assembly of all Model 70s is now done in Portugal. Much of the manufacturing is done in the USA. FN facilities in Portugal are ramped up assembly and have a very long history in that area for fine firearms. Most if the sticks, metal work, barrel making, etc., is done in South Carolina. Having a batch of Model 70s from 1942 to very recent, the old ones and the new ones are very, very good. Maybe the 1980s saw some decline in quality, but I have a 1985 Model 70 with a great history, and I am keeping it along with the others. The shift towards final assembly in Portugal was done to keep prices down, and quality very high.Your Model 70 in 30-06 will,serve as a hunting rifle for enough years it should become a family heirloom. I inherited a Model 70 30-06, and it is going to be a deer hunting rilfe for probably a century more! Of all Model 70s though, I have the most love for the Featherweights. The Super Grade assembly and parts manufacturing is on pretty much the same place, etc., and if you can deal with a somewhat heavier rifle it is an unbelievably good value. The current Featherweight stock, checkering, is outstanding. Perhaos you have noticed stainless barrel and actions are being added to current products. Make sure though, the blued barrel and action hold up very well. Oil and clean then, put them up,after a rainy or snowy hunt and they will last a very long time!

.410
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:39 pm
PostPosted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:40 am
TheHuntingRifle wrote:The final assembly of all Model 70s is now done in Portugal. Much of the manufacturing is done in the USA. FN facilities in Portugal are ramped up assembly and have a very long history in that area for fine firearms. Most if the sticks, metal work, barrel making, etc., is done in South Carolina. Having a batch of Model 70s from 1942 to very recent, the old ones and the new ones are very, very good. Maybe the 1980s saw some decline in quality, but I have a 1985 Model 70 with a great history, and I am keeping it along with the others. The shift towards final assembly in Portugal was done to keep prices down, and quality very high.Your Model 70 in 30-06 will,serve as a hunting rifle for enough years it should become a family heirloom. I inherited a Model 70 30-06, and it is going to be a deer hunting rilfe for probably a century more! Of all Model 70s though, I have the most love for the Featherweights. The Super Grade assembly and parts manufacturing is on pretty much the same place, etc., and if you can deal with a somewhat heavier rifle it is an unbelievably good value. The current Featherweight stock, checkering, is outstanding. Perhaos you have noticed stainless barrel and actions are being added to current products. Make sure though, the blued barrel and action hold up very well. Oil and clean then, put them up,after a rainy or snowy hunt and they will last a very long time!


How sure are you about the barrels? I bought a Browning X-bolt yesterday and the barrel is Hiroku. My thoughts are why would FN use a different Barrel manufacturer for the Winchester. It doesn't seem cost effective. Hiroku of Japan has a long standing reputation for making great barrels and I was happy to see that the Browning had one. The Browing is button rifled where the Winchester is said to be Cold Forged.

.410
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Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:49 am
PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:44 am
According to Winchester/Browning, Morgan Utah, the Browning barrels are made in Miroku Japan. They are a recessed target crown barrel. The Winchester barrels are made in a hammer forge in South Carolina. The assembly is in Portugal. These questions are among the most frequent. There is no manufacturing reason on earth to make barrels to be assembled in Portugal from parts made in the USA and also Japan. The Browning rifles I own, more than a few are all clearly labeled Miroku Japan. The quality of workmanship seems very uniform between the two places of barrel manufacture. I own more Winchester’s than Browning, but again the differences are neglible. The description of barrel making and even to a degree photos of the process are available. Every photo tool I have including both scopes and cameras confirms considerable uniformity. I do know that there are areas in the works that are seeing large build ups of often new hammer forges just getting ready for new rifle manufacture. And from Alabama to Montana. There are some secrets kept but not all that many. Once you get a rifle that shoots well there are good cleaning and shooting techniques and there are accuracy killers. If you research and follow cautious usage I think we will be in good shape. I have very close friends that buy NEW rifles and put them unused in a safe as it is their retirement strategy. At this point I personally am very certain Browning Miroku Barrel building is done in that location, and Winchester Model 70 in Carolina.

.410
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:39 pm
PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2018 7:33 pm
My 2018 Model 70 30-06 and my 2018 X-Bolt 300 WSM both shoot sub moa at 100 yards using a sled. There's a few arguments about the longevity of a button rifled barrel vs. a cold forged but most of those are talking firings in the thousands. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

.410
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:49 am
PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 8:56 am
For years I followed the accuracy barrel making techniques, etc. The Miroku Plant is using pretty state of the art and very expensive machinery and techs who really are craftsmen. However they do engage in some Browning generated wild goose chases like the proprietary barrel lapping being done to make the Browning X Bolt Pro more like a custom rifle. Ackley believed that barrel lapping just wears down a barrel faster. I am c3rtain he was right. I also have a Remington Model 700 Limited Edition .280 with the beautiful Black Laminate stock and when MidWay USA stopped being allowed to ship ammo to me as I live in NY, I finally had to sell the .280 Ackley. Remington which I still can get ammo for here. I sold the .280 Ackley in Alaska. According to F&W Alaska 1 percent of ALL ammo in Alaska is .280 Ackley. Certainly I met some fans of it in my wonderful time in Alaska and Imspent quite a bit of time there four four years until, my budget tightened up too much when Imstopped professional science work which paid higher bynmany times than the farming work I have done much of my life. So I think we are both in agreement now where these barrels are made. And I think we both would agree , Wow! Are they well made! Sounds like your tech interest in this stuff is very advanced!

.410
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:49 am
PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:53 pm
Certainly looks like the Miroku Plant that built your barrel knows what they were doing when the barrel lapping for the X Bolt Pro was decided. According to the collective wisdom of custom gun manufacturers and the big plants like Saco and Browning and obviously the corporate officials at Morgan Utah, the X Bolt Pro features were well worked out in prototypes prior to the production runs. My guess is the Browning X Bolt Pro represents the new wave of semi custom gun craftsmanship,and that barrel lapping might even extend the barrel life of the X Bolt Pro.

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