Winchester Model 70

About the Winchester Model 70

The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action centerfire rifle introduced in 1936 as the successor to the Model 54. Often called 'The Rifleman's Rifle', the pre-1964 design features a Mauser-influenced controlled-round-feed action with a full-length claw extractor, a three-position wing safety, and a hinged floorplate magazine. Renowned for its accuracy and reliability, it became a benchmark American sporting rifle and was pressed into military service as an improvised sniper platform by U.S. forces.

Long marketed as 'The Rifleman's Rifle', the pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 is one of the most revered American bolt-action rifles ever made; its 1964 redesign to cut costs sparked such backlash that 'pre-64' became a coveted collector grade.

Winchester Model 70 specifications

The pre-1964 'controlled-round-feed' Model 70 is prized by collectors; a cost-driven 1964 redesign switched to a push-feed bolt and stamped parts, which proved unpopular. Controlled-round-feed was later reintroduced. Production moved to FN Herstal's facility in Columbia, South Carolina after 2008.