Winchester Model 70 Bolt-action Rifles: For rifleman
Before the Remington 700 was a thought, and while Bill Ruger’s Model 77 was still thirty years off, the classic American bolt-action hunting rifle was born. This gun was the Winchester Model 70, and it has proven itself for three quarters of a century.
Thomas Crosley Johnson was born during the Civil War and, with the exception of John Moses Browning, did more to create Winchester’s modern firearms than any other firearms engineer. He created the M1911 (Widow Maker) auto-loading shotgun, the exquisite Model 12 pump shotgun, the M1905 (America’s first auto-loading center-fire rifle) and others. In 1925, at age 63, Crosley created his masterpiece—the Model 54 bolt-action rifle.
It was a slick-action turn bolt rifle that drew on the old Mauser rifles of the turn of the century and improved upon their strong points. Winchester used it as a successful platform to introduce the brand new .220 Swift and .270 Winchester calibers to the market but the public just loved the gun. The problem was the Model 54 wouldn’t accept an aftermarket optical scope over the top of the receiver due to the long throw of the bolt.
And this led to a slight redesign.
Read the rest in my column at Guns.com