Winchester m70 barrel channel fill in

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Mustang67ford

New member
I recently purchased a short action featherweight stock that takes a 1 piece bottom plate. I wanted to use it to swap stocks on a model 70 ranger youth. When I test fitted the stock to the gun, the gap from the stock to the barrel around the barrel channel seemed pretty large. When I have the gunsmith bed the stock, can this be fixed? I've read where it can be bedded as well with acraglas gel stained to match the wood. Not sure why there is such a large gap.
 
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How much gap is there? In order to free float and provide margin for forearm flexing, I usually put >0.02" gap there when I glass bedding the channel. It is in contrary to the tradition of little or no gap (not free floating). The gap can definitely be filled. But the color will show even with the best dye in the compound.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Here are some pics. Didn't take any measuremens.
 

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A couple more pics
 

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The gap looks excessive. 1/8”? It can be filled. But not sure the end result would be eye pleasing. I probably would look for a better fitting stock for the action and sell this stock.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Thanks, not sure why the barrel channel is so wide as the featherweight short actions are all pencil type barrels, no heavy barrels that I am aware of.
 
The gap is irrelevant to me--maybe it was made to accommodate a variety of barrel thicknesses. What would worry me about it is what looks like ultra-thin thickness in the fore-end area, seems like one might go mad trying to maintain a "flex point" hold that is consistent in POI's.
 
Your stock was probably made for the WSM cartridge rifles. They do not use a featherweight contour they use a standard sporter contour, but are labled FWT and sold with the Schnabelz stock. Winchester will not use the FWT countour barrel with magnum cartridges in long or short action.

You simply purchased the wrong stock.
 
I'm also on the quest for a different stock for my .270 WSM, and midwestgunworks.com has a few options for a short action FWT stock. Contact before you buy as they have both FWT and Sporter Contour inlets for the FWT. The one I linked is their cheapest option.
 
I'm going to have the barrel channel bedded, but debating on whether to free float it or not. The barrel does not seem to be freefloated in the current factory ranger youth stock but not sure, might have intended to be floated and just a little snug. Should this barrel be left touching the bedding? Also, Is this a 1 piece inlet? I think it is but having a hard time determining when my stock was produced. It has a deceleration recoil pad which is making me think it is a post 2007 stock?
 

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Agree with taylorce1 on free floating. It's just as easy as not. Regards the stock, it is relieved for the 3rd (center) screw and looks exactly like the 2-piece I just installed.
 
The reason you have such a large gap between the barrel and stock is that you have a Featherweight profile barrel and the stock has a standard barrel contour inlet. Yes, you can fill the barrel channel with glass, or free float it (technically it's pretty much free floated now, you would just need to finish it). Best bet is to just buy the correct stock.
 
Be clear on terms, free floated means nothing is touching the barrel, anywhere. The old school test was a dollar bill. If you could slide a dollar bill down the entire barrel channel and nothing stopped it, the barrel was free floated.
If anything stopped the paper from reaching the receiver, the barrel was "partially floated.

Bedding means mating two things together. They must be in physical contact to do that.

When Winchester redesigned the Model 70 in 1964, one of the changes made was the decision to free float the barrel. Lots of people, used to the old standard method of very close or contact wood to metal fit found the new "wide gap" version ugly and unattractive.

Being a function of appearance guy, I'm much more concerned with how a gun shoots than how it looks.
 
My preference would be to leave the gap and free float it. But there are some knowledgeable people who do prefer to full length bed the stock to the barrel.

Melvin Forbes who started the Ultra Light Arms company uses this technique. He feels that it provides better accuracy when using thin mountain rifle type barrels. And it works on his rifles

https://newultralightarms.com/

If done right, I have no doubt it can work. But if not done right the results might not be satisfactory. Free floating is a lot easier to get it right.

Also, to fully bed that rifle with such a large gap the fiberglass used to fill the gap is going to be visible. IMO that would be less aesthetically pleasing than the gap.
 
Free floating is a lot easier to get it right.
Click to expand...

OF course free floating is easier, literally all one need do is cut a "hole" bigger than the "pipe" with enough clearance so they don't touch each other.

Simple, easy, waaay cheaper for a manufacturer.

If done right, traditional full or partial contact barrel bedding, takes time, trial and error hand fitting, shooting tests and repeating all that until results are satisfactory. Also, it requires a properly cured/ finished stock.

A well done bedded barrel can be as accurate as a free floated one. In some particular cases, they can even be more accurate. Uncommon, but it has happened.

Free floating a barrel is not an absolute guarantee of accuracy. I'm going to use words like "often, frequently, very likely, and nearly always" but not "absolutely will". There are exceptions.

IF the gun shoots well enough as is, consider that doing things to "improve" accuracy sometimes have the opposite of their intended effect. Again, not always, but it has happened.
 
W hen I've bedded one of my rifles, I'd bed the action and the first 1.5' to 2.0" of the barrel and free float the rest. It's worked quite well on several Mausers and Winchester M70s.
I recently picked up a long action M70 Featherweight stock. I plan on dropping a post 64, Pre 68 M70 243 into it in the very near future. Still have to finish an M70 .308 Youth Ranger into a Featherweight stock. I like the design.
Paul B.
 
Nobody--except maybe an M70 snob on this forum;)--will ever notice the gap. And as long as the action has rigid support and the stock doesn't flex--you won't notice any difference either in consistency.:D
 
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