I know they've had problems in the past. Are the current Safari Grade rifles worthy of consideration?

can't speak of the Safari grade,
we had a handful of Supergrade M70's with maple stocks thru the store,

all sold with out a complaint,

lovely looking stocks, the metal finish was more of a Black Nitrate (highly polished, or glossy) than a traditional blue or deep blue,

otherwise, fit and finish was very good,

Can't help you with your original question but I do know that at one point in the last couple of years they shifted production to Portugal. Not sure if the parts are made here in the US and sent there for assembly (kind of like the Browning High Power pistols had been), or if the parts are made in Portugal and sent here for assembly.

New production M70's form a shooter's standpoint are just fine. The triggers are typically better and fit and finish is as good as they have ever been. I personally seek out the New Haven produced guns, but it's not because I think they are superior.

Think W. German 226's vs late 90s 226's. Lots of pixie dust influencing perceived quality differences.

Current quality is excellent. I have an extreme weather 30-06 and an RMEF 300wm, I have zero complaints about these rifles. My extreme weather very well might be the one rifle I’d keep if I could only keep 1.

Quality is good, better than Winchester's in the early 90's when they re-introduced controlled round feeding in the Classic series. My only issue is their use of the MOA trigger system in place of the traditional Model 70's.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Quality is good, better than Winchester's in the early 90's when they re-introduced controlled round feeding in the Classic series. My only issue is their use of the MOA trigger system in place of the traditional Model 70's.

Ive found the MOA to be a better trigger out of the box. I haven't any issues with the dozen or so M70 Classic CRF's I've owned. That being said, If I wasnt a gun snob I wouldn't have paid premiums to get New Haven made guns as I would have been served equally well by the BACO guns.

Last fall my boss won a M70 in a Safari Club raffle. Uncertain of the exact model, but it appears to be the extreme weather stainless, chambered in 270. My boss bought a mid-range Swaro scope for the rifle and had me zero it at 100 yards. I brought a few rounds of ammo that worked well in my pre-64 M70 to zero, then turned to the rifle over to my boss, so he could get some trigger time behind it.

Granted this wasn't a Safari grade, but the trigger/action/barrel should be of the same family.

My thoughts:
- The trigger is better than those from the old M70s. Still a little heavy and mushy compared to my competition rifles, but not bad at all.
- The action felt a little gritty while cycling, but it locked up tightly. A few cycles should do wonders to smoothing things out.
- Overall fit and finish seemed quite good.
- Accuracy was outstanding.

I first confirmed that the bore sighting was reasonably close to get me on paper at 100 yards. I had two rounds left over of Remington Scirroco 130. First round was 3" right and 3.5" low. Fired the second round. Couldn't see where it landed, even with my spotting scope. We walked down to the target and realized round #2 landed in the same hold as #1 -- a variation of less than .05". OK, maybe a fluke.

Adjusted the POI up and right, and fired my three remaining rounds of Federal Nosler 130 Ballistic tip. All three rounds touching, a group of less than .2", maybe 3/8" above POI. I turned the M70 over to my boss and stated it's pretty much sighted in, and that he had a really nice rifle.

All I know is that new M70 shoots better than my pre '64.

I don't have experience with Safari grade, but the current production Featherweight in 7x57 I bought 7 years ago is excellent. I also have M70 in 30-06 made in 1954 and the "new" rifle (made in Utah) is as good as the "original" (made in Connecticut).

I’ve got a thread in here about helping me choose between a CZ and Tikka. I’m afraid the Winchester 70 featherweight has come along and stolen the show.

I have a ca2010 model featherweight deluxe in .243 win. that I absolutely adore. Mine was made in Columbia, SC. Smooth action, decent trigger, great fit and finish. I'm not really a tinkerer and the trigger is plenty good for my hunting needs. If I were buying a new hunting rifle right now, I personally would not look any further than Winchester.

quote:

Originally posted by badcopnodonut!!:
I’ve got a thread in here about helping me choose between a CZ and Tikka. I’m afraid the Winchester 70 featherweight has come along and stolen the show.

Take a look at the m70 extreme weather as well...

My wife is really hoping I don’t see an Alaskan in a shop because she knows that if I see one, it’s coming home with me.

Back in October I saw one at Three Bears Outpost in Tok if that helps...

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Back in October I saw one at Three Bears Outpost in Tok if that helps...

Well if I draw the ds102 tag I’ll be up that way.