 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
It was not even an original design. The Model 70 was an improvement of Winchester's Model 54, which in turn was based on the Mauser Model 98. But upon its birth in 1936, it kindled a love affair that has never died. Winchester advertised it as "the rifleman's rifle,-¿ and the slogan stuck. This was the big-game rifle by which all others were measured, and it is still, in my opinion, the best factory bolt action ever made.
The gun borrowed the best features from both the Mauser 98 and the Model 54. It retained the Mauser's massive extractor and controlled-feed system but utilized a cone-shaped breech like the Model 54's, which guided cartridges into the chamber even if they weren't perfectly aligned. In place of the Mauser's slow, jarring firing-pin fall, the Model 70's was very fast and smooth. The trigger was the best ever designed for a hunting rifle, period-"a three-piece miracle of simplicity that gave an excellent pull, would never fail, and once adjusted was adjusted forever.
But the Model 70 has had a rocky road. Pre-"World War II examples were fine, but after the war quality steadily declined, and the ones turned out before the old model's demise in 1963 were shoddy indeed. Winchester's then-president decreed that it must die because it was too costly to produce.
In 1964, Winchester announced a new Model 70 that was cheaper and basically a good gun, but it was big-time, serious Ugly. Shooters beheld it and were outraged. Their fury did not abate until 1994, when Winchester reintroduced the traditional design under the name Model 70 Classic.
Many of the original Model 70s are now collector's pieces, particularly in the scarcer calibers, and some people will pay very fancy prices for them. Its luster remains undimmed. Never before and probably never again will we see such a combination of accuracy, reliability, grace, and mystique.
| Comment on This
Article |
| We require all participants in interactive areas to accept the terms of the Bonnier Corporation subscriber agreement. Please read the agreement before making comments. When you click on the button above to submit your comments, you are indicating your acceptance of and are agreeing to adhere to the terms of the subscriber agreement. |
 |
|
|
People love lists. We have lists of the best and worst dressed, the scariest movies, the most beautiful celebrities, the most talented athletes, the dumbest politicians, and just about every other category a magazine editor can dream up. I love lists and am occasionally asked to rattle off my list of what I think are the best guns ever made. However, I've never done so in public. Until now.
This is a subjective ranking in order, but all the firearms here have several things in common: All are superlative designs; all were chosen without regard to price; all were commercial successes to a greater or lesser degree; and almost all were influential on the design of other guns. You'll notice that there are no military or target arms here (with a few exceptions, for reasons explained). We decided to limit the list to hunting firearms, which is what F&S is about. In making my selection, I've limited myself to the past 100 years or so, going back to the introduction of smokeless powder, so these are guns of the modern era. In many ways, firearms have changed very little over the past century. That doesn't mean they haven't progressed; it means they were pretty good to begin with-and these are the best.
|
 |
