New Rifle on the Way

[ColColt]

It finally got the best of me. I had been looking at it for three weeks and finally decided to go for it...a Jack O'Connor Tribute Rifle. I have always been a .270 fan and in fact, had a custom rifle in that caliber built back in 1970. This one has wood similar to the suigi finished tiger tail maple stock on that rifle. It's not here yet and I hope it shoots as good as it looks.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/wm_5486183_zps9a89b705.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/wm_5486183_zps9a89b705.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/wm_5486184_zpsebc9e7ce.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/wm_5486184_zpsebc9e7ce.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/pop_wm_5486187_zps3c6c6e69.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/pop_wm_5486187_zps3c6c6e69.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/wm_5486189_zps422f5659.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/JOC%20Tribute%20Rifle/wm_5486189_zps422f5659.jpg.html)

[richhodg66]

Beautiful rifle. Please keep us updated on how it shoots.

[C. Latch]

That's a pretty slab of wood on that rifle.

[fouronesix]

You bet! I've been seeing those Jack O'Connor rifles being advertised and they do look good. M70 featherweight barrel contour along with the Fleur de Lis. I know O'Connor really liked the Fleur de Lis pattern. The inletted swivel studs are a very nice touch also.

[swheeler]

That's a beaut, love the stock.

[Bzcraig]

Very nice rifle but that is beautiful piece of wood.

[Lloyd Smale]

not a big 270 fan but that is a flat out beautiful rifle!!!!

[Kevinakaq]

What a beautiful rifle! I'd be jealous but I just bought the M70 in featherweight in 308 on the board here yesterday...lol. Truly a wonderful rifle with years of great memories ahead of it! Congratulations Indeed.

[ColColt]

I looked at several but this one stuck out the most due to the wood. It reminded me of my first .270 many moons ago as for the grain. My old one had almost identical checkering. I think that pattern came from Al Biesen and apparently Hal Hartley who stocked mine copied it. I didn't know that then until I saw several in O'Connor's books. I'm hoping it'll be here no later than Thurs. or Friday. I'm going to mount a Leupold V3 3.5-10X on it with Leupold mounts.

[300savage]

if there is something that needs done in the lower 48 a man cant do as well as it can be done with a 270 i aint seen it yet.
and i been to a few county fairs an a steer plop an a chicken drop.

the old 270 is a sweet piece of work and if a man could ever harbor carnal thoughts for a rifle that one is a candidate.

[snoopy]

That is SWEET! Is that a hinged floorplate also?

[Kevinakaq]

"if there is something that needs done in the lower 48 a man cant do as well as it can be done with a 270 i aint seen it yet."

Reminds me i have a 270 savage barrel coming in today and some 130 sgk's. Looking forward to working up some loads with it. And the m70 in 308 next week....best of both worlds...lol.

On a side note i keep coming back and looking at the grain on O'conner.....sweet! I picked up a T/C Cougar last week that has that type of grain as well, but not as pronounced. Maybe I am a bit envious after all!

[nekshot]

even if it would not shoot to your expectations all is well as the looks make up for the rest! Nice rifle.

[pworley1]

That is one beautiful rifle.

[ColColt]

That is SWEET! Is that a hinged floorplate also?

Sure is. I'm getting awfully antsy about seeing it in my grubby mitts. the scope and rings await it's soon arrival. From the tracking info it got here at 6:50 this evening so the dealer should get it tomorrow and they should call me by Friday. I'll have something to lust over during the weekend and me and my dog won't be lonely on Saturday night!!

[nekshot]

when the high wears off from that one your really gonna have to throw a chunk of change to beat it!

[Clay M]

Beautiful rifle indeed. I am a .270 win fan. Have killed many deer ,antelope, and hogs with the round.

[ColColt]

when the high wears off from that one your really gonna have to throw a chunk of change to beat it!

I'm in the infatuation stage at this point but feel when I get to hold it and look it over it will soon turn to pure unconditional love...something that's till now only been reserved for my dog. I think the 270 is a wonderful caliber. The one I had many years ago would do 3/4" at 100 all day and shot the 110gr Hornady with equal aplomb. So, you have an excellent deer, antelope, mule deer, caribou and varmint rifle all rolled into one.

[ColColt]

Well, I picked her up today and still holding it! What a smooth action and the trigger is second to none I've gotten straight out of the box. I'll have a scope on it before night fall.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4578a_zpsa0715cf9.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4578a_zpsa0715cf9.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4579a_zps55fea102.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4579a_zps55fea102.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4581a_zpsa7f6576e.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4581a_zpsa7f6576e.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4583a_zpsefc0c613.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4583a_zpsefc0c613.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4586a_zps3de6c119.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4586a_zps3de6c119.jpg.html)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4587a_zps255cc7fb.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4587a_zps255cc7fb.jpg.html)

[Clay M]

I have killed between 50 and 100 deer with the .270 win. Started using it in the mid 80's and never looked back. I shoot an old Steyr Professional rifle. The load I used all those years is 57 grs of IMR 4831 win case and primers, and a Nosler Ballistic tip 130. The rilfe will shoot MOA in freezing temp or 100 degrees.No point of Impact change.I sighted it in back in 85 and have not touched the scope since.Seven out of ten deer were dead in their tracks.Have killed deer all the way to 385yds with it. All deer one shot kills.

[ColColt]

Ah, yes-another 270 disciple I see.:wink: I think it's one of the best and accurate calibers extant. Being primarily a hunting rifle I'll be more than pleased to get 1" consistent groups at 100 yards. My old custom 270 did extremely well with 60 gr H4831 with the Speer 130 gr bullet but that was back in 1969-72 when I shot it the most. I think maybe 4831 has changed since then and with this rifle I think I'll start at 57 gr and workup[p if necessary. I have Speer, Hornady and Nosler's 130 gr Partition bullets to try.

[Clay M]

The Hornady 130 gr flat base is another grand old bullet for the .270 win and Weatherby. I have found that flat base bullets shoot better in some rifles than boat tails.

[fouronesix]

I have found that flat base bullets shoot better in some rifles than boat tails.

Yep, and I'm unsure as to why. It may have something to do with length vs weight and the principles reflected in the Greenhill formula.

O'Connor wrote about two different powders (at different times maybe) as his "favorite" powder for the 130 gr in the 270. One being 4064 and the other 4831. Kind of opposite ends of the spectrum for powders in that application?? About 1968, I read of one of O'Connor's favorite loads using 4064. I tried 48 gr under the 130 Partition and have used that load exclusively in one of my M70s for hunting since.

A while back I started working on a load for another 270, an FN Commercial Sporter- M1950 or something like that. Since I had 8# of it, I started with Rel 19 and the 130 Sierra ProHunter (also a flat base, conventional bullet). Not for a serious hunting load but more for an inexpensive target load. Bingo! Extremely low velocity SDs and very, very accurate.

That worked so well and since I have enough Rel 19, I tried the same load and the same 130 gr Sierra ProHunter in another 270- a pre-64 M70. A rifle I hadn't shot much. Bingo again!

[Clay M]

I have had good luck with the Sierra bullets for accuracy but not so much for hunting. I am getting an average of 3060 fps with the 130 gr Nosler and 57 grs of IMR 4831 out of the 23.5" Steyr barrel.It shoots flat. I have the rifle sighted in 2.5" high at 100 yds.It is dead on at 200 - 230yds.I use a 6X Swarovski scope.

[fouronesix]

^^^ You just described, IMO, the ideal, serious hunting, open country deer, antelope, caribou type set up. All very similar to what I've done with great success for a long time..... sans the Swarovski scope. I've used the older Redfield or current Leupold fixed powers as blue collar subs for the top glass. :)

[ColColt]

Here it is with a New Leupold V3 3.5-10X scope with their rings and mounts. Right appropriate for hunting, I surmise.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x220/ColColt/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4595a_zps66d946bc.jpg (http://s180.photobucket.com/user/ColColt/media/Jack%20OConnor%20Tribute/_DEF4595a_zps66d946bc.jpg.html)

[Clay M]

^^^ You just described, IMO, the ideal, serious hunting, open country deer, antelope, caribou type set up. All very similar to what I've done with great success for a long time..... sans the Swarovski scope. I've used the older Redfield or current Leupold fixed powers as blue collar subs for the top glass. :)

I have the fix power scopes on all my serious big game rifles.They seem to be very rugged and dependable.I have two Zeiss and the Swarovski.

[fouronesix]

Clay M,
I'm jealous of that Euro glass! :)

ColColt,
Very nice all around! It'll be interesting to hear how it shoots. A friend got one of the FNH M70s Featherweights in 270 for his wife as her light plains game rifle. IIRC it shot very well with factory ammo.

I never noticed much if any loss of performance with the 22.5" bbl in my most used 270. With dedicated loading and load work up, should be no problem.

Oh, and I see in the photos, your rifle has the thin, traditional butt plate. All the O'Connor Tribute rifle pics I see from Winchester, etc. show the current standard thick black pad. Were some made with the thin plate or was it optional?? I prefer the thin plate.

[Clay M]

I am jealous of that rifle...but I won't covet it. I can't afford to buy one right now. Good choice of a new rifle ,you have good taste.

[TheCelt]

I don't know squat about the 270. I do know that your new rifle is about as fine a long gun as I've seen in a good while!!!! The Leupold is a nice touch too, fits right in atop that rifle. Congrats Sir!

[ColColt]

Oh, and I see in the photos, your rifle has the thin, traditional butt plate. All the O'Connor Tribute rifle pics I see from Winchester, etc. show the current standard thick black pad. Were some made with the thin plate or was it optional?? I prefer the thin plate.

The ones with the rubber recoil pad have the AA grade walmut whereas those with the steel butt plate have AAA walnut. I think that's the basic difference...and the price, of course.

Clay-I lucked up and found a 4X Lyman American Perma Center I'm gonig to mount on the other .270-a 1952 Model 70. Nothing wrong, by the way, to covet. I do it all the time.:grin:

Thanks for the compliments. I looked at that rifle and "coveted" it something bad for nearly a month hoping someone would buy it and get me out of my misery. It never happened so, I gave in to my lust.

[Randy C]

They have 2 at local gun shop here they want 2000 for one and 2600 for the other, I have the fever for one but I don't know what a person should pay for one and I have to shoot the 270 that was given to me last year when Dad passed away, his brother gave me a lot of guns they use to shoot together.

[Love Life]

Beautiful rifle and that scope looks right on it. Is it CRF or push feed.

[fouronesix]

All the Win M70 FNHs are CRF. On ColColt's rifle in the pic with the mounted scope, the external extractor is kind of hard to see because it's "engine turned" just like the rest of the bolt body. I think some or possibly all the Super Grades, like the O'Connor Tribute, have the jeweled extractor. The Standard Grades usually have a matte finished extractor.

Here's a Standard Grade FNH M70 showing the matte extractor that's easier to see.

[Love Life]

Now that you pointed it out I an see the extractor. Awesome.

[mpbarry1]

very pretty stock! And a jewelled bolt to boot! nice !!!

[Clay M]

I am very happy that you were able to get this rifle, and want to know how it shoots. It is almost too pretty to hunt with, but you can't take it with you so may as well enjoy it.

[ColColt]

I won't be hunting with it. My hunting days are over. I'm on three blood thinners and get cold too easy. Two hours in 45 degree weather would freeze me. I can still be an armchair hunter.:grin:

If I can get groups twice the size of this guy's I'll be ecstatic.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529518&highlight=joc+tribute

[Clay M]

Hunting is just a small part of my shooting hobby. I have more fun working with a new gun than any other part.The more I learn the more I am able to enjoy guns I have owned for year.This forum is a great wealth of collective information that was not available twenty years ago. I expect that gun you bought to shoot.I have had good luck with Winchesters over the years.

[ColColt]

It's definitely a shooter. I'm not a collector and have no safe queens. It may be two weeks before I can shoot it as we're in a frigid fix here it seems. Last time I went to the range it was suppose to be 54 degrees...never got over 48 and after being out in that for an hour and a half my toes/hands felt like they weren't there. You can't do very good shooting under those circumstances.

[Clay M]

No need in having guns you can't shoot. My dad use to buy Commemoratives, and I sold them all.

[ColColt]

I do have one Commemorative, a Legendary Frontiersman Winchester in 38-55. It gets shot, however but with cast bullets only.