So glad I sold my M70

[dverna]

As part of my downsizing, I sold my beautiful M70 Coyote .308 this year. It was getting a bit heavy with its 24" barrel and had started using a cheap T/C Compass .308 I got for $225 a few years ago. The Vortex scope I have on it is worth twice what I have into the rifle.

The Compass looked like crap, but it shot as well or better than the M70, and I did not need to fret about it getting dinged up. I have been using it for three or four years and never took the M70 out again. Always one shot, one kill.

Went out to sight in today. Put four rounds into 1.25" at the proper POI. Boringly efficient. One advantage of the ugly plastic stock is no change in POI due to humidity.

I found an accurate load for it in one session. More boredom.

I did screw up. Only bought two of the silly things. My sons' rifle is the same caliber and shoots just as well. I should have invested in a couple more of them.

I might spring for a Boyds At-One laminated stock to spruce it up a bit.

[Hannibal]

I wouldn't mess with it if it's reliable and does what you want.

As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, ........"

[M-Tecs]

Plastic stocks is don't change POI due to humidity but some, without bedding blocks, do change POI due to temperature changes.

[firefly1957]

It is odd how some guns just work and others just look good .

[dverna]

Plastic stocks is don't change POI due to humidity but some, without bedding blocks, do change POI due to temperature changes.

Why I sighted in today. It was 30 degrees. Opening day November 15th. I have seen below zero and 70 during deer season.

Bambi can live another day if it gets much below 10 degrees. I do not need meat that badly.

[Hannibal]

Why I sighted in today. It was 30 degrees. Opening day November 15th. I have seen below zero and 70 during deer season.

Bambi can live another day if it gets much below 10 degrees. I do not need meat that badly.

You and I definitely think alike.

[charlie b]

I have slowly gotten rid of guns I don't use anymore. Most of them because the accuracy is insufficient to keep my interest.

[fastdadio]

I did basically the same thing. I sold a mint 1958 Win. mod. 70, 30-06, and replaced it with a Weatherby Vanguard 30-06. Can't really say I'm glad I sold it, it was a fine rifle and a joy to look at.
But, I'm not a collector, I'm a hunter and shooter, I was always worried I'd scratch or ding it up taking it to the field, and I knew somebody out there would love to have and hold the old safe queen.
It didn't hurt that I got $1450.00 for it and the Vanguard was $420.00. The Vanguard is a tad lighter and shoots 1" groups. So I ended up with a nice beater rifle and an extra grand in my pocket, and some collector found the rifle he wanted at a price he was willing to pay.
I guess we're both happy, and now I'm going to do my best to try and wear this Weatherby out.

[Rapier]

The Weatherby Vanguard is a Howa, by the way. It just has the Weathery name stamped on it by Howa. Howa does make a decent rifle, the action threads are metric.
Dinging up a new factory stock is why I remove that new factory epoxy finish and refinish with a sanded in oil finish, which is simple to repair. After a few years going to the woods, that epoxy finish gets little grey water spot looking places on it, ugly, from little dings, so I just strip that epoxy mess off a new factory stock at the very start. Just an alternative to getting rid of a favorite rifle or shotgun.

[Bigslug]

Coyote M70. . . If I remember correctly, that was the blue action / stainless barrel / laminate stock push feeder from the '90's?

Ah. . .the nostalgia of the stuff I used to sell. . .

[Hickok]

Like many here, I have been in the firearms "hobby" since Noah stepped off the ark.

Many calibers, many brands, many load combinations.

I bought a Ruger American 6.5 Creedmoor "Go Wild" rifle. This Ruger is considered a "budget" rifle.

I routed out the barrel channel (as I do with about every bolt action I have) to get a full free float, 1/16" clearance, not the dollar bill or piece of paper "free float".

Scoped up and using Winchester 6.5 CR factory ammo, (I bought the factory ammo for the brass), this "budget rifle" will group 5 shots into an inch or less @ 100 consistently.

3 shot groups hover around .5" to .75" time after time. No fluke, this Ruger's accuracy is repeatable.

This Ruger American is as accurate or more accurate than any rifle I have owned....and it is doing it with factory ammo. I haven't started to reload for it yet.

This "cheap" rifle and the Winchester ammo really amazed me.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Yeah, the new rifles are surprising to us old guys. I got a Henry Long Ranger .223. Put an old Nikon 4-12 on it and shot .75 MOA or less with a Sierra Blitzking. Got a Savage Predator 6.5 Creedmoor, Burris Fullfield 6.5-20, just loaded a mild load to sight-in, half to 3/4 MOA without load development, almost boring. It usually takes some fussy to get my Savage 99's under or close to MOA, same with the no-safety Marlin's I have.

[firefly1957]

dverna here in Harrison during deer season I have seen 70 degrees and 20 below ! I slept in 70 degrees until the ants found me and did not stay out long at 20 below ! Funny thing just a few miles away it was nearly 40 degrees warmer and cloud cover with a odd looking front between them .

One year I think it was three days that it stayed 0 degrees every now and then 9&10 NEWS mentions it as some kind of a record for November .
Heavy rain here in Harrison most of the day I did some bullet casting in the pole barn with the big doors open most of the bullets of soft lead will be used as cores to swage .351 & .44 caliber bullets .

[FergusonTO35]

As part of my downsizing, I sold my beautiful M70 Coyote .308 this year. It was getting a bit heavy with its 24" barrel and had started using a cheap T/C Compass .308 I got for $225 a few years ago. The Vortex scope I have on it is worth twice what I have into the rifle.

The Compass looked like crap, but it shot as well or better than the M70, and I did not need to fret about it getting dinged up. I have been using it for three or four years and never took the M70 out again. Always one shot, one kill.

Went out to sight in today. Put four rounds into 1.25" at the proper POI. Boringly efficient. One advantage of the ugly plastic stock is no change in POI due to humidity.

I found an accurate load for it in one session. More boredom.

I did screw up. Only bought two of the silly things. My sons' rifle is the same caliber and shoots just as well. I should have invested in a couple more of them.

I might spring for a Boyds At-One laminated stock to spruce it up a bit.

I totally get it. I've sold a few guns that were too nice to really hunt with and I already had others that would substitute. Once had a real cherry of an early 70's Marlin 1895, honest 95%+ original finish. Much as I loved that rifle, I knew it was going to get scratched and dinged carrying it in the woods and it was bigger and heavier than I prefer for a lever action. Sold it to a collector for twice what I had in it and bought a Henry single shot that I like alot more. All my hunting rifles had a worn appearance when I got them and/or they're current production so I don't sweat appearance too much.

[lancem]

10 years back or so I bought a 30-06 Rem 700 off gun broker for $300. It was used but looked good in the pics and I didn't have one. Got it and it had a crack in the stock, no big deal but seemed like reason enough to put it in a Boyds laminate stock and finally scoped it up and took it out. Using my M1 ammo as that was all the 06 ammo I had loaded up, sighted in and then for as long as I wanted to put 3 shots in under a half inch. I have never checked but I'm thinking the rifle was built in the early sixtys, back in the good ol'days! Best $300 rifle I've ever owned.

[murf205]

Don, those T/C Compass's will shoot bug hole groups. A friend has a 6.5 Creedmoor and it is a 1/4" 100 yd gun--with factory ammo! Smith and Wesson decided that since putting the Hillary Hole in revolvers, they could do no wrong, so they scraped Thompson Center off the map. Genius.

[FergusonTO35]

Don, those T/C Compass's will shoot bug hole groups. A friend has a 6.5 Creedmoor and it is a 1/4" 100 yd gun--with factory ammo! Smith and Wesson decided that since putting the Hillary Hole in revolvers, they could do no wrong, so they scraped Thompson Center off the map. Genius.

That's why I'm not interested in rifles like the Compass or various Mossbergs, rifles which are not part of the maker's long established lineup. They are likely to drop the line and product support at any time and aftermarket goodies are pretty much zilch. The Mossberg 464 was surprisingly good 94 copy that cost less than a nice used Winchester, and the Compass had a reputation for incredible accuracy. And they still got thrown from the train. Why take that kind of risk when a Savage Axis costs the same or less and is just as capable? S&W has pooped the bed several times in this manner with various rifles and shotguns, and the T/C debacle is just the latest example.

The same applies to handguns from Savage or Mossberg. Nobody cares about them and they will be dropped with no fanfare at some point. Kentucky has a very healthy gun market and I have never seen either one under the glass.

[Shawlerbrook]

We are in the golden age of economical, for lack of a better word, rifles that will shoot with the best rifles made. The Compass, RAR, Winchester XPR and offerings by Mossberg and Savage are pretty much all MOA rifles.

[murf205]

That's why I'm not interested in rifles like the Compass or various Mossbergs, rifles which are not part of the maker's long established lineup. They are likely to drop the line and product support at any time and aftermarket goodies are pretty much zilch. The Mossberg 464 was surprisingly good 94 copy that cost less than a nice used Winchester, and the Compass had a reputation for incredible accuracy. And they still got thrown from the train. Why take that kind of risk when a Savage Axis costs the same or less and is just as capable? S&W has pooped the bed several times in this manner with various rifles and shotguns, and the T/C debacle is just the latest example.

The same applies to handguns from Savage or Mossberg. Nobody cares about them and they will be dropped with no fanfare at some point. Kentucky has a very healthy gun market and I have never seen either one under the glass.

All this is probably true but the main problem with these seemingly well made and accurate guns is the bean counters who set a numerical goal for sales. When they fall short for whatever reason, they are nixed. I remember Gale McMillan saying that he was designing a new scope made by a Japanese firm. They found a problem with the scope that was going to increase the price by about .30 cents IIRC and the company nixed the entire project. Go figure.

[dverna]

That's why I'm not interested in rifles like the Compass or various Mossbergs, rifles which are not part of the maker's long established lineup. They are likely to drop the line and product support at any time and aftermarket goodies are pretty much zilch. The Mossberg 464 was surprisingly good 94 copy that cost less than a nice used Winchester, and the Compass had a reputation for incredible accuracy. And they still got thrown from the train. Why take that kind of risk when a Savage Axis costs the same or less and is just as capable? S&W has pooped the bed several times in this manner with various rifles and shotguns, and the T/C debacle is just the latest example.

The same applies to handguns from Savage or Mossberg. Nobody cares about them and they will be dropped with no fanfare at some point. Kentucky has a very healthy gun market and I have never seen either one under the glass.

Being an old man, stuff like that does not matter to me. A bolt action is not very complex and I did not see future lack of support as much of an issue. At $225 delivered, it was a steal and that is why I bought two.

I don’t put many rounds through a hunting rifle. Maybe 500 rounds in a lifetime…or what lifetime I have left. I suspect I am not alone. There are less expensive ways to get trigger time that I enjoy just as much, if not more, than shooting a .308.

I have spent over $12k on a used competition shotgun, but that is “serious” work. Hunting is not as “serious” to me, and I have other options if a gun breaks down. Plinking and putting holes in paper is what drives up the round count for most of us. And like I said, I am lucky to have other less expensive options to plink with.

One size does not fit all, but IMO a lot of modern cheap guns like the Compass do not compromise performance by being fugly.

[Lloyd Smale]

i like the looks of a laminate but there so blasted heavy

[ebb]

The compass is gone because no one knew they would shoot so well till they got bought up for $225. How much profit is there in a $225 rifle and the liability that goes with it.

[FergusonTO35]

i like the looks of a laminate but there so blasted heavy

My Savage Axis with laminate is sweet but is the heaviest rifle I own, weighs a full pound and a half more than my identical Axis with plastic stock. I think it even weighs more than my Howa 1500 with heavy varmint profile barrel.

[Ithaca Gunner]

I hate plastic, I refuse to deal with it on a sporting rifle. I'll admit though, my old Model 70 .30/06 (1953) is a beast to carry very far anymore. Accuracy? Not a problem, it'll shoot with anything made today. I'll not be parting with it. It still goes out occasionally on nice days where I don't walk very far. Besides, it has something not very many new rifles can claim, Iron Sights!

https://i.imgur.com/MUL7n0nh.jpg

A little over two years ago I bought a Ruger Hawkeye Predator in .338 Win. Mag. with a laminated stock. I think it's weight is comparable to my M-70, but it feels more comfortable to carry. It may well have the best designed stock of any bolt action I've ever picked up.

https://i.imgur.com/j4MI29th.jpg

[murf205]

What? No 6.5-20x 50mm scope on that Winchester?? How are you going to hunt with that??
PS, I love little scopes.

[26Charlie]

Laminated stocks: Some years ago I bought an M1 from DCM. It was a return from the Philippines and the stock, front hand guard, and rear hand guard were all different kinds of wood, which offended my sensibilities somehow. So I bought a laminated stock set, which worked for me. Gave the old stocks to a friend, whose M1 stock had worn loose. He was not bothered by different woods, he just painted them all flat marine corps green and put on.
Still, my grey laminated M1 makes me feel better.

All the talk of selling guns is unsettling. During the time (70 years ?) since I started collecting guns, I only ever sold 1 that shot well, and I still regret it. I have sold a number of guns that shot poorly, at very cheap prices, usually as project guns. I have, however, given away at least 20 guns to relatives and friends who I thought should have them.

[charlie b]

I guess the difference is that people like me don't 'collect' firearms. If I don't use a gun for more than a year I sell it. Accurate or not, if I don't like to shoot it enough to get it out once a year or more, then I don't keep it.

[Rich/WIS]

Had a nice pre-war M70 30/06 that I hunted with for years but the weight got to be more than my arthritis could tolerate. Sold it and can't say as I miss it. My Ruger #3 in 30/40 is getting to the same point and expect it will be replaced for hunting with my M70 FWT in 243.

[WinchesterM1]

I have 3 compass’s and they all shoot half MOA

[Ithaca Gunner]

What? No 6.5-20x 50mm scope on that Winchester?? How are you going to hunt with that??
PS, I love little scopes.

Yup, that old weaver is well suited to that rifle. :drinks:

[murf205]

Yup, that old weaver is well suited to that rifle. :drinks:

It sure is. For the life of me, I cannot see why Leupold quit making the 4x Compact with regular duplex reticle. They also made a long tube 3x for dangerous game guns on special order but, alas, no more. The little 2x7 compact scopes were a nice one as well. But.. that was before the 1000 yd TV hunting shows! Don't get me wrong, the long range scopes are a great insturment but when you hunt close enough the see the whiskers on a deer, they are a bit out of place.
That model 70 looks just right with that Weaver--IMHO.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Perfect scope for the Appalachain hard woods.

[murf205]

I wonder if Leupold would do a group buy for 4x compacts with a regular Duplex??

[charlie b]

IMHO the lower power scopes have gone away due to red dots. Yeah, they look ugly on older guns but they work well. And if you need a bit of magnification you can easily add one to the 'rail'.

[murf205]

The red dots have their place but the 4x scope gives a lot more definition up to around 200 yds and give an added benefit in low light. I guess I am a traditional guy but they just work for me. They must work for a bunch of other shooters because they have held their value or even increased.

[M-Tecs]

LPVO stands for Low Power Variable Optic and they are more popular than ever. Fixed low power scopes are not common anymore due to most people using LPVO's.

[white eagle]

I bought a T/C Compass in 6.5 Creedmoor paid 250.00 and got a 50.00 rebate on it
Gave it to my son
That rifle would shoot small small groups from the get go
Not purdy but those groups made up for it
Would have never let go of the Winchester though, just me

[ravelode]

Have a savage laminate stainless 30-06 with a 6x Nikon. It shoots .5 moa with Sierra 165 gr. However my sporterized M96 Husky with a 4x Nikon weighs 1.7 lbs. less, so that is what I deer hunt with. Getting old and stove up takes a toll.

[snowwolfe]

The good old days for rifles as far as accuracy ……were not really that good.