1938 Winchester Model 70 .300 H&H Mag

[MightyMo]

This is gun #2, of the 8 I purchased. Same story, Kid inherited them from his family, never cared about them, only wanted to get rid of them. I'm looking for any information you can tell me and if you disagree with what I've been able to find below, please tell me. Also, this post give you guys and gals something truly beautiful to look at, they just don't make stuff like this anymore.

If I put a ?, that means, from what my research shows.... What I think this gun is:
Winchester Model 70, Standard? Pre-1964 in .300 Mag (.300 H&H Mag)
SN: 13092 dated: 1938? Pre War. I had this as a Type I-3, but I think that only applies to Super grades.??
Barrel year of manufacture: Confusing, it looks like the lug under the barrel says 1950?
Barrel Length: 26”
Cloverleaf tang.
I have several people that say this gun was restocked at some point, I tend to agree. The metal is actually very nice, bore is bright.

The stock: Chipped wood at the rear/left target sight. There are cracks at the tang, going aft and then left and down into the pistol grip. The worst crack you can see starts at the bottom of the receiver at the site/receiver, left side and travels aft, ends at the rear of the trigger guard. This crack is specifically why I would not shoot this gun without either a new stock or having this one professionally restored. And lets be honest here, the stock is absolutely no slouch, the wood is beautiful, that's why i would entertain it. A replacement stock is around ~$800. I would expect to spend at least that to repair this one, but IDK.

Thank you in advance.

[Rockingkj]

I agree with the thought that the rifle had been restocked. As you say very outstanding wood. I would look into repair long before replacing. At least get an assessment from someone that could do the work and provide a quote to repair. Would guess half of a new stock.

[rgsumpter]

I also have a prewar 300 H&H mine being from 1941. I also have a pre 64 300 H&H from the 50's.

I agree that the stock does not look like a original one.

It looks like this one has been drilled and tapped for a scope, they were not from the factory. If you do plan to put a scope on it make sure your mount is for a prewar and not a pre 64.

The safety has also been changed. The original one would swing over the top of the flat area instead of out of the side like the one you have, I added one like yours on mine as it is a lot more convenient.

I have heard that a lot of them where rechambered for a 300 Weatherby. The 300 H&H is the parent round of the 300 Weatherby and was originally made by fireforming 300H&H brass.

[Jeff Michel]

No doubt, it's been restocked. Not positive of course, but with wood that highly figured, recoil may of had a significant part to play in contributing to cracking. Identical to my Model 70 excepting the tang. Mine is a standard grade, (1952) s/n 211670. Opinions differ, but I'd try to find a factory stock. The metal work looks pretty good, and if your going to shoot it, a standard stock without that cheek piece will make it much more pleasant experience and it goes without saying, in it's original configuration will make it more valuable. If you've never used the 300 H&H, your in for a treat, people say it's easiest chambering round in existence and I agree with them. My "deer load" 150 grain Spire point on top of 70 grains of IMR 4350. If you don't like to track, it's a pretty good choice. Enjoy it, you have a good one.

[MightyMo]

No doubt, it's been restocked. Not positive of course, but with wood that highly figured, recoil may of had a significant part to play in contributing to cracking. Identical to my Model 70 excepting the tang. Mine is a standard grade, (1952) s/n 211670. Opinions differ, but I'd try to find a factory stock. The metal work looks pretty good, and if your going to shoot it, a standard stock without that cheek piece will make it much more pleasant experience and it goes without saying, in it's original configuration will make it more valuable. If you've never used the 300 H&H, your in for a treat, people say it's easiest chambering round in existence and I agree with them. My "deer load" 150 grain Spire point on top of 70 grains of IMR 4350. If you don't like to track, it's a pretty good choice. Enjoy it, you have a good one.

I've found replacement stocks, but the fear of having to go through all the fitament issues and the expense are keeping from doing that. I'll let whoever I sell it to determine where to take it. This is a gun I would keep, just because its a Pre-64 and .300 H&H. But I can't keep them all

[MightyMo]

I also have a prewar 300 H&H mine being from 1941. I also have a pre 64 300 H&H from the 50's.

I agree that the stock does not look like a original one.

It looks like this one has been drilled and tapped for a scope, they were not from the factory. If you do plan to put a scope on it make sure your mount is for a prewar and not a pre 64.

The safety has also been changed. The original one would swing over the top of the flat area instead of out of the side like the one you have, I added one like yours on mine as it is a lot more convenient.

I have heard that a lot of them where rechambered for a 300 Weatherby. The 300 H&H is the parent round of the 300 Weatherby and was originally made by fireforming 300H&H brass.

I would like to see pictures of your 1941 for comparrison if you wouldn't mind.

[rgsumpter]

I would like to see pictures of your 1941 for comparrison if you wouldn't mind.

Give me a few days and I will get it out and take some pictures. I will also include some pictures of the other one for comparison of the changes they made.

[WILCO]

But I can't keep them all

It's a sad truth.

[Rich/WIS]

The safety is a later replacement. Original pre-war had the safety lever on top of the bolt sleeve, later changed to the side type to make it more scope friendly. You can see the original "safe" and "fire" on the top of the bolt sleeve.

[Rapier]

This is a 41 tang and the stock with a recoil pad added on to an orignal pre war stock. Just happen to have a 1941 July mfg pre war.....It is NOT a pre 64, it is a Pre War M-70 the stocks are very different.

[rgsumpter]

Here is a picture of both of my 300 H&H's. One is a 1941 and the other is a 1949. My father purchased the 1949 one in the early 60's and used it a lot for hunting, including when he was a Elk hunting guide for my Uncle. My Uncle also used a 300 H&H. I purchased the pre war one in the late 80's from someone that said he was getting too old to hunt elk. The load we used for hunting was 165gr Speer Grand Slam with 70grs of the old surplus H4831. I am out of that now but still have some loaded rounds with it.

On my 300 I did restock it as the stock that was on it had a major crack in it. My Fathers is still the original stock that was on it when he purchased it.

I changed the safety from the original one as it was harder to put on and off safe. I also had the bridge drilled and taped for a scope and put a Weaver wide view on it. I had a lot of trouble finding the rear mount for a pre war at that time as not many are out their and the internet wasn't around at that time.







The Scope on my father's 300 is a Weaver that does not have internal adjustments. He also used a Bueller mount for it. He also had to have it drilled and taped for a scope mount.


And here is a picture of both bolts so you can see the difference.

[rgsumpter]

A couple of informative websites.

https://pre64win.com/blogs/welcome-t...286-first-post

https://pre64win.com/blogs/welcome-t...ly-part-1-of-2

[Tripplebeards]

If it were me I’d repair the stock myself. Not hard to do, just get on YouTube. Between the drilled and tapped peep and custom stock it’s been Bubba’d pretty good. An $800 “restock” is worth more than gun imo. The wood is beautiful. I’d just repair and use it…or sell it after it’s repaired. I’m sure you could find a used stock and not spend and an arm and leg on it. Just don’t be in a hurry to part with your money doing so and wait till you find one at a reasonable price.

[AK Islander]

If it was me, I would toss the wood or give it to someone to try and save. And then find a replacement stock with better grain structure for a magnum caliber. My preference is straight grain or maybe with a little bit of figure, but presentation-grade wood sometimes is not as strong as the plainer stuff. Very neat rifle in a cool chambering - I’d be tempted to kick something else out of the gun cabinet if I found one like that!

[oger]

Make sure it's still an H&H. It looks like someone tried to scratch out the 300 M on the bottom of the barrel.