Winchester Offers Model 70 Featherweight In 6.5 Creedmoor
Winchester Rifle
It should come as no surprise Winchester has taken its most popular bolt-action rifle — the legendary Model 70 — and chambered the Featherweight model for what might be the most talked about cartridge of the day, 6.5 Creedmoor.
In deep blue with a handsome satin finish walnut stock featuring a classic Schnabel forend, the Model 70 Featherweight is a modern bolt-action rifleman’s dream. It boasts pre-’64-style controlled round feeding, a three-position safety (I personally like it more than any other type of safety on a bolt gun), a forged steel receiver with an integral recoil lug bedded front and rear, claw extractor, recessed target crown and a cold hammer-forged free floating 22″ Featherweight profile barrel. It’s got a 13.75″ length of pull, with a half-inch drop at comb and ¾” drop at heel.
At the recent SHOT Show, I had the opportunity to check out the Model 70 Featherweight. For hunters who think nothing of crossing wide open spaces or hiking up long ridges, this 6.75-lb. rifle makes lots of sense. It’s got an OAL of 42.25″ , five-round magazine capacity, jeweled bolt and is drilled and tapped for scope bases.
The stock features 20 LPI checkering and sling swivel studs. The magazine floorplate is steel, and in 6.5 Creedmoor, it has a short action.
Winchester Rifle
>Dave had a chance to look over the Model 70 Featherweight during the SHOT Show.
Now, what about the caliber? A lot of people have gone gaga over the 6.5, and I can sort of understand why. It’s a flat-shooting, long-range performer that delivers the goods out to ranges of 400 yards or better on game. And for competition shooters, it can punch holes accurately at well beyond that distance. I’ve studied some of the available reloading data and it’s impressive, and a lot of good propellants appear to get the most out of the cartridge.
The 6.5/.264-caliber bullet has a high ballistic coefficient, explaining why it reaches out and touches things reliably. Check the data from Hornady, Nosler or other sources and you might just raise an eyebrow.
Winchester stock
The stock features handsome 20 LPI checkering.
Winchester offers the chambering in other models as well. My suspicion is the 6.5 Creedmoor has staying power, where other cartridges introduced over the past several years haven’t racked up the same degree of praise.
The Model 70 Featherweight might just be a rifle ideally suited to launch this round. The Grade I black walnut stock is fitted with a Pachmayr decelerator recoil pad, which I have found works well on my personal rifles. The space-age material used by Pachmayr in the recoil pad really sucks up the punch.
Winchester Rifle
Dave is a fan of the Schnabel forend on the Model 70 Featherweight; it adds a touch of elegance to this classic rifle.
Winchester Trigger
The traditional three-position safety gets Dave’s nod. It’s reliable and fast.
I’ve always had a fondness for the Model 70, once dubbed “the rifleman’s rifle,” and my experiences with various incarnations over the years have all been good. My uncle has a pre-’64 Model 70 in .30-06 I hope to one day get my sticky little paws on. In the meantime, today’s versions are well built, comfortable to shoot in any caliber I’ve ever tried and seem to stack up well to any challenge.
Slap a good scope on the Model 70 Featherweight and you will soon understand why chambering this rifle for the 6.5 Creedmoor was a solid idea.
The Model 70 Featherweight in 6.5 Creedmoor carries an MSRP of $1,009.99.
For more info: www.winchesterguns.com, Ph: (800) 333-3288.
