Scope mounting frustrations. Win Mod 70

[Duelist]

I got myself a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .270 Winchester for Christmas. I have been having trouble figuring out what scope to put on it, because I want a fairly light scope to not turn it into a heavy, unbalanced beast to carry, but I want a variable with enough power to make moving up in caliber/power to the .270 worthwhile. And I don’t want to just throw money at it, so Kahles, Zeiss, Nightforce, etc aren’t really in the budget. I’ve kind of narrowed it down to Leupold and Vortex mostly.

Where I hunt Coues whitetail, we climb mountains, find a vantage point, and glass with high power binos and spotting scopes on tripods. The binos are the most important glass. Usually, when I’m hunting alone, I skip the spotting scope and go with my 15x Vortex Razors. It’s kind of like what I read about hunting Dall sheep, except the mountains aren’t quite as tall and the weather is usually better. LOL. Some guys build and hunt with extreme long-range rigs. I looked at a buck through a friend’s huge Nightforce scope on a 6.5-.284 28” carbon fiber wrapped barreled rifle. Quite the rig. Way out of my budget, not to mention I don’t really want to shoot at deer half a mile away. On the other hand, I sold my .30-30 because of a lack of effective range.

My other existing hunting rifles are a .50 muzzleloader that I hardly ever shoot anymore, a Savage 11 .243 I really like and a 16” 6.8 SPC II AR I built for my son. I don’t know if he’s interested in hunting anymore now that he’s at university, so that may not stick around because I personally don’t really care about hunting with an AR. The muzzleloader has no scope, the .243 has a 3-9x Burris Fullfield II and the 6.8 has a 2-7x, again a Burris Fullfield II.

The .270 is supposed to be my “nice” rifle (figured walnut and nicer looking metal vs cheap black plastic Savage stock) and also the more powerful & heavier caliber rifle for when that is called for, such as if I go hunt elk again (I took the .243 before b/c it’s what I had, but didn’t get a shot) or if I need to shoot deer farther than the effective range of my 22” .243 sporter, which I see as between 300 yards with most loads, and up to 400 on the extreme end with a few specialized bullets and powders. When I’m in practice, 400 yards on a stationary deer target is very make-able with it, but the longest shot on a live deer I’ve taken was 300 yards - bang-flop. I figure the .270 can take me confidently to and possibly beyond 400, with extreme limits to be determined based on load development and skill building.

That said, I’ve purchased and returned a set of scope bases and rings, bought another set, and bought and sold a used scope I thought would work but it was too short, took every scope I have off the rifles they were on and they’re all too short, and today purchased a scope I hope will do the job: Vortex Diamondback 3-9x40 with Dead Hold BDC SFP reticle. Weighs a bit under a pound.

But. It’s too short to work with this set of bases and rings (traditional Leupold). I’m ready to throw up my hands and put a DNZ rail on it and some compatible 1” rings so I can use the tube length it has and stop fussing around. I just wanted to be able to put my thumb between the scope and bolt while carrying it, and I guess I won’t be able to do that.

So: TL;DR. Any other ideas for mounting this scope, or for a different one that won’t bust my budget?

[DIESEL]

I know they are on their way out but if you can find a Nikon monarch 7 they are extremely good glass for the price. I hunt with a monarch 7 4-16x50, I swear in low light or looking in the dark edges of fields or clear cuts it's brighter through the scope than with the naked eye. Especially if you plan to go out to 4-500 yrds you'll appreciate the extra magnification plus the BDC and Nikon's spot on app make long range shots a breeze. They can be had for $500-$600.

[GJM]

My default solution for a pre 64 M70 is a VX3 Leupold 2.5-8 in Talley rings with a custom reticle that has holdover dots. Use a piece mount and rings if trying to save the most weight.

[mtnbkr]

My 2002 M70 FWT 6.5x55 has a Leupold VX1 2-7x32 with Leupold rings and mounts. I did have to flip the mounts around so they were overhanging the bolt, but I've never had any issues with it. I put all that together 17 years ago and haven't touched it since (speaking of changes, I shot it a lot the first 12 years).

The scope, mount, and rings balance nicely with the gun (which should be nearly identical to yours). 7x might be a tad short power-wise for your longer shots though.

Chris

[SteveB]

My default solution for a pre 64 M70 is a VX3 Leupold 2.5-8 in Talley rings with a custom reticle that has holdover dots. Use a piece mount and rings if trying to save the most weight.

This is the best possible advice; I’ll just offer some detail. Really, any of the Leupold VX3i scopes are ideal for the Model 70. The M70 has a 2-lug bolt with a 90 degree bolt lift, so scopes with a large ocular housing can cause interference with the bolt handle. The VX3i scopes have relatively slim ocular housings, which means you can mount the scope lower than many larger scopes. The VX3i scopes are light and have very good glass; they continue to offer the best value, IMO, in hunting riflescopes. Talley lightweight one-piece rings/bases are solid and help keep the weight down, while allowing for a low mount. Finally, the Leupold Custom Shop will make you a BDC reticle based on your favorite load’s ballistic data. Let’s say you like the Barnes .270 130 grain TTSX for hunting. Chrono that load and send the requisite data to Leupold and they will send you the reticle pictured below. Zero at 200, dot above the crosshairs is 100, aiming dots below for 300, 400, 500, top of the stadia line is 600. This reticle is uncluttered and super-quick. If you have time, or are shooting longer distance you can dial.

[Duelist]

Thanks, guys. That gives me some material to work with.

[ranger]

My default solution for a pre 64 M70 is a VX3 Leupold 2.5-8 in Talley rings with a custom reticle that has holdover dots. Use a piece mount and rings if trying to save the most weight.

I like this but would consider using the Leupold CDS system now vs holdover dots. I have Talley rings on all my hunting rifles.

[okie john]

I see a couple of issues here.

The Model 70 Featherweight came out 68 years ago. It was considered light then because people were comparing it to Model 70 Standard Rifles and Remington 721s that weighed 10-11 pounds or more with a scope. Today the Model 70 FWT is one of the best general-purpose hunting rifles anywhere, but it hasn’t been the place to start for a mountain rifle for about 20 years. That said, you should have no problem bringing this one in right around eight pounds.

The M-70 has tons of mounting options, but scope tubes have gotten shorter over the last 15 years and that’s the real source of your problem. I don’t like the greater height of a rail, so I like Weaver-type bases (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1477716946). I install them so the cross-slots are close to each other—in the pic at that link, you’d rotate the one on the right 180 degrees. Something like these bases (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/100886220) will give you even more options. I also like Weaver low or extra low rings because they're cheap, bomb-proof, and they return to zero. Here’s a shot of them on a short-action Model 70 from another forum. If this were my rifle, I'd reverse the position of the bases to get a little more mounting room and more latitude to get eye relief just right.



Burris Zee Rings are narrower, which gives you more flexibility in mounting position as seen on this long-action Model 70 FWT with Warne Weaver-Style Bases, Low Burris Zee rings, and 2-7x33 Leupold:



On any long-action Model 70 with a modern scope, you're going to have trouble getting eye relief just right, but that's part of the joy of owning a long-action Model 70.

As for carrying your rifle with your thumb between the scope and the bolt, try it with the floorplate against your palm, slipping your fingertips between the scope and the top of the bolt instead of your thumb.


Okie John

[GJM]

I like this but would consider using the Leupold CDS system now vs holdover dots. I have Talley rings on all my hunting rifles.

Last October, a friend missed three bull elk because of a Leupold CDS failure, where the scope didn’t reliably adjust. As a result, for 500 yards and in, I would rather hold over with dots on an animal.

To make weight on my pre 64 rifles, I have eliminated the bottom metal, used a lightweight synthetic stock and gone to a fluted barrel.

[Poconnor]

Nikon scopes are nice; especially the monarch models. Too bad Nikon is getting out of the rifle scope business. For lightweight hunting scopes I like Leupold 2.5-8s, 3.5-10x40, and their 3-9x compact. Apparently Leupold discontinued the fx-r firedot. I recently wanted to buy a 2-7 firedot and all the usual places were a no go. If I wanted a lightweight hunting scope with more magnification I would look at the Leupold 4-5-14x40. Another favorite hunting scope is a zeis 3-9x36; the Zeis is long out of production but can be found on ebay. The new production equivalent would be Swarski 3-9x36. For lightweight and under 600 bucks brand new Leupold vx3i can’t be beat. You could buy cheaper but not better