Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Winchester M70 .243 in a long action?

Here's what has me confused. A co-worker has a barrled action in .243 that apparently is factory using a long action instead of a short. Without any history regarding this rifle, any chance this is factory?

Absolutley,
I have one up in the gun closet. A push feed XTR from 1976. A rather heavy wood stocked 243 just as it left the factory.

winchester only made one action length in the model 70 until maybe the late 80s - early 90s...

Mine's an XTR Featherweight in .308. They use a different bolt stop location for the SA bolt and a cartridge spacer in the magazine. I've had occasion to order the wrong stock for mine because I thought it was just a plain old SA.

Wrong.

Keep in mind that I haven't seen this action. We have bought a stock and bottom metal from members of this site and another thinking it was a short action. Now we have to regroup and trade/ sell what we have bought. Check the classifieds soon

Thanks for the info!!

When ordering a stock for it you'll need to have the dimension from the front action screw to the back screw. The LA is about 7-1/2 inches and the later, SA is shorter. I have/had photo's and exact dimensions that I'm trying to dig up here.

Okay, couldn't find the photo's but this should help.

"The pattern I need is 3-7/8" mag cutout and 4-1/2" forward trigger guard hole to fwd floorplate hole. 7-1/2" front action screw hole to rear action screw hole. My rifle model year uses the SA in an LA stock pattern."

Hope this helps.

I too have a Winchester Model 70 in a 243 with a long action. It was my Dad's rifle. It was from 1965. I had read in a magazine that Winchester started making short action rifles in 1986.