I had an old pre-war Winchester 70 rifle in .22 Hornet that I converted to .308 Win. by swapping my Hornet bolt and other parts with a fellow for .30-06 parts. I used the rifle for High Power target shooting in the mid 80's. Everything worked out fine but one thing that aways bothered me was that the wall thickness of the receiver ring on the right side where the extractor enters seems thinner (by measurement, about .096" thick) than a normal .30-06 receiver. Is there a difference in the receivers used for the .22 Hornets vice the receivers used for the .30-06 and other big game calibers? Since I no longer use the rifle for target shooting, I have been contemplating rebarrelling it to .270 or .30-06 and restocking with a hunting stock.

Boy biggun that's an interesting question. I've done lots of Remingtons, but not Winchesters. I have a feeling that if it was converted to the 308 already and there were no problems I sure couldn't see where there would be problems associated with a 270 or 30-06 case.

The only limitations I could see is magazine length and bolt throw length. I know you can't get an 06 or 270 length case into a short action Remington that will handle a 308 or shorter case with no problems.

The guy I traded parts with was an employee at Hart Rifle Barrels. After trading parts, I had Hart fit the .308 barrel for me. Those guys are experts so I've been thinking that if there were any concerns, they would have said something, but you never know.

Here's a pic of what I'm talking about. The edges are chamfered so they appear thinner but I stuck a vernier caliper in there and measured .096" I guess when I have it rebarreled, I'll have the gunsmith look at it and make a determination. Are other pre-wars 70's about the same?

The extractor has to go somewhere and its in this section of the receiver that is very thin as you observed. However the rest of the receiver is the diameter of the bolt lugs plus clearance. When the bolt is locked up the lugs are 90 degrees from the extractor slot both top and bottom thus you still have full receiver strength on the locked lugs. Measuring my own first year of production Model 70 in 22 Hornet the sum of measurements leaves .050" clearance between bolt lugs and receiver. If you look closely as the bolt is closed and cammed into locking position you'll notice the extractor springs out a little. Would suspect all are similar in dimensions thus your rifle would appear to be okay.

The extractor has to go somewhere and its in this section of the receiver that is very thin as you observed. However the rest of the receiver is the diameter of the bolt lugs plus clearance. When the bolt is locked up the lugs are 90 degrees from the extractor slot both top and bottom thus you still have full receiver strength on the locked lugs. Measuring my own first year of production Model 70 in 22 Hornet the sum of measurements leaves .050" clearance between bolt lugs and receiver. If you look closely as the bolt is closed and cammed into locking position you'll notice the extractor springs out a little. Would suspect all are similar in dimensions thus your rifle would appear to be okay. I realize what you say about extractor clearance. There is excessive clearance on this one. I've seen later pre-64 70's with thicker receiver ring side wall than this one. On mine, with the bolt in place, I can stick an .089 wire gage drill shank between the extractor and receiver. To satisfy my curiousity, could you measure your receiver ring side wall thickness on yours with a dial caliper for me? Thanks for your interest.

OD Receiver 1.360"
OD Bolt Lugs .965"
Left side receiver bolt lug raceway receiver wall thickness .144"
Right side receiver bolt lug and extractor raceway receiver wall thickness .131"

Hope the above helps. I missunderstood your thickness measurement as the wall thichness of the receiver at the extractor and bolt lug raceway not as the clearance between the receiver and the extractor. There could be some minor thickness variations in extractors but not that huge amount.

OD Receiver 1.360"
OD Bolt Lugs .965"
Left side receiver bolt lug raceway receiver wall thickness .144"
Right side receiver bolt lug and extractor raceway receiver wall thickness .131"

Hope the above helps. I missunderstood your thickness measurement as the wall thichness of the receiver at the extractor and bolt lug raceway not as the clearance between the receiver and the extractor. There could be some minor thickness variations in extractors but not that huge amount.
My measurement of .096 in my initial post is the wall thickness of the receiver ring at the extractor clearance cut (where I have indicted in the pic with a red arrow). So I see yours in .o35 thicker than mine. Enough to make a difference.

Again, thanks for your interest and for going through the trouble.