Wow, those new Winchester 70's sure look nice. The controlled round feed is also very enticing. I'm just curious though. They are made at the "Winchester factory in South Carolina." Are these Browning rifles, or are they really Winchesters?

I have read they are the same as the Model 70s that were built a few years ago with the exception of a new trigger. Even if it is in a FN factory it is still Winchester M70 specs. I also think they are over-priced.

FNH, a US firm has been building a Winchester model 70 clone for years. The new model 70 is just the same gun they've been building with stocks shaped to look like the older Winchesters. These guns have been available for quite a while, but the FNH models are expensive.

They seem to be quality guns for the Winchester fans.

As far as I know it is the same factory that fufills the FN military contract for SAW's and M-16/M4's

"Winchester", like "Browning", is nowadays just a name, owned by FN. There are no "real Winchesters", in the sense that they are being built by an actual Winchester company in a Winchester plant by Winchester employees. The Model 70 is being built at FN Manufacturing in Columbia, along with the M16, the M249 light and M240 medium machine guns, and FNP pistols.

The design is what really counts, if it is a M70 with decent quality yippee!

I can not imagine why anyone (except maybe a lawyer) would change that trigger, though.

Sounds like all that was needed was a move South to get away from the "rust belt" and corrupt unions.

Fireplug

I've been a fan and small collector of model 70's for many years. Most are pre-64's, but I also have two XTR's made in the New Haven Plant in the early 90's. Recently I picked up a mid 50's featherweight in 270 with burl crotch figure in the buttstock. Other than a stock re-finish it was all original. I could not believe how smooth the action worked - a world apart from rifles produced today. I paid less for this rifle than what the new one's are going for today.

I don't think the plant in S.C. can ever count on me to be a customer. By-the-way, my first three shot group at 100 yards could be covered with a dime!

I attended the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation elk camp today in Reno. I had the chance to check out the new model 70"s, they look to be of high quality and they have a very smooth trigger, now if I only had more room in my gunsafe.

I agree with 8iowa when he said ..."I paid less for this rifle than what the new one's are going for today."... Used pre-'64 Winchester 70s show up on used gun racks around here for hundreds of dollars less than the new Model 70s. I prefer the originals. All the best...
Gil