Winchester M70 "HEAVY VARMINT"?

[Swift220]

Hello. I just bought one of these Win. HEAVY VARMINT rifles and was wondering if anyone had experience with these, good or bad. This one is a 26" non-fluted factory barrel made by Wilson with the factory HS stock, era 1994. It's in 99%+ condition with the box & paper work. Does the 2 piece bottom metal need to be changed to 1 piece for improved accuracy? I know zero about this & being a disabled 65 year old, this is my first ever M70. Also, are the HS stocks made then as good as the ones being currently made? Thank you for any help.
Jim D

[Bill K]

JimD. Years back a friend had one and it shot very well, with some of the Winchester ammo, of the time.
I would take a guess that this one will do you justice also. As to what you might change, you will not know until you actually shoot and find how this one does.
I would venture to guess, that one thing I would watch is the barrel clearance (free float with nothing touching) after a few shots and it heats up.
I would also suggest, due too the heat the swift can generate in a few shots, limit the barrel getting hot.
Go for it and let us know, what you come up with. Bill K

[TAJ45]

Twist? Match it all up and have some fun experimenting.

[Stevo]

I like finding these Rifles no one ever heard of. Seems to me everyone at one time or another took a shot at making a Varmint Rifle. Yours would be Winchester's attempt. I got a Rem 700 .222 Varmint Special as the Remington attempt. What caliber is it? Nothing but fun in the future with a new Rifle like that.

[df06]

I had one of those rifles in the mid or late 90s, in .223.
It was used on prairie dogs and was very accurate.
I shot 50 gr ballistic tips and I believe 27.0 H335 powder out of it.

[Swift220]

Thanks guys, it's a good looking rifle. It's in 220 Swift. I found some information on it, they were made from '93 to '98 & had Wilson 1-14 twist barrels. In '98 they offered them in fluted barrel versions. The original version was offered in 223, 243, 22-250, & 220 Swift. 222 was offered in '97 only. I found another I'm looking at also, a HEAVY VARMINT in 243 fluted with a 1-10 twist. Thanks again,
Jim D

[Glenn Arner]

I purchased a 220 Swift in 1994 and have shoot that rifle more than any other, over 4500 rounds. It was a consistent 1/2 grouper with the only modification lighter trigger. I have a new 220 Swift take off barrel to screw on some day.

Might be my all time favorite varmint rifle, and I prefer Remington 700s

[rider]

I have a pre 64 model 70 varmint in 243. It also has a 26 inch heavy barrel. I haven't shot it in 12 to 15 years since the sub caliber bug infected me but it shot the 58 grain V-Max at MOA. ( with an obvious crown issue it was never counter bored.) Maybe some day I will have the crown re done.

[TinMan]

I have two, one in .223 and one in .243, both matte SS, unfluted. I bought the .223 new in 1994 and it has been a favorite .223 varmint/target rifle since forever. I bought the .243 used from Whittaker's in 2007 or 2008. They do have Wilson match barrels, and were made before Wilson bought Cooper. That might give you some hint about the accuracy.

The .223 is a 1:9 twist and will use good bullets from 40gr to 69gr. It will not quite stabilize the 80gr SMKs. The triggers are the classic M70, and very easy to tune up. In addition to the calibers you cited, they were also made in .308. The stocks are the early H&S, and the shape feels like the wooden Winchester Marksman stock on M52C and M52D 22lr target rifles. At the time, there was also a model (Winchester custom shop?) called a Sharpshooter with a different fiberglass stock (H&S?), with a more vertical pistol grip, more like an Anschutz shape. Hope this helps.

[Bayou City Boy]

I've never been around one in any chambering that wasn't accurate. I still have one in 22-250 that drives tacks.

-BCB