Pre-War M70 .220 Swift Question
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 8:14 am
Hi Guys and Gals! New guy form Ontario, Canada.
I just came across a pre-war (reportedly 1937) M70 in .220 swift. I bought the gun sight unseen from a reputable seller for what I think is a very reasonable price. He says the bluing is excellent (possibly re-blued) and the stock is very nice, but not original. All fine, as I'm not a hard core collector. He says the bore/rifling is excellent and the rifle is a great shooter with suspected low round count.
My question lies in the barrel length, which is reportedly 23". I can't find any info to confirm is this was a factory barrel length offered in the .220 Swift. The seller says there is no evidence the barrel was ever cut, so either it's factory or it was very well done.
Perhaps is was a standard 26" cut from the chamber end and re-chambered to remove throat erosion? (wild guessing until I see the rifle and looks for clues).
Is there as way I can obtain info from Winchester via the serial number? (S/N is 1xxxx and correctly dates to late 1937, as seller reported). I'd love to get a letter back from Winchester confirming this rifle left the factory as a 23" Swift!
Thanks
I just came across a pre-war (reportedly 1937) M70 in .220 swift. I bought the gun sight unseen from a reputable seller for what I think is a very reasonable price. He says the bluing is excellent (possibly re-blued) and the stock is very nice, but not original. All fine, as I'm not a hard core collector. He says the bore/rifling is excellent and the rifle is a great shooter with suspected low round count.
My question lies in the barrel length, which is reportedly 23". I can't find any info to confirm is this was a factory barrel length offered in the .220 Swift. The seller says there is no evidence the barrel was ever cut, so either it's factory or it was very well done.
Perhaps is was a standard 26" cut from the chamber end and re-chambered to remove throat erosion? (wild guessing until I see the rifle and looks for clues).
Is there as way I can obtain info from Winchester via the serial number? (S/N is 1xxxx and correctly dates to late 1937, as seller reported). I'd love to get a letter back from Winchester confirming this rifle left the factory as a 23" Swift!
Thanks