WinchesterOwners.com

Hello folks.
I'm getting a new Model 70 today or tomorrow. It is the Featherweight in .308 Win. Pretty excited. I have the scope bases, mounts and scope already waiting as well as a multitude of reloads.

I'm expecting a lot out of it as far as accuracy. I don't compete or shoot much bench rest but I do plan on getting to the range a fair amount and I'd like to be able to shoot 1" moa routinely.

When you receive a brand new rifle from the factory, what is the first thing you do?

I have heard some folks say when they get a new rifle they will remove the stock and make sure the recoil lug is seated. I've also read about "tuning the stock". In other words, you torque the action screws at a certain inch-pound setting (maybe start at 20 inch-pounds) and shoot a few rounds. Then torque the screws some more, working up to around 40 inch-pounds in 5 inch-pound increments. The idea here is to find the "sweet spot" at which your rifle shoots the best. This is in addition to trying many different loads to find out which bullet powder and COL your rifle likes.

And speaking of trying new loads, do you fire factory loads first or shoot your handloads first (assuming there are some handloaders on here)?

The first thing I do with any rifle is read owners manual,To get acquainted,clean the barrel is a must with factory shipping they tend to apply a heavy oil on new firearms,Have the scope mounted and bore sited that will get you on paper and save ammo,zero it in to factory loads,then you have the brass for reloading,then go from there and try different recipes for your new tack driver, My Model 70 is and I Love It.

What he has said...^^^

You want to clean and inspect the rifle well before you shoot it. Clean it just like you got done shooting it all day at the range, taking care to remove any left over metal shavings from the production process.

As for torquing the action to the stock, really not needed unless you can't get it to group with a standard snug down. Remember your rifle is a Featherweight it was never built to be 1000 yard sustained fire target rifle, it was built to be easily carried up a mountain and be able to hit a pie plate sized target at 300 yards with the first shot.

When starting with a new firearm I run a baseline factory replication load. For my .30-06s that is 48 grains of 4895 under a 165 grain pill, basically a Milspec M1 Garand load.

Congrats on a fine new rifle that should serve you well for the rest of your life

I rarley do much other than read the owner's manual, do all the safety checks, take it to a safe range, arrive with the best rounds I think I could test and make sure the rifle was bore sighted and the scope on right and that set to the bore sighting. In terms of torqueing things down, etc. seems like a bad idea to me. I know this thread is old. Wish I had been around when this topic first came up.