Winchester M70 WSSM

About the Winchester

In the year 1866, more than 150 years ago, Oliver Winchester left a significant mark on the history of rifle-making when he founded the Winchester Repeating Arms Company with the intention of producing exceptional guns and ammunition. Oliver Winchester, “a man of vision and influence,” as many considered him, fulfilled his intention and built an industrial empire around the lever-action rifle. Sporting a polished brass receiver, the Model 1866 “Yellow Boy” lever-action rifle was the first gun to bear the Winchester name. Fast forward a few years, to 1880, Oliver Winchester died at age 70, but his legacy remained. The Winchester Model 1892 lever-action rifle soon proved itself to be the moviemaker’s favorite, while revolvers chambered in .38-40 Win., .44-40 Win. and .45 Colt were also well received.

Winchester helped pave the way for modern-day rifle manufacturers, and their decades of experience and craftsmanship can also be seen in their high-quality ammunition. They offer a variety of ammo for handguns, rifles, shotguns, and rimfire rifles. Today, the Winchester brand is owned by the Olin Corporation and made up of numerous members who are devoted to the maintenance, collecting, and learning about Winchester rifles and related products, as well as the role these products held in shaping the history of America’s firearms.

Winchester Model 70 WSSM Rifle Review

Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action repeating rifle first introduced in 1936. It was the successor to the Model 54 and achieved great success in the USA. It is still often called “The Rifleman’s rifle”, and in 1999 it was named the “bolt-action rifle of the century” by Shooting Times magazine.

In the years since its release, Model 70 has gone through a lot of changes and has been produced in 4 different versions. The first version, known as the pre-1964 version, was made from 1936 to 1964. It featured a controlled-feed action with two locking lugs, a steel receiver and had a premium price tag. The second version was made from 1964 to 1992 and is known as the post-1964 version. It was a redesign aimed at reducing costs to produce a more budget-friendly line of rifles but ended up being considered a disappointment by rifle enthusiasts because of its push-feed action, overall simplified design, and feeding issues. The third version of M70 was introduced in 1992 and in many ways represented a return to the pre-1964 version, except that it came equipped with a controlled round push feed (or CRPF) action. At the same time, they also released M70 Classic, which was in essence a reintroduction of the pre-1964 version (this one had a controlled-feed action). And in 2007, yet another, improved version of the Winchester M70 was introduced. This version has a lighter, but at the same time stronger action than the pre-1964 version because of CNC machining used to create the steel receiver. It still features a controlled-feed action and a three-position safety, which enables fire when pushed forward and locks the rifle when pushed backward, while the middle position enables the chamber to be unloaded, locks the trigger, but at the same time allows bolt movement.

Up to 1984, one disadvantage of the M70 was that it was made in only one receiver length, no matter the caliber, which meant that the receiver was too long for some calibers to work as smoothly as theyshould. They fixed this by introducing shorter actions, so that now there are 5 action lengths available: WSSM, WSM, short, long and extra-long.

Winchester Model 70 .243 WSSM

Figure 1: Winchester Model 70 .243 WSSM. Source: https://www.gunlistings.org/image/100333/2/rifles_winchester_model_70_.243_wssm

Winchester Model 70 WSSM is chambered for the following calibers:

.223 WSSM
.243 WSSM
.25 WSSM

Winchester M70 WSSM features four holes on the receiver for mounting purposes.

Skica dimenzij

Figure 2: Winchester M70 WSSM receiver

A: 21.84 mm

B: 81.91 mm

C: 12.7 mm

BHU: 3.4 mm

Ø: 6-48

R1: R34

R2: R17

Which Rifles Have Interchangeable Mounts

Two-piece mounts

For two-piece mounts to be interchangeable the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the B dimension which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. Rifles that have two-piece mounts interchangeable with Winchester Model 70 WSSM are the following:

none

One-piece mounts

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece mounts interchangeable with Winchester Model 70 WSSM are the following:

none

Our Recommendations for Mounts

Fixed mounts

These Talley rings are the only fixed mount available.

Detachable repeatable mounts

We recommend this repeatable MAKlassic 2-piece pivot mount both for its quality and reliability.

Picatinny rails

This Rusan Picatinny rail is of high-quality and made of steel, same as the rifle’s receiver.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu

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Leupold STD Two-Piece base, Winchester 70 RVR

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Leupold STD Two-Piece base, Winchester 70 RVF/R

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Leupold STD Two-Piece base, Winchester 70 WSSM

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Winchester M70 WSSM

About the Winchester

Winchester Model 70 WSSM Rifle Review

Winchester Model 70 WSSM is chambered for the following calibers: