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Trying to identify/confirm a barrel I have is a genuine Model 30 barrel, however, can’t insert pictures. Any way it’s 27″ long, 4.4 lbs.
The only markings are 102387, 1 – 14 and 78 adjacent to the marker that lines up with the receiver.
Now onto the photos
November 5, 2014
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Hi Pv Place-
As a WACA “Guest” you cannot upload photos directly to this site. 
You have either use a 3rd party photo hosting site and post the link here OR you can e-mail the photos to one of us to post for you. If you want, you can send to me at [email protected] (20 MB maximum on attachments on that server).
I’d be curious to see what you’ve got. 
Clear photos of all markings including a “WP” proof if it has one, muzzle and breech, etc. There weren’t any production pre-64 M70 barrels that were 27″ long (from breech face to muzzle – including the threaded part), only 20″, 22″, 24″, 25″, 26″ and 28″ in various weights. But there were some test barrels, usually crudely marked, that were used for ammo testing in New Haven and East Alton that had unusual dimensions.
Best,
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
PV open this.
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/forum-rules-and-faqs/posting-pictures-2024/
Sorry, this only says for non members to use a hosting site.
I would very much much appreciate that Lou. In fact, I’ll do it right now.
Cheers,
Mike
November 5, 2014
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Here are the photos from Pv Place. Any thoughts anyone? I’ll wait for now…
Pv-
Do you have any backstory on this barrel? How you came by it? Was it on a gun or in a barrel of parts? Where?
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
I wish I did know something…anything
It’s been in the basement for a long time laying back with the Savages, Mausers, Enfield barrels. I expect my dad knew, he should have, he bought it. 
We had always planned to go through all the rifles, parts, loading eq, etc., but he became immobile, stuck 3 miles away and we never got the chance.
I’ll have a go at it Lou, based on the witness mark, the 78 stamp and the 1-14, my sense is that it’s a 1978 Winchester experimental barrel for a cartridge with a 1-14 rot
November 7, 2015
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With the thick chamber walls and absence of other markings other than tool and handling marks my best guess would be a test barrel but I don’t know who made or used it. Muzzle seems to be machined to accommodate something. It doesn’t look like other test barrels I’ve seen but I’ve only seen a few. Something odd about it. I think my insomnia has run its course. Maybe I’ll figure out what seems odd a few hours from now after some coffee.
What led you to believe it could be a 1949 M70 barrel, PV?
Mike
The op likely interpreted the stamped 102378 on the barrel to indicate a M70 serialized in 1949. VERY unlikely
I see nothing that leads me to believe that Winchester had anything to do with that barrel. It is a barrel of unknown origin, of unknown caliber, by an unknown maker, for an unknown rifle. Sorry if that is not the news you were hoping for, but that is what the pictures lead me to believe.
BRP
November 5, 2014
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Hi Pv Place-
I’m inclined to agree with BRP… Is there a reason to think it’s a M70 (or even Winchester) barrel?
If it were Winchester, it is not from a production M70. I mentioned before that Winchester didn’t make any (pre-64 anyway) production barrels that were 27″ long. The contour is not typical of M70 barrels (too rapid a step-down from the breech end). It COULD (???) be an experimental tool room or test barrel, but it doesn’t match any of the four contours that ammo test barrels were made in (based on blueprints). Also, those barrels were usually hand stamped with a date, caliber, and something like “A Action Only”, and often have a “WP” proof mark.
If we knew it came, say, from the New Haven factory, then it might have been an R&D barrel, but I can’t see anything convincing.
Sorry not to be helpful!!!
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
Thanks to each of you for your comments. They are appreciated. I can’t agree or disagree, I just don’t know.
If we agree it is not a Winchester then what might it be? My father was a true marksman. He beat the Atlantic Champion in a .303 competition, shot his 100th deer in 1955. He normally would have known what rifle a barrel was for before buying it. However, he may have seen it and thought he could likely build something using that barrel.
Does anyone have a guess?
Maybe it’s time for a séance.
Thank you and Merry Christmas from Nova Scotia,
Mike
Coming in a little late here.
I’m inclined to agree with others that this barrel is not for a M70(particularly Pre 64). The threaded tenon looks to short, has too little thread and there is no cut out. I can’t see the breech face in the photos. The pre-64 would also have a cone breech face as opposed to flat. Thread would be 1′ – 16tpi. If my recollection is correct, the post 63 tenon is longer than the Pre-64.
You might actually have some luck if you plug the various measurements of your tenon into google search. The newer AI Overview can be surprisingly(and alarmingly) good at pulling up this sort of information. Try cross referencing to other rifles you father might have been interested in.
Good luck & Merry Christmas.
Ned
Thanks for your message.
When I first looked at it the shank length seemed short to me as well. But, someone built it that length to fit something and I’m betting that something is a receiver.
I believe this is has a twist rate of 1- 14. At least that is stamped on the side of the barrel. The bore is pristine…does not look like it has ever been fired.
It’s a mystery. 
Pv Place said
Thanks for your message.I believe this is has a twist rate of 1- 14. At least that is stamped on the side of the barrel. The bore is pristine…does not look like it has ever been fired.
It’s a mystery.
Yes, it is a mystery. Most of the .30 caliber barrels were manufactured with a 1:10 twist rate (the 30-30 being the exception with a 1:12 twist rate). A 1:14 twist rate might be adequate for 150-gr bullets, but certainly nothing any larger/heavier.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Pv Place said
Thanks for your message.When I first looked at it the shank length seemed short to me as well. But, someone built it that length to fit something and I’m betting that something is a receiver.
I believe this is has a twist rate of 1- 14. At least that is stamped on the side of the barrel. The bore is pristine…does not look like it has ever been fired.
It’s a mystery.
Hi Pv Place,
Just to be clear, I was referencing the screw thread on the barrels Tenon. My hope was that if you obtain the various measurements on the barrels Tenon, it might not be that hard for you to solve your mystery.
For example: You mentioned earlier that your father had Mausers. The K98 has a flat breech barrel and I believe it has a more coarse thread and maybe shorter Tenon than the M70. You never know!
Maybe machining on the muzzle was intended to accommodate a slide on military style front sight.
Good luck. I hope you can solve it!
Ned
Hi Ned,
I’ll see if I can find some tools for measuring. I have a gauge to measure the TPI similar to the one in the photo:
https://enoughgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=10602
https://rifleshooter.com/2016/02/rebarreling-a-winchester-model-70/
My barrel shank looks like a twin of the the barrel being worked on in the article. The total length of my tenon is .6395″. The diameter is 1.0875″. The threaded portion is .50″ with 7 or 8 threads. (time to find a tool)
Regarding the Muzzle, it is thinner that the rest of the barrel for 1.1″ in length and its diameter on that portion, is .8125″; the diameter of the barrel just behind is .8735″. It was manufactured with two circles on the top and two on the bottom of the thinner portion of the muzzle. Looks like they could be knocked out of the barrel with a punch or drilled, then tapped so one could attach something to the muzzle .
It is difficult to describe without showing photos.
I do want to thank you for your time. Every suggestion has helped.
Cheers,
Mike
A pre 1964 factory model 70 barrel will have a tenon that is .730″ long with a 1″-16 tpi thread. It will also have a internal machined cone shaped breach with an extractor slot that is right at .415″ wide on the RH side of the barrel breach. It’s pretty easy to spot. Below is a picture of the chamber end.
Steve
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