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Taking the Super and High Grades stock out of the picture. As I have been looking at rifles to buy, I noticed a lot of checkering variations on the stocks of the Winchester Model 70’s I have seen. I’ve found this interesting and it, of course, makes me curious just how many variations there were and the reasons why.
These for instance;
This pattern seems to be the most common,
This a close second;
This I ran into today and thought it was aftermarket until I googled a picture of M70’s
November 5, 2014
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Hi usabaker-
The rifle on top is a pre-64 MC comb Featherweight. The aluminum butt plate (I think that’s what I’m seeing as the edges of aluminum FWT butt plates on FWTs was left bright) dates it to before 1960. Somewhere around 1960 the butt plates changed to black plastic and shortly thereafter the checkering changed to machine cut (smaller checkering panels but the same pattern). It’s possible to find pre-64 M70s from 1960 with plastic butt plates and hand checkering, but most will fall into metal butt/hand checkering versus plastic butt/machine cut checkering categories.
The other two rifles are post-63 models with impressed “checkering”. I cannot date them off hand, but some here will be able to do so. I’m sure you’re aware that there are MANY other more significant differences between pre-64 and post-63 M70s besides the checkering. But the look of those impressed checkering panels was a major turn-off to buyer of the day!!!
Good luck!!! 
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
Louis Luttrell said
Louis Luttrell said…Most will fall into metal butt/hand checkering versus plastic butt/machine cut checkering categories. …. But the look of those impressed checkering panels was a major turn-off to buyer of the day!!!
Hi again Lou,
I was just surprised at all the variations I have been noticing. May have been just about surviving as a company back then and cheaper manufacturing processes just had to be done. A lot of the pressed checkering I have been seeing is a turn-off, the only one that I thought was okay was the pressed checkering in the 1968 M70 I talked about in my other post. I understand how pressed was a turn off when the introduced in post 64′.
It’s funny though if you think about it, almost all of the rifles under 600.00 today have machine cut, molded in, or pressed checkering and people don’t even blink when they buy them.
Thanks again! (BTW: the 1040’s M70 that brought me to the forum originally is almost done. I was able to locate a un-cut stock with the metal buttplate, it was a bit banged up and -had- Initials cut into it but it’s looking good now, just a few more days of finishing and I’ll start putting her back together, I did not have the hold welded and plugged yet though)
I have this strange habit; perhaps disability. Doing a word doc at late at night. No alcohol involved. So logical, so poignant, so… inspired! Posting with bleary eyes. Yet as returning the next day… What absolute, unreadable “BS”! Light of day, incomprehensible!
“Remediation by deletion”! Not taken from “genocide” context, even if sounding like it. Good gosh, there I go again!
For any who may have wasted their time trying to decipher, pardon for that inscrutable work now deleted and…
Never mind!
Whew!!!
John
[email protected] said
It’s funny though if you think about it, almost all of the rifles under 600.00 today have machine cut, molded in, or pressed checkering and people don’t even blink when they buy them.
Because they are so totally habituated to modern mass-produced shoddy junk, which surrounds them everywhere they look. Recognition & appreciation of quality is not automatic–it requires some exposure, some learning, even (God forbid!) some thoughtfulness.
Not at all to disagree, Clarence. But to speak about the ‘new & improved’ world in which we live! (Such term as a pun, but sadly or not; true!)
Our era… ‘Real wood’ acquisition, sorting, curing. Genuine inletting processes, stock shaping/crafting, hand checkering, finishing… By today’s standard, such notion of ‘human labor’; make that ‘skilled labor’, ‘high-$$$ ‘ka-ching, ka-ching! Rarefied atmosphere of ‘way-custom gun range’! Also needing to expect months-plus or longer ‘build time’. Such between ‘cash-out’ and ‘product in’; as in hand. Not ‘guns for the masses’ in any sense. nor the Amazon instant-gratification culture either.
‘We’, you and I as well as most colleagues here, living that ‘good life’, the happy world of ‘affordable past’. The ‘stuff’, we revere! But even that, the long term, moving toward simply “also ran”, merchandise of other age.
Where nowadays we can expect toothpaste on our doorstep on ‘auto-refill’ even before we realize we’re out… For the crowd indoctrinated by laptops/mobile phones; hallowed ‘three year’ life cycle. Our current young adult generations, our future captains of industry and leaders, well-indoctrinated with such ‘cyclic’ obsolescence and disposability Uber Alles!
Well, heading to mirror. Tongue out… self check-up. Stopping short of French Philosopher Descartes, self-inquiry…. Whether or not actually existing at all!
Happy Thanksgiving All!
John
iskra said
… For the crowd indoctrinated by laptops/mobile phones; hallowed ‘three year’ life cycle. Our current young adult generations, our future captains of industry and leaders, well-indoctrinated with such ‘cyclic’ obsolescence and disposability Uber Alles! ….
Well said John….
November 7, 2015
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Well said indeed, John. Funny thing is, Clarence, most of these $600 mass-produced rifles actually shoot pretty well. Beautiful wood, hand polishing and fitting don’t seem to interest even the high-end crowd where “extreme long range” and “tactical” seem to be what is in demand today even though the vast majority of firearms consumers simply don’t have the skill set to take advantage of the latest technology.
FWIW my old standby hunting rifle is my first hunting rifle. It started life as a Winchester 670 in 30-06 with a birch stock and pressed checkering. Today she resides in a Boyd (laser checked) walnut stock fitted and glass-bedded by yours truly. Several years back a section of rifling failed so now she’s a 35 Whelen. She wears a Leupold Vari-X 3 glass to help my presbyopic eyes.
She’s still a lowly product of the late 60’s/ early 70’s but that’s OK with me. Before she was bored out to 35 Whelen she was also one of the most accurate hunting rifles I’ve ever had. Since my current vintage Winchester projects are target rifles this “modern” Winchester is going hunting with me this season. That funny looking rifle to her left is her bad-weather stand-in, a Ruger Hawkeye also in 35 Whelen. The Brand M leverguns in 45-70 sometimes go along because I like to push large chunks of lead through big boar piggies when I get the opportunity…even though the one below was taken by my 670. 😉
Mike
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