Winchester Model 70 - .45 Cal

[MonsterMaxx]

I just couldn't resist. Been watching this rifle for some time and really haven't seen much action so I decided to take it on my own.

From Air Gun Pro Shop I ordered the Winchester Model 70 in .45 cal

It arrived today and I must say it's a very nice piece of machinery. The stock is gorgeous and the metal work is no less than stunning.

I picked it up in the pouring rain today and rushed home to mount up a scope. Unfortunately I had work to do when I got here and the rain never let up. So by the time I got the scope mounted it was full dark. Doesn't stop me from taking some pics of it though and sharing. (Cell phone pics just don't do it justice.)

Rick from Air Gun Pro Shop was super friendly. He insisted on getting one in the shop so he could check it out and make sure it was up to snuff. Even included a few zip locks of various ammo, though I bought a box of the recommended 150gr.

Rick's comments after shooting it: "Power wise with 150 grain pellets, I’m getting 5 shots with an extreme spread of 9.7 fps. Average fps is 733.7 and 179.34 foot pounds. That’s from a 225 bar fill. You can push it a little more on the pressure and get 200 fpe with these pellets but then you’ll lose that amazing shot curve."

I have wanted a Helos for my Impact, so I got one and took the Argos off the Impact for the Winchester. It's a pretty beefy scope so at 11lbs the rifle is no lightweight, but I think for a .45 that's pretty respectable all up weight.

I'm psyched and can't wait until I can shoot it. Picking it up it feels very well balanced. The sight picture is perfect with the scope too.

 

[bfd136]

Do speak up and tell us how it does.Looks very nice.

 

[ironlion269]

I must admit I am a fan of the classic sport rifle style. Your Winchester certainly hits the nail on the head in that department - absolutely beautiful. Too much gun for my style of shooting, but I'd be a total fanboy if you were sitting beside me on the range with that rifle. Congratulations!

 

[SDellinger]

Who makes this rifle? Not Winchester I bet. Could be wrong.

 

[BigVitamin]

I am interested to know how many full power shots you get from a fill?

SD: Daisy makes the air rifle under the Winchester name.

 

[MonsterMaxx]

Gamo makes it. Though I've seen a lot of comments that it looks like it was based on the evanix.

Whoever makes it, they did a super job.

 

[Paul_R]

Made by Evanix for Winchester.

 

[MonsterMaxx]

shot it tonight. just 5 rounds as it was getting dark. very cool. Needs a silencer and a de-pinger, but otherwise is great.

 

[MonsterMaxx]

OK, today I really shot it, 15-20 magazines worth.

What I don't understand is how wifey can come up and say "Don't shoot the deer" and I didn't even notice, not 25yds from my target is a yearling standing there watching me shoot this loud gun and ringing the trap.

I put the cross hairs on her head and nothing, deer didn't move. Shot some more, still didn't move. Finally walks into my line of fire and I stopped shooting long enough to ensure I didn't hit her.

Deer are stupid.

Now back to the Winchester.

I am completely confused by it's complete lack of accuracy at 50 yds. I have nothing in my arsenal that's this inconsistant. I sight it in getting it hitting the bull, then then next shots are way off. At the end of the session I shot this group as my 'let's see the best it can do' (see photo.) It's horrible. I probably couldn't have hit that silly deer with this thing.

I suspect it's a combination of these flimsy single bolt scope rings and these misshapen pellets. I feel like the gun can be accurate because it'll stack 2 pellets, but is being handicapped by it's ammo and the method of mounting the scope.

Thinking about these scope mounts
http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/scope-mounts/sportsmatch-ht071-2-pc-extra-high-30mm-scope-mounts/
No clue what to do about ammo.

Wide open to suggestions here.

OH, and it needs a LDC badly. Been emailing Neil Clague about it, pretty close to pulling the trigger on one of his 8"x1.75" LDC 

I still like it, it's a very attractive gun, but I simply must solve this accuracy issue.

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

Chrony numbers?
Had a DAQ that shot MOA groups, if you re-filled to 2,600psi every shot otherwise even 3 shots was too much.

BKL's are outstanding rings
http://www.bkltech.com/30mm-Scope-Mounts-s/58.htm

John

 

[MonsterMaxx]

Got some stuff coming from Cheaper than Dirt. As well as emails into iron mule and mrhollowpoint

Great Lakes .45LC Cal .452" Diameter 150gr LRNFP 100ct
Item: 7-B688990

Great Lakes Ammunition .45 Colt Bullets 100 Count RNFP Lead 200 Grains .452" Diameter
Item: AMM-298-001

Great Lakes Bullets and Ammunition .45 ACP .452" Diameter 185 Grain Cast Lead Semi Wadcutter Bullets 100 Pack B688839
Item: 7-B688839

Great Lakes Bullets .45 LC Caliber .452" Diameter 180 Grain Cast Lead Round Nose Flat Point Bullets 100 Pack
Item: 7-B689034

Hornady Black Powder Muzzleloading Projectiles Lead Round Ball .44 Caliber.454" Diameter Cold Swaged Pure Lead 100 Count
Item: AMM-427-033

Also ordered a LDC from Neil and new Sportsmatch rings from AOA.

This is quickly becoming expensive

 

[MonsterMaxx]

I received the Mr. Hollowpoint bullets and Sportsmatch rings from AOA.

Eager to try it out I got the rings mounted, charged the Winchester and put up some fresh targets.

25yds. ~3" high of the bull, but dead on center. Walk it down a few clicks, 2" high of center. A few more clicks. 1" high of center. A few more. Dead on. It walked right in just like it should.
50yds. Hit the trap, but couldn't tell where. Aimed high center and put one in the bullseye. OK, 4mil is...what's that? 16 clicks? Anyway, two more shots and I'm right next to the bull.
Starting to run low on air in the Scuba tank, but I've still got 230bar.
Next mag. Charged up. 50yds.

I dropped the low one, my bad, but the 4 others were under a quarter.

Ya man!! Now to find some ammo that works as well and isn't quite so expensive.

 

[AirChester45]

Recently I obtained my own Winchester 70-45 air rifle, and had the reseller do a 20-shot test for me to make sure all was well, and it included a readout of the FPS per shot on 166 grain pellets. From that, I was able put together this chart that might be helpful to some. Knowing the pellet grains you want to use, and the FPS, you can see the FPE you can attain. Since I went with 200 grain pellets for mine, and finally got to test them out successfully, the highlighted FPE are for 200 grain and then what FPS for other grain weights to obtain the same FPE, which essentially gives you the average max FPE for the Winchester 70-45. The equation relating FPE with FPS and pellet grains is this: FPE = 0.00000222 x GRAINS x FPS^2

BTW related to some other postings, what I found is that Gamo of Spain (that owns GamoUSA, and also the Daisy brand which owns the Winchester brand) has Evanix of Korea make this Winchester 70 air rifle. And if you are looking for extra magazines for it, Evanix.com emails are a place to start, as it doesn't appear this year that Gamo ordered any extra magazines (none of the regular resellers have them). On another related topic in this thread, I started at 225 bar fill, and after one magazine or 5 shots (200 grain pellets but that should not matter) the Winchester 70-45 was down to 150 bar remaining, at which point I refilled for another magazine. Don't know how others fared. The 200 grain hollow-points did well at about 30 yards (all I had at the time), with two sets of close spreads -- and I was still in the middle of adjusting my scope to eventually try longer distance. In any case, this is a beautiful rifle in my opinion.