New Production Winchester Model 70 in 375 H&H back in-stock

[Longwalker]

Another .375 H&H disappointment. My Winchester M70 Alaskan was made three years ago. I hope they have fixed the problems that mine had. The cheap expoxy bedding was not well done and the barrelled action was not centered. So I had it properly pillar bedded by a competent gunsmith. But that added $200. And it misfired, about one in four shots, due to a weak striker spring. A new spring has been on order for five months now. Elk season starts here in two weeks, and my rifle won't be ready. I'm so irritated by rifles that are made "as cheap as possible, and just good enough".

 

[cajunchefray]

Another .375 H&H disappointment. My Winchester M70 Alaskan was made three years ago. I hope they have fixed the problems that mine had. The cheap expoxy bedding was not well done and the barrelled action was not centered. So I had it properly pillar bedded by a competent gunsmith. But that added $200. And it misfired, about one in four shots, due to a weak striker spring. A new spring has been on order for five months now. Elk season starts here in two weeks, and my rifle won't be ready. I'm so irritated by rifles that are made "as cheap as possible, and just good enough".

Longwalker,

Unfortunate to hear about your troubles with the Winchester M70 Alaskan.

They can have some quality issues, as like most manufacturers, it’s “how many did you complete today ?” Units per hour.

I bought my.375 H&H Alaskan used for a cheap price.
Testing with dummy loads, it would not feed correctly.
Checked the magazine follower spring, it was kinked off angle, by a significant angle.

Ordered Brownells sent a new factory spring, for $12, and I’m back in business.
Cycled ammo, perfect feeding, and shot like a champ.
pillar bedding is a good idea. Mine was okay.

Regarding misfiring and the striker spring, you may already know this, but remove, thoroughly clean and lightly lube the striker/ firing pin assembly.

Check for any machine burrs with finger tips and use needle files on the discrete angles. Clean and lube again.

If that doesn’t work then send it back to Winchester.

I find that post 2008 Winchester model 70s are properly machined, may need a little tuning.

I cannot speak to the bedding.

The three I have owned (.270, .30-06, .375H&H) all had good bedding.

If not proper, I would have Winchester restock the rifle.

 

[Ray B]

So much for CNC machinery with parts assembled by robots.

 

[matchu865]

Another .375 H&H disappointment. My Winchester M70 Alaskan was made three years ago. I hope they have fixed the problems that mine had. The cheap expoxy bedding was not well done and the barrelled action was not centered. So I had it properly pillar bedded by a competent gunsmith. But that added $200. And it misfired, about one in four shots, due to a weak striker spring. A new spring has been on order for five months now. Elk season starts here in two weeks, and my rifle won't be ready. I'm so irritated by rifles that are made "as cheap as possible, and just good enough".

It sucks that yours is like that. I haven't gotten a chance to fire mine yet, but it doesn't have any of the bedding problems you reported. Hopefully it functions reliably. Compared to a Howa Super Lite I purchased earlier in the year, this Portugal built rifle is finished way better. On the Howa I had to reinlet the trigger guard and bed the rifle just so I wasn't putting a bunch of stress on a super weak plastic trigger guard.

Looks like Midway has your springs in stock. Their shipping is normally pretty fast. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/3415312629?pid=567848

 

[Longwalker]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm in Canada, so shipping the rifle off to Winchester is not cheap or easy, and requires a shipping and brokerage service. Our local Winchester factory authorized gunsmith is as frustrated with parts supply as I am. Ordering parts from Midway is not possible because they won't ship to Canada. I just wish they'd build 'em right the first time.
So far in .375 rifles I've had the following misadventures:
Ruger M77 with a bad creepy gritty trigger and difficult to grasp bolt knob, Sako AV with a bore damaged by previous owner, Sako AIV Safari that I just couldn't get to shoot well, An AHR CZ550 #3 custom upgrade that was very pretty but had feeding and accuracy issues, and a bolt that would bind if not handled just so, this most recent misfiring and poorly bedded Model 70 Winchester Alaskan, and a Sako M85 Kodiak that I needed to replace the extractor with a tighter fitting one and bed the stock. That M85 Sako I'm keeping and everything works well on it now.
I should have just ordered a Heym Martini Express as soon as they were available and saved all the grief.

 

[John McLaughlin]

Another .375 H&H disappointment. My Winchester M70 Alaskan was made three years ago. I hope they have fixed the problems that mine had. The cheap expoxy bedding was not well done and the barrelled action was not centered. So I had it properly pillar bedded by a competent gunsmith. But that added $200. And it misfired, about one in four shots, due to a weak striker spring. A new spring has been on order for five months now. Elk season starts here in two weeks, and my rifle won't be ready. I'm so irritated by rifles that are made "as cheap as possible, and just good enough".

You really mean, not even "goodnuf". JM

 

[Inline6]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm in Canada, so shipping the rifle off to Winchester is not cheap or easy, and requires a shipping and brokerage service. Our local Winchester factory authorized gunsmith is as frustrated with parts supply as I am. Ordering parts from Midway is not possible because they won't ship to Canada. I just wish they'd build 'em right the first time.
So far in .375 rifles I've had the following misadventures:
Ruger M77 with a bad creepy gritty trigger and difficult to grasp bolt knob, Sako AV with a bore damaged by previous owner, Sako AIV Safari that I just couldn't get to shoot well, An AHR CZ550 #3 custom upgrade that was very pretty but had feeding and accuracy issues, and a bolt that would bind if not handled just so, this most recent misfiring and poorly bedded Model 70 Winchester Alaskan, and a Sako M85 Kodiak that I needed to replace the extractor with a tighter fitting one and bed the stock. That M85 Sako I'm keeping and everything works well on it now.
I should have just ordered a Heym Martini Express as soon as they were available and saved all the grief.

Have never purchased a factory rifle off the shelf excepting to be 100% ready to go (sub 3k).

I'm curious as to what size pillar was used on your stock. It does not take that big of one to start burning the front cross bolt.

Maybe my views are a little skewed, my expectations of my rifles are set higher than the average person. So trigger and bedding come into play before money ever exchange hands.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

That's exactly what I've been thinking about! This year I brought my Rem 700 in 30-06 with a custom barrel. Next year I'll probably bring my Howa Super Lite (6.5 CM), so I think this one's got a spot in 2023 . We're generally bushwhacking from sea level to 2000ft every day, so the less the barrel snags up the better. Irons are also a big plus because of how unavoidable and constant the rain can be - going to put on a VX-3HD with Warne QD rings. Will need to find some good wax for the stock as well.

@matchu865
Gilleys gun wax is the best on the market in my book. Use it on the the wood and metal. Water beads and runs off and dust just needs a light rub and it's gone. I use it on all my rifles. For $15 a tin it's worth every penny.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm in Canada, so shipping the rifle off to Winchester is not cheap or easy, and requires a shipping and brokerage service. Our local Winchester factory authorized gunsmith is as frustrated with parts supply as I am. Ordering parts from Midway is not possible because they won't ship to Canada. I just wish they'd build 'em right the first time.
So far in .375 rifles I've had the following misadventures:
Ruger M77 with a bad creepy gritty trigger and difficult to grasp bolt knob, Sako AV with a bore damaged by previous owner, Sako AIV Safari that I just couldn't get to shoot well, An AHR CZ550 #3 custom upgrade that was very pretty but had feeding and accuracy issues, and a bolt that would bind if not handled just so, this most recent misfiring and poorly bedded Model 70 Winchester Alaskan, and a Sako M85 Kodiak that I needed to replace the extractor with a tighter fitting one and bed the stock. That M85 Sako I'm keeping and everything works well on it now.
I should have just ordered a Heym Martini Express as soon as they were available and saved all the grief.

@Longwalker
I'm sure someone on the forum could order the springs for you and ship them to Canada. I've done it with Woodleigh hydros for a member from Australia to America.
Bob

 

[DrBob]

I’m using h4530 now in my 375. I’m currently running Barnes 300 gr tsx. Extremely accurate load in my gun

I also prefer the Hodgdon Extreme H4350. Working up loads in Alaska meant not having to play with pressures. That said, I am old fashioned and stuck with the medium powders such as Varget and staying at around 2450 fps for the 300s.

Not recoil shy, but only one time did I shoot one round and never try again. I have a JD Jones 470 NE barreled action for my TCR rifle. Even with the bull barrel it is very light. I shot a 400 grain cast lead and went crazy on the power load (130 grains H1000...yes...insanity) .... on pulling the trigger, the hood was shucked off the front sight and I saw stars with an instant concussion headache. I calculated the recoil and found that it was the equivalent of Mike Tyson having a free shot at my face. So, any reasonable 375 load is fine but I go with Robertson's point about over-twist and early instability of bullets....

 

[matchu865]

I was surprisingly able to source some 300gr partitions for a reasonable price from another forum, so now all I'll have to find is some brass and some magnum primers and I'll be ready to give the reloading a whirl.

 

[John McLaughlin]

I was surprisingly able to source some 300gr partitions for a reasonable price from another forum, so now all I'll have to find is some brass and some magnum primers and I'll be ready to give the reloading a whirl.

Try Huntingtons Die Specialties. They have bags of 100 375 H&H for only a few bucks over$100.00. I bought RWS cases from them in the past. IMHO, RWS brass is the best made. I don't know what these cases are. Ask about them and good luck. JM

 

[MShort]

Try Huntingtons Die Specialties. They have bags of 100 375 H&H for only a few bucks over$100.00. I bought RWS cases from them in the past. IMHO, RWS brass is the best made. I don't know what these cases are. Ask about them and good luck. JM

Huntingtons brass is PPU per the ad

 

[Longwalker]

matchu865 I hope you are very pleased with your new rifle and that it works well for you. It probably will be fine, and I hope the story of my own frustration with several .375's did not take away from your enthusiasm. Happy hunting!​

 

[matchu865]

So I took the rifle out a couple times. First time out shooting Fed 270grain soft points, shot pretty well until the stock bolts loosened up a bit. I tightened them down and shot a good 3 shot group after, but was done after 20rounds from the bench.

Next trip I tried working up some handloads with Ramshot Big Game and 300 gr partitions. It shot horribly (6” groups) at every powder charge. Going to try H4350 next, and if that goes poorly I’m going to try different brass. I also shot a 1” 5 round group with factory 300 grain PPU ammo I picked up cheap “, so the field will shoot.

Was able to snag 200 260 grain Nosler e-tip blems today for a great price. Going to try those next as well, but need to figure out what powder I’m going to use. Those will be more desirable for the North American hunting that I do.

 

[Forrest Halley]

De grease all the action bolt and the cross bolts and loctite blue them. Then you can tighten them two finger tips on the short Allen key. The gun should shoot then. Mine does. I knew it was a safari Magnum caliber when I bought it so I did that before I shot it. I had a ragged hole with the PPU and have had good results loading the Sierra Game Kings for accuracy. I found a bunch of 285 gr grand slams as well but Speer has since stopped loading them. I believe there is a grand conspiracy to make us all shoot premium bullets in these calibers. Hence the death of the heavy interbonds and grand slams. Even PPU has jacked up their prices from what they used to be and gone from 20 round boxes in .375 to 10.

 

[Northern Shooter]

There was a time when I thought a 375H&H would be my "big" rifle. It turned out to be my first big rifle- followed by 375 Wby, 375 RUM, 404J, 458 WM & 470NE. Something about the Big Bore is clearly addictive.

375 has definately been the "gateway drug" for many of us.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

375 has definately been the "gateway drug" for many of us.

@Northern Shooter
Maybe the 375H&H should come with a warning.
This cartridge may lead you down the path of bigger guns and bigger dreams and ideas.
Bob

 

[Tucketed]

Love my Winchester 375HH it is a do all firearm. The 375HH was my gateway to a 404J now all I can think about is a double.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Love my Winchester 375HH it is a do all firearm. The 375HH was my gateway to a 404J now all I can think about is a double.

@Tucketed
As I said the 375H&H should come with a warning. You are a prime example mate.
Bob
Ha ha ha ha ha