Whitworth woes

[sestoppelman]

Hard to say what gives here. Put me down with the happy with my Whitworth .375 rifle group. Had it for many years and always performed as it should and is very accurate. That yours came without sights makes me wonder and the stock is obviously not original, so perhaps it was bubba-fied at some point.

 

[steve white]

I would check to see if the bolt lugs are galled?

 

[bruce moulds]

while hs precision and McMillan stocks are among the best available, do not attempt to put a 3rd action screw in a m70 if it does not have one.
if it already does, the do it up very loosely.
this is because you can bend the action, causing a zero shift, and also reduce grouping ability.
good bedding requires that the tang and receiver ring, and rear of the recoil lug, are bedded, and the middle of the action actually floats, the whole action being stress free.
hs precision bedding blocks are designed to bend the action, a bad thing, and should be correctly bedded to correct this problem.
other than that they are superb stocks.
the reason Winchester put 3 screw in was that they used 2 piece bottom metal and it needed 3 screws.
1 piece bottom metal is best.
bruce.

 

[Tennessean]

All of my model 70 rifles, despite whether they are 3 screw or 2 screw actions, 1 piece or 2 piece bottom metal, all end up with 1 piece bottom metal and 2 screws in the action, fore and aft. They are also properly bedded in a proper stock.
While I understand the need to have a rifle that is accurate, I also feel that there is a point of diminished returns. I want a rifle to be accurate enough for the intended purpose. I consider reliability and repeatability more important that squeezing every bit of possible accuracy out of a hunting rifle when it simply isn't needed for the task at hand.
By all means bed and float your rifles, but not so much for accuracy as it is done for strength and repeatability under differing atmospheric conditions. Personally, I wouldn't put a Tubb firing pin and spring in any rifle used for anything other than punching holes in paper. The very minor accuracy improvement is irrelevant considering the intended purpose of the rifle and I don't like the idea of lightened alloy firing pins on a serious use rifle.

 

[bruce moulds]

accuracy in a hunting rifle includes retaining zero under all conditions, which is more important than tight groups.
bruce.

 

[Philip Glass]

Picked up a used Whitworth in 375 H&H from Gunbroker this week for a great price. I took the time to look it over at the shop when I picked it up and, for $500.00 I think I did ok. The action is in definite need of work. It was a bit stiff to open and close and felt a tad "gritty" to cycle. I got the rifle home, cleaned the bore, chamber, bolt, extractor, bolt raceways, etc and re-lubricated with a quality gun oil and it is still slow and dirty feeling.
Next I checked feeding and there is a problem there as well. The third round in the magazine (from the right feed rail) jams nose first into the feed ramp (Norma ammunition, 300 grain Oryx) and it would appear that it is the follower. I can fiddle with the top right cartridge until it is seated with the right feed angle and it will feed smoothly but it is inconsistent.
So, besides the action that needs to be tuned, smoothed and the ugly old Bell and Carlson Stock I think I did pretty good for $500.00.
I just haven't decided whether I want to invest the money to fix and tune the rifle or just sell it and buy a Model 70. I would have to have the feeding problem corrected, action smoothed, sights added and a 3- position safety installed just to equal what I have found to be the smoothness and reliability of the Model 70.
I think I'm going to ponder on this for a bit but I will bet that she is going to be sold and a Model 70 purchased. At least that is what common sense would dictate. What say you?

Sell it and buy a new one! Best of luck.
Philip

 

[C.W. Richter]

accuracy in a hunting rifle includes retaining zero under all conditions, which is more important than tight groups.
bruce.

'Have two rifles with HS stocks and both perform flawlessly under any conditions (I have seen and owned others' stocks and the HS are of superior quality. Mark Bansner makes some good ones as well). Of course the metal is good, the actions are perfect, etc. but those stocks have accompanied some spectacular shots. I solidly recommend them. Do I carry the factory firing pin in my ammo bag on trips? Yes. LOL Never had to use that insurance policy (quite an easy switchout even in the field w/ a M70) but bringing it along keeps the Murphy's Lawyers at bay. I tend to favor them for light-med calibers where long shots are possible...as you say, may not be necessary on a <50 yd shot at an elephant, buffalo, leopard, etc. Every little thing that contributes to the accuracy of your rifle, without sacrificing quality, is a good thing (and most people aren't firing a dangerous rifle with the amount of shots that go through a benchrest rig, and the probability of failure on the faster pin/spring is therefore minimal- i.e. 1-3 more shots than you fired at the test range before the hunt!)

 

[C.W. Richter]

Hard to say what gives here. Put me down with the happy with my Whitworth .375 rifle group. Had it for many years and always performed as it should and is very accurate. That yours came without sights makes me wonder and the stock is obviously not original, so perhaps it was bubba-fied at some point.

My non-Whitworth Interarms X from VA, USA did not come with sights (.300 Win Mag), but all other Whitworth DG calibers did.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Never underestimate the power of Bubbafication! aka African Engineering in the 'States.