Montana Rifle- Love At First Shot

An early look at montana rifles long-range rigs

Today it seems everyone is in love with pinpoint accuracy – especially rifles that are ac-curate out to 500, 1,000 and even 2,000 yards. Rifle makers large and small are turning out shooting machines that are extraordinarily accurate, placing their bullets in tight clusters at distances measured in furlongs.

Unfortunately, too many of these rifles are about as ergonomic as a Vickers gun and aesthetic as a car jack. There seems to be a general feeling that, to shoot really well, a rifle has to look like a stripped-down, all-business assembly of mechanical parts. Most of these are bolt actions, at least the really long-range versions for seriously big cartridges, but they are angular creations with hard corners and sharp edges with bolts that scrape, clank and grind. Or at least, they seem so to me.

It need not be that way and if you want proof, look no further than Montana Rifle Company of Kalispell, Montana. Not only is it making match and long-range rifles that are astonishingly accurate, the company is doing it with the most revered bolt action in American history: the pre-’64 Winchester Model 70.

To be exactly precise, the Montana is a Model 70 clone with a few changes (such as the bolt release) that incorporate some features from the Mauser ’98. But overall, in looks and operation, it’s a pre-’64.

Although the Model 70 is admired by rifle enthusiasts, Winchester collectors, custom-rifle aficionados and gunmakers alike for its good looks and smooth operation, the Model 70 also has a long and successful history as a target rifle. From 1936, when it replaced the Model 54 in the Winchester lineup until the 1960s, Model 70 National Match rifles and “bull guns” were serious competitors in matches out to 1,000 yards. They were also used as sniper rifles by various branches of the military.