Had a nice 54 in Hornet, wish I still did. Last 06 54 I saw in a shop was a couple of months ago and it was 300 or so. Like most I have seen it had moded bolt handle and safety ,had been drilled & tapped,in other words not collector quality. I would easily think of converting to 300. Not TOO difficult. Open bolt face being the biggest item. Last 35 Whelen I had was a 54. The bolt stop was a long screw thru one of the reciever sight holes in the bridge. The hole was drilled oversive and a screw turned to fit it with a smooth end. Worked fine. If you want to be even sneakier just make a small plate to fit inside the bridge with a tapped hole and slip it in after you put the bolt in and and put a screw thru one of the reciever sight holes. Tricky manipulation but works fine ,is cheap and effective and does not change appearance. Bottom metal would be Williams with some slight modifications. Magizine box and rails would require opening but that's not a biggy either. In other words except for the bolt release it would require the same things a Mdl 70 would. Model 70 stock can be modified to fit. I rather like 54's, they are most all VERY smooth actions. I lke the model 70 bolt handle modified so that's no biggy either. Timney used to make a trigger for them that was nice, both my Hornet and the last 35 Whelen I built I used them. So if you want it go for it.
