How about a pre-pre-64? I have a model 54 in 220 swift.
I know very little about it except it's in great condition and most Winny fans drool over it when they see it.
I also have a model 54 in captivity... It was my uncles and I treasure it for that reason...
I was young, but recall some of the talk when winchester remade the model 70 in 1964. I simply do not remember any fascination with the CRF action, but remember well all the bitching about the newer stock, and the quality of machining and fitting...
I don't recall hearing much about the loss of CRF until a few writers in the late 70s or early 80s stirred that pot. And not that shooters were unaware of the difference. I had a double feed incident with a push fed rifle in the early 70s. My dad didn't wring has hands over the lack of crf. He put me on dry fire action drills til the cows came home. Literally, til the cows came home... I killed the thermometer on our light pole a bajillion times, I suppose...
And... It may mark me as old, but I own a number of winchester rifles... None of them are a "winnie".
My only winnie is a model 700 remington that I rebarreled in 1978 to the winnie (.300 winchester)...
That is, admittedly, being a little picky, and maybe snotty too... I do remember the winnie cartidge and it's rise to fame very well, though...
Things change, I'll deal with it...
For all of the talk of the pre-64 model 70, I have heard very little about how poor the stocks were, on them. Never known anyone to shoot one, for very long, with an unaltered factory stock...
Until the advent of the internet, I do not recall even seeing one with an unaltered factory stock...
But back to the model 54... It was both custom stocked and rebarreled to .257 Robts. And it was the first CF rifle that I ever fired. The uncle who owned it bought a model 700 bdl in the late 70s. That is the rifle that he went to his grave shooting.
He was aware of the differences, but being a pragmatic individual, he went with what he felt was the best rifle of his day...
