My first centerfire was an old 700 ADL. Reding the newspaper, I saw an ad of a department store advertising 700 ADLs on sale in 30-06. I had been saving, and figured I could swing the sale price of the model 700 ADL which had a stellar reputation at the time. A BDL was just too far out of my price range. As I remember the price was around $250, a lot of money to me back then. I wanted a bolt-action bad after reading Jack O'Connor over and over, but it seemed I would have to 'settle' for a 30-06 as advertised on sale.
When I went to the counter in the sporting goods section and asked to see one of the rifles that was on sale, the guy said he only had two left and I could choose between the two. The first box I opened had a fairly nicely figured piece of walnut attached to the rifle. I looked it over and noticed "270 Win" stamped on the barrel. I asked the guy about the chambering to be sure this rifle was also on sale. He assured he it was.
I never looked at the other rifle.
I killed a bunch of stuff with that old ADL, including enough deer to fill a large dump truck. My son owns the rifle now, with the same Redfield Widefield that I eventually afforded to mount in original Redfield mounts. It still puts Federal Premium 130 NBTs into a ragged hole.
The 270 was my first, and I doubt I will ever be without one.
