nice read Wayne!
Kinda to quote my old buddy Kaywoodie:
" Don't trust a rifle made after 1947..."
Lotta wisdom in there...
Had you and Bob been able to attend the Armijo Springs gathering this year, you could have fondled my new-old 1941 "Deluxe" .348 Winchester Model 71, the last production year before WW2. For its age, it is in beautiful shape and while hunted, it was obviously treated well.
I found this on GunBroker in Oregon, no less!
Norm