^^^^
GunDoc7,
I’m not a collector, but know a few individuals who are very serious about M70’s. No doubt in my mind that if a Gopher Special surfaced with the original sales receipt there are one or two who would have to own it. You make a very good point about a documented sightless pre64 Fwt.. Problem is special order pre64’s with provenance are virtually nonexistent and without it one can never be 100% certain about a particular gun. There currently exists a cottage industry producing rare configuration M70, M61 (the market is presently flooded with these) and M71 Carbine barrels that are virtually indistinguishable from the originals. Personally, could care less about these guns because at this station in life I really don’t have the time or energy to deal with the uncertainty. As others have said before, genuine Winchester paper and cardboard can be VERY expensive.
