From 1964-1992ish,a pre-64 Winchester was the only option for a USA made CRF rifle. To be honest Winchester quality didn't just fall over a cliff in 1964, the rifles made since the end of WW-II were declining. But during that 30 year period ANY pre-64 sold at a premium, and many were used as the basis for custom rifles. Winchester brought back CRF in the early 90's, Ruger started making true CRF rifles at about the same time and we now have Kimber. A run of the mill pre-64 Winchester just isn't as big of a deal as they used to be. I'd rather have a 1990's Winchester Classic with CRF than a common 1950's or 60's pre-64. The ones made prior to the war or some in rare configurations or chambered in odd cartridges have a lot of collector interest and value. But most of the ones made in the 50's or later in 30-06 or 270 are just 60 year old rifles to me and they don't command the prices they used to.
