Filaman, That post 64 M70 of yours wasn't an abomination to Elmer Kieth, at least how he wrote it up back in 1965 when I was reading every word he wrote in G&A magazine. I had scraped together $125.00 apple picking and lawn mowing and just knew that I needed a .30-06 and an Elmer recommended post 64 M70. That rifle kicked me out from under my hat and bruised my cheek with every shot. It had a free floated channel that was huge and pressed slick varnished over "checkering" that was terrible and worse than nothing at all. Elmer did me wrong and I've held it against him ever since. It was a post 64 and it handled like a post too. What an absolute bone that thing was. Insult to injury, my neighbor Frank was a aging gun guy and as a kid I would go over to his house and clean his firearms and listen to his hunting stories. Knowing that I had been saving for a new deer rifle, Frank offered me his mint condition pre-war M70 .30-06 for that same $125.00 and as an ignorant kid, I declined. Winchester might have gotten their act together some time after 1965, but they sure missed the mark with that new "improved" M70.
My other auto is a .45
The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory
