Dad used a 1971 PF M70 in .30-06 for all of his years of big game hunting. It has the full monte carlo stock with ebony tip and white spacers. It is now recently mine, as dad is in the nursing home. When I was younger (and dumber), I always thought that when I inherited it that I would rebarrel it to something like a 6mm or 6.5mm-06 AI. But with 57 gr. IMR 4350 and a 165 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip it simply stacks bullets into sub-MOA groups. Now that I'm not seeking the fastest and flattest, I think I'll just leave it alone. The barrel most likely has less than 1500 rounds through it, as dad didn't target shoot with it or really do any load development. Most of the years he hunted with it he shot a 150 gr. Speer ahead of 59.1 gr. IMR 4831. He would shoot less than 20 rounds/year most years. I've done a lot of cast bullet shooting in the last decade and will likely figure out a good target load for it with my 311299 gas-checked bullet. I live in Iowa now, which doesn't call for a lot of .30-06 work. I'm going to refinish the stock on it, as it has a lot of wear in the finish from riding on a Suburban bench seat. I'm looking for a good scope for it, probably a 3-9x40 Vari x II. I'll keep his rifle as it always was and eventually build something more interesting for long range work.
I wouldn’t refinish the stock, a gun is only original once. Leave the gun exactly the way it was when your father hunted it.
New scope is a great idea.
