The stock shape has changed in subtle ways over the years and not for the better. Grip size is greater and the area behind the grip not as well shaped. Checkering, which now appears to be done by CNC machinery, is not as well executed as on early models. The forearms are a bit clunky in profile in comparison with the early models. The breech block fit is looser and the face of the block is often not square to the bore. The levers almost always rattle when the action is closed and the breechblock is often not taken all the way to the top of it's travel which results in a low firing pin strike. Polishing is poorly executed with screw holes being dished and flat surfaces rounded off at the edges. Safety levers stand way proud on the tang and interfere with ejection.
There is a marked difference between a 1970 model, a 1980 model and a 2010 model with the decline being easy to see.
The same sort of thing was evident in the Model 77's. Stock shape was the first thing to suffer and todays Hawkeyes are horrid. GD
