Sure would like to have this:

1941 M70 Super Grade .280

High Noon: Get after it!
YOU.... only live once!
About thirty years ago I put together a very similar Rifle.
I chose the pre-64 Winchester Model 70 action to build on for the obvious reasons (strength, safety, reliability, classiness, holds a lot of bullets and is extremely "handsome"). My Rifle has a 25" semi-heavy barrel in caliber 280 Remington. It is very accurate and I have taken lots of game with mine including Antelope, Mule Deer, Bull Elk, Black Bear and Whitetailed Deer with it, to date. And before my last sun rises I hope to Hunt Caribou with it.
The "Transition Model" action I chose for my build was actually made in the same month I was born - July 1947.
I left my small lever factory safety lever on the Rifle as it came from the factory - this factory transition safety is just "impossible" to "accidentally" move - in either direction.
I love my Rifle and I love the caliber - again I say, buy it and rock on.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmint: Sounds like a great rifle ya' got there - & one that's certainly effective. Although I'd love to get this particular .280 Super Grade, I really can't justify the ~ $2,600.00 expenditure right now. Lot's of other expenses are in the pipeline right now.

I did find a new & rather nice M70 Featherweight in .280 for $899.00 I'm considering, though...

"R. I. Martel, Denver, Colorado"

Anyone have information on the smith?

It’s been there a while. It’s a nice gun. I’ve definitely been tempted, especially given the chambering.
I also know nothing of the maker ...
Edit - posted at same time as NYR; same question!

I think I'd be happy w/ that .280 Featherweight I found, but that custom Super Grade is very nice indeed.

High Noon: I have several Hunting partners that use and own multiples of the "new style" Model 70 Featherweights and they are sure happy with them.
Good luck.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Pretty sure that barrel stamp is Mark Chanlynn's. Just guessing, I bet it was a 7x57 that was rechambered, hence the inset caliber stamp. Mark was working out of a shop in Boulder, Colorado during the 1980's. I lived in Denver from 1972-1988 and I never heard of R. I. Martel, but that doesn't mean anything.

I'll get a pre '64 one day. The problem is that I'm not getting any younger.

Sure is purdy

I see nothing that would make me think this rifle was/is a Super Grade. Those floor plates stamped Super Grade were readily available at Colorado gun shows throughout the '80's. I think they were even available from Winchester after they ran out of standard grade floor plates. There might have also been a little counterfeiting done to create Super Grade lettering. Original barrel is gone, original swivel studs are gone, original stock is gone. I think the seller got carried away calling this a Super Grade.

You're probably right.

If a true SG, the action should have an "S" stamped into the bottom of the recoil lug

I don't know enough about them to comment, but I agree that it would be easy enough to put a SG floorplate on it and call it "Super Grade," even though everything else about it has been changed: barrel, bolt (I already asked), stock, etc. I don't think the seller is actually trying to sell it as a SG, in spite of what the GB account says, just as a customized M70.

Nice ribbons and FdL, though.

Just my $.02.

I don't believe it matters whether or not the rifle is a Super Grade action.

Even if it is, the original barrel is gone, as is the stock thereby negating any collector value.

The true value lies in purchasing a well stocked rifle, with a quality stick of walnut, at a price that cannot be duplicated.

Jim - to carve a stock from a blank of that quality would be what - at least $4500?

It's a bargain at that price.

A bit heavy for my taste, but a bargain nonetheless.

Explain to me why a pre-64 Model 70 is better than a post-93 Model 70.

Where in this thread was that claim made?

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a Lenard Brownell M70 Custom. If someone would be kind enough to post pics, can email a link.

Agree entirely. That it was once a supergrade (or has supergrade parts) has no influence on its current value in my eyes.

Interesting!

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/932167

Thanks for that info easttex. I thought it was M.A.G. Looks like the “G” is a “C”.

PoconoJack: I don't have the ability to post pictures on this forum but I would love to see your Custom Rifle by Leonard Brownell.
Please consider E-mailing me the picture at: [email protected]
TIA
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VarmintGuy, on the way.

Pocono's rifle

Gorgeous gun Pocano!
There was a 284 of his on GB in the last few years that went relatively inexpensively. I talked myself out of it because it was 284 ... fricken dumbschidt move.
Damn that’s nice!

Thats a beauty.

BobinNH had a Brownell in 7mm Rem Mag, his last custom rifle, IIRC.

Stunning rifle, absolutely first rate!

Looks like one of y'all pulled the trigger.

No, just been relisted.

https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/864684248

Well dang...Ol' Temptation once again rears its ugly head!

I’d grab that Goens rifle for the same money, all day long. That’s a beaut.

He sure did. His son has it now and it’s a looker.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/942786844/Ron-Frank-Custom-M98-Mountain-Rifle.htm

Not a Winchester, but ....

That is nice! Wonder what it weighs.

Very nice indeed.

Bob and I compared our Len Brownell 7RM's. Mine is on a Champlin and Haskins action, has Canjar trigger with tang safety. Man I really miss him. When I read old posts where he contributed it brings back fond memories. And I know his KS connection which makes it even more intersting. I never met him but know those who did. Quite a guy. He liked this rifle and I liked his. We both appreciated Len Brownell's special talent; Len did both the metal and wood work on this one. He even made these QD rings which I understand became the prototype for the Kimber rings. This rifle was not easy to scope due to distance between rings and clearance with the quarter rib. This vintage Zeiss did the trick and needs to stay with this gun forever. Not that many scope options and this one works great. Gun's been hunted and shows some dings in the wood. Just adds character. I'm sure Len Brownell built it to hunt, not to be a safe queen. RIP, Bob, you left a mark.

DF

Beautiful rifle DF

Very nice DF, I’ll throw up a picture of Bobs soon as I get a chance. It’s a peach.

I've seen it, would like to see it again, never get tired of looking at it.

Bob and I had our 7RM Lenard Brownell rifles and great mutual friends. Although I never actually met Bob, I felt like I knew him thru these connections.

I always enjoyed his posts. He was a very intelligent man and a straight shooter (pun intended), not much fluff. What he wrote was always well thought out and to the point.

Like I mentioned earlier, he is missed.

DF

DF, you have some great toys. I love customs vicariously!

Ultimate symptom of a true Loony.

Ha!

Thanks for those kind words. Nice guns do crazy things to a Loony brain.

Guilty.

DF

I would not normally sully the Winchester forum with photos of a Remington but Poconojack specifically asked me to post a couple of my Lenard Brownell, since his rifles have been a topic in this thread. One of just a couple of lefty rifles that he made.









The thread where I discussed the rifle shortly after getting it is:
Brownell .270

Dang, feel free to post them beautiful rifles anywhere.

Get to it man!

Here are a couple shots of Bob's 7 Rem Mag..

Yes sir! Apologize for the delay!

I associate the double fleur de lis on the grip with Brownell, I think he used it more than any of his contemporaries .

No wonder that was the last custom he kept.

Thanks!

Oh yeah. I wished I could get my mitts on it.

I think there'd be a few of us in that line!

I am sure. It is a sweetheart of a rifle.

How do you guys rate or rank Lenard Brownell among top gunmakers?

I know he’d be on the short list, just curious.

DF

We would need to define the criteria by which to judge potential additions to the list.

By era? Overall reputation? Price examples of their work command? So on and so forth.

Brownell was not the equal of Biesen, Miller, Fisher, Ottmar IMO, but others will no doubt disagree.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say.

That would be really tough. I think some people had better marketing than others. I doubt that Biesen would be as well known if Jack O'Connor had not championed their work. Why did he choose Biesens? Because they were in Spokane, about 100 miles away from Lewiston and essentially his local maker. Earl Milliron worked out of Portland Oregon and does not get much press, but his rifles are superb. Jerry Fisher, who has been hugely influential, could be a bit sloppy. Why do I say that? Just put a straight edge on one of his stocks to see how true the flats are--the one I checked had swales and humps all over the place.

Then there is the question of comparing start-to-finish gunmakers or specialists. For instance, I don't think Tom Burgess was much with wood, but his machining skills and innovations would be hard to beat. Where would Winston Churchill--probably as fine an engraver as the US ever produced--fit in such a list?

This would boil down to way worse than "Mary Ann or Ginger?"

Nice rifle. Tempting

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...er-model-70-270-win.cfm?gun_id=101423332

The rifle originally discussed is not an original Winchester Super Grade. Neither is it a Biesen, or a Goens or a Brownell.
Biesen, Goens, Fisher, and Milliron offered semi-inletting services for professional and hobby makers. The stock could have started as a Biesen or Goens semi-inlet. The shape of the checkering reminds me of a Goens. In those days it was common for a person to attempt to create something similar without the expense or wait which was usually around 2 years.