You see so many things collecting Winchester Model 70's that you become a big skeptic quickly or loose your money fast. A fellow collector noted that there were more rare guns in circulation than were produced by the factory and he was only half joking. Same with Model 12's. High grade guns almost never get abused and butchered so a higher percentage remain in mint or high condition. But not 125%.
I got out collecting Model 70's almost 30 years ago so can not help you but it hurts nothing to leave it as is until you find out for certain. I've seen cobbled up guns and then guns I thought were cobbled up which turned out to be more legit than I thought.
