Found this old post on another forum.
there are many differences in the production of the pre 64's. First was the prewars. These are considered by purists as the finest years. In a nut shell they generally had better wood than later years, had 20 point checkering, a bulbous pistol grip. Then came the transition models from 1946 to 1948, these I personally prefer. Their advantages were, they were drilled and tapped for scope mounts and a safety that would allow usage for scopes. This safety was called a "clamshell safety".These also were still the famous cloverleaf tang and bulbous pistol grip. Next came the 1948 to 1952 models. Their distinction was a change from the cloverleaf tang to the standard tang common to the remainder models including those produced today. Also after 1948 the saftey design is the saftey we still see today and is refered to as the "L" safety. The pistol grip after 1948 went from bulbous to flat for the remainder of production. The other change was the sear hole in the reciever went from a milled square to a faster to produce round hole. After 1952, Winchester was trying to compete with cheaper guns, so they started cutting costs, this is the reason I dont collect any post 1952 models. From 1952 to 1960 the front sight was no longer milled into the barrel but was instead was a soldered ramp plus some minor changes like the bolt knob being drilled. Lastly from 1960 to 1963 the metal buttplate was changed to plastic, the checkering panels were shrunk in size and the bolt shroud was changed from a milled flat surface, and left round to cut costs. Those are the BASICS, there are other smaller changes. I only have one featherweight and while light weight I had changed the aliminum floorplate and triggerguard to a steel model. I found I cant hold steady the featherweight rifle plus I dislike the soldered on front sight. The rear sight "bump" on a standard weight is called a "boss". When you study firearm design you can easily see why the pre-64 Winchester model 70's are justifably called " The Riflemans Rifle". I worked very hard in my carrer and purchased only the best firearms. After considerable study it was an easy decision to collect old Winchesters and Smith & Wesson revolvers.
