Agree 100%-- sounds like Roger Rule's expert analysis- I have darn near memorized his "Bible" and well worth it- Thanks to Roger, and some "time in grade" studying Winchesters (only pre-1964) I have saved myself some dinero on gun show offerings of M70's-- The Carbine with the 20" barrel- many std. M70's had the 24" barrels cut to 20" and a new sight ramp soldered on- The Carbine was only offered from about 1939 through 1947- with the factor of WW2 military production affecting the production of sporting arms by WRA (M70's, M12's, M97's- etc.)and during that time frame, the front sight ramps were indeed, milled- NOT soldered (that came later, after the Carbine was deleted. I have seen a few "restocked" Std. grades passed off as being Super Grades- by changing the magazine floorplate-- Roger Rule ties the letter stamps to model years, cross referenced to serial numbers- easy to spot a "ringer" if you have his book at hand.
I thought, at times, about replacing the cheesy aluminum floorplate on my FW M70--just haven't done it yet-- I'd still take that post 1952 M70 over any: Weatherby, Remington, Savage BA-- the only Mauser styled rifles that compete with the FWM70, IMO, are: (1) Pre-Garcia FN Sako, and early FN Belgium Browning. Also, every M70 built from late 1936 through the 1964 (year of the Big FUBAR) by WRA--had the serial number electro-etched on the bolt- I turned down a nice 1949 era M70 in .300 H&H Mag because the bolt etched SN didn't match that found on the receiver- Caveat Emptor!!
RWTF
Last edited by Run With The Fox; 11/18/19 12:32 PM.
