 Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:32 pm
I haven't handled many old M70's...very few.
I do have an old one that I never fired much...its a beauty, 458 Win. Mag.
Heck...LOL...I haven't even laid my hands on the new one! I'll be home early Thursday morning though and will get that taken care of in short order.
The Featherweights like Gunner has are just plumb gorgeous IMO, my buddy has one in 270 WSM and thats the rifle that converted me from Remington to Winchester...without even shooting it! I love those stocks, they look great and they feel even better.
That 270 WSM shoots .5 - .75 MOA with Winchester factory ammo (130 Ballistic SilverTips).
I have been hearing and reading that the new (FN made) M70's are the best ones that have ever been built...which makes sense to me because FN never had any intentions of building a "cheap" rifle...they set out to build a QUALITY rifle....from what I have seen so far, they succeeded. They didn't cut any corners...USRA had started using a lot of plastic (bottom metal?), as soon as FN took over the plastic bottoms were GONE.
USRA was trying to compete with Remingtons budget models...FN is not, they're trying to compete with Remingtons top of the line models, and the new M70's are priced accordingly.
You could buy a USRA made M70 Ultimate Shadow for $400 at Walmart...plastic bottoms, dull thin blueing, decent fit and finish.
The FN made M70 Ultimate Shadow is $620 + tax (best price I could find...most were closer to $700)...its metal on the bottom, the best blueing I've seen on any production rifle in a long time, and the fit and finish is superb...my wife says working the bolts on both mine and my sons new M70's is as smooth as silk, no rough feeling whatsoever.
My buddy has a USRA made Ultimate Shadow in 7mm WSM, and it shoots great...but then there is that plastic, cheap blueing and the slightly rough bolt movement.
My brother in law also has a USRA made Ultimate Shadow in 30-06...when my wife mentioned what I paid for mine he thought it was funny (he bought his at Walmart for $390)...but when he saw mine...he wasn't laughing any more.
His also shoots great...1.5 MOA with cheap factory ammo, and is by all accounts a good rifle....it just doesn't have the "finesse" of the new ones.
I'm not a gun snob of any sort...but I am more than willing to pay for QUALITY, as long as its within reason. I like my guns to look good, not to mention cheap blueing can cause heartaches....plastic stocks I can deal with, plastic trigger guards...not so much.
I'm just picky that way I guess...
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