With the advent of summer and better weather, its time to break out the rifle and scout out some new hunting spots.
I'd be remiss if I had shown my classic Royal Blue Colt Python, and failed to show my iconic Winchester Model 70. If you don't know your rifle history I'll give you a short education...
Enter in the late 1800's round 1870 to 1898, these two brothers.... the Mauser brothers (you may have heard of them from the World War rifle the K98 Mauser) designed a bolt action rifle to take advantage of the new cased ammunition cartridges. Well to keep a long history short, their design was superb, so much so that here in 2013 we haven't yet created anything better. We are still building rifles on a derivative of the Mauser action. Pretty impressive i'd say... I doubt my IPOD will have that kind of prolific run.
Enter the American firearms scene about 1936, Winchester offered a new rifle that would be hailed as "the Rifleman's Rifle". It used a modified Mauser design with a few improvements to aid in reliability. It was built relatively unchanged until 1964, when Winchester changed the design and production standards to cut costs. I would go as far as to say that the post-64 rifles are almost an entirely different rifle (most would say a cheapened, lower quality, poorer designed rifle. Still a great rifle by all accounts, but not pre-64 great)
This particular rifle was built in 1948, I purchased it at an estate sale in the summer, and it looks like it may have spent most of its life sitting well oiled in a dark closet. I'm glad I happened upon it and I am happy to give it a new home.
The original recoil pad was badly deteriorated from age and I replaced it with a new pad of the same design. The sling was included with the rifle and is still supple and strong with no cracks or crazing of the leather.
The scope was also included, its a vintage Leupold 2x7 VARI-X II with Leupold quick detach rings. At the range it was a real tack driver and it still holds its zero after all these years. The quick detach throw rings are really handy when storing the rifle or moving through thick brush where the scope could get snagged or damaged.
The bolt neatly clears the scope, and the Mauser controlled feed and extraction (read: Big Claw Extractor!) makes this a super reliable rifle in all conditions. The controlled feed is desired in a big game or safari rifle. It grips the round and controls it all the way into the chamber and back out again.
Chambered in 30.06 (Thirty aught six) this rifle is suitable for any big game in North America. It holds 5 rounds in its internal box magazine and the action is as smooth as glass.
The rifle has peep sights that mount on the side of the receiver, and with a little practice I can do just as well with the iron sights as I can with the scope.
The 2x power is well adjusted for close shots and the 7x power is adequate for those distance shots.
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