To day I received my M70 Winchester Safari Express in Left Hand.
I had the gun on order for over 3 years and after examining the gun I have some mixed emotions.
This being the first LH mag, Mauser action available I had to have one,so I paid the $1550 Can.

Now if you ask me is it worth this kind of money I have to say no not if compared to one of my 602 BRNO�s

The overall appearance of the gun is nice
The barrel is thick some what like my Ruger no: 1
The stock is nicely shaped and a nice finish.

But if we look a bit closer we see the front sight is a screw on skinny ramp that will not allow the insert to be moved sideways without sticking out to the side
The rear sight is a nicely made single blade sort of like the Remington's
The action feels gritty and the bolt diam is small,I don�t think it will accept a bigger case heads.
The floor plate is nicely blued but is also bowed because the magazine box is to high for the stock.
The bluing of the rest of the gun is like flat black paint
The chamber has a long throat.
If we shoulder the gun we can�t see the sights because of the neg. drop in the stock,(if a gun maker sets out to build a rifle that has the looks of the old Safari rifles like the Rigby�s you would think that they would design a stock that let�s you see the sights}, so we have to mount a scope when we do this we find that the rear base hole�s are of center so we can�t use Weaver or Leopold Weaver style bases.
The wood to metal fit is ok but on the RH side of the forearm the wood is warped and touches the barrel.
It has nice fine checkering but all points are flat.
And last all the screws(sights/action/swivels) are ready to fall out.

So I drag out my old 602,the602 is the forerunner of the current 550
I paid $600 Can for it 5 years ago

How does it compare?
First it�s 2 1/2 times cheaper
The overall appearance: it looks like a old Rigby
It�s longer than than the 70
The fore arm is shorter and slender but grows wider at the action from there the stock drops a fair amount to accommodate the open sights it has the classic look no cheek piece and no Monte Carlo
So so wood coarse checkering with some overruns
The barrel 25� long,front sight barrel band ramp with interchangeable inserts
The rear sight is express one standing 2 folding leaves
The action is a big square bridge the mag holds 6 375H&H rounds
The bold screams Mauser and is fat enough to convert to 416 head cases
It has a set trigger and comes with a spare trigger to replace the set one.
The gun like the 70 has 2 recoil lugs and unlike the 70 this one is not welded on canted.
If we shoulder the gun the stock lines up perfect with the sights,just like the old Rigby�s
If we mount a scope the stock has to much drop.
The barrel has a shinier finish than the 70 but the action has a parkerized look to it.
The action is silky smooth.

So in overview:

If I was Right Handed I would never buy a 70 over a 602 or a 550 the money I would save would buy me a nice scope and leave me with some to have it cleaned up a little.

If you are LH however and life is meaningless without a LH mag. Mauser there is no choice.
On this forum a number of times the stocks of the BRNO�S have been discussed and I think BRNO or CZ will change the stock design to suit the scope�s
I can only hope that they will not go to the extreme like Winch and take a example from Ruger�s no:1 this stock will let one use both with comfort.

I did seen a 550 the other day it looked very nice nicer than the70 and still only $850 Can.

WOW

Regards Martin

Thanks for the info Martin. i noticed your BRNO still in the shop the other day. Any updates? Take care - Dan

Dan: I was there last monday to drop of a Hgun,Bill had the barrel on and told me it would be done next week both of them so we will see.

I m to busy with fixing the rifleman's rifle.

Regards martin

The 602, the 550, the M70, wonderful rifles all. I have some of each. My latest M70 CSE in 416 Rem. is a keeper. I have no complaints. I got lucky. They are all subject to turning out a sow's ear now and then, but a silk purse can be created from such ... sometimes. Some lemons make terrible lemonade, however.

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RAB

There can be no win with you mauser fans. Try to make the same evaluation with the current CZline and the winchester line and you will get a black eye. I have a CZ 550 in 9.3x62 in front of me now. The rear site is glued on!!!! yes glued on with an epoxy type mess. I am on my 4th. set of factory rings for this rifle and still cant get a set that will trap a scope well. Finally did some lapping on the ring flats to make them thinner and that worked. The bolt handle has had a minor alteration to use a scope on it, but we still have to use medium rings to do the job. The action is sound and the rifle shoots fine but none of the "current" offerings are without fault. Try to find a "Classic" stock for your CZ and there is a two year wait.The CZ is rougher than any of the 7 classic winchesters I have in stock!
The Winchester has its faults but stock design is not one of them(thank you David Miller). The barrel is too big,I agree, but winchester thinks that having the weight in the barrel is a better way to go than having a light weight 416!!! Many of us that shoot a lot can take the recoil of the big guns, Most cant! The NECG sight arrangement is the same one often used on custom rifles. This isn't a custom gun but it has many of the attributes of one.
The 602 is a good start for a custom job like the other Mausers and the pre-64 mod. 70's, but they had their faults also, poor trigger, backwards safety poor stock design that many of the factory rifles have. If you dont like Winchester rifles then don't buy one-leave the good stuff to those that appreciate them!!
It is frustrating to get a current production gun that does not work well, I had to send back all of my first orders of 300 WSM as they all had defects. Did I give up on them hell no as I still think they are the best of the lot!
lb404

Hi there LB404.
I can't speak for the cz550 because I only seen it at a glance. It appears that the cz needs some work. The same as the off centre screw holes of the $1550. M70. Don't misunderstand, I like the barrel that is on the M70, but I can't agree on the stock design, either give it more drop or leave the sights off. I have no objections against a heavy rifle. Here in Canada it is not an easy thing to ship guns back and forth and I can fix what is wrong with it myself. As you could have read in my first post I waited 4 yrs. for a left hand Mauser, so I am not bound to give it up. And as far as being the best of the lot, maybe so, but I don't think it's right to have to do the work that a gun in this price class.
Regards Martin

Martin:
Just got my 550 CZ Mag back from the local smith. He loved it. Said it was one of the few rifles he would buy, and, he's REAL picky.

Couldn't believe it was only 550.

Had him install a new recoil pad, and, generally check the rifle out, to see if it needed any extra work to handle the 375 recoil. He also adjusted the set trigger.

GREAT value, great rifle.

I saw a 375 Model 70 for 550 in another store. Checked it out, and the stock was broken, and the guy still wanted 550

gs

Socrates:
That's what I mean and for the diff in price you can buy yourself a nice scope.

And like I said I don't dislike the M70 and even with all it's faults I would buy it again, but only because it's a left hand big bore Mauser.
Regards Martin