I've had two .375 H&H M70's, made in approximately 2000 and 2001.

Neither one would feed properly, and the "work" that the Winchester factory did to "fix" them was pathetic beyond belief. However, a good M70 gunsmith (I used Mark Penrod) fixed the final one up so nicely that I love it. Fortunately the problems were easily fixable by someone who knew his business, the crooked scope screws and bad chambers are tougher (but not impossible) to deal with.

A good Model 70 is, IMHO, one of the very finest hunting rifles in the world. It's worth the trouble to get one and have it made right.

David Miller, Sterling Davenport, Darcey Echols use them, they can't all be bad. The concept is exquisite, the implementation is lacking somewhat.

I have a stainless 270 with the darned Boss that shoots way to well to get rid of. It fed perfectly (even empty's) out of the box. My Stainless 300WSM shoots under 2" at 300yds with Partitions. My 416 Rem Classic Safari has shot 3/4" groups at 100yds with 400gr X bullets. My 7mm Custom shoots 1/2 MOA to 300yds.
So yes there are some very good ones out there, in my experience there have been more good ones than bad. There are ways that you can usually improve on them - but people only do this because the basics are good enough that spending money on improvements is worthwhile...........DJ

I think I will probably end up getting the m70 safari express. Caliber is still up for debate. It is nice to hear something good about them. The rifle fits into my budget and comes to my shoulder like it had a custom stock on it. It would be foolish for me to not get something that fits me so well. I will leave a little money for gunsmithing, but I'll try to avoid that by taking care in my selection. Thank you all for your help.

Sevens

Let's see, I currently own post 64 model 70's (most late 80's and 90's production) in the following calibers:

243 win F (Featherweight)
257 Roberts F
270 Win F
270 Win S (Supergrade)
308 Win F
30.06
30.06 F (4)
300 Win Mag S
375 H+H

I guess that is 12 in all. (Don't let my wife read this!) I'd hate to guess how many I've owned over the years. All are hunted with, most by myself but also by my wife and sons. They are generally quality guns. Bad ones do exist. I have sent several back to Winchester for various problems. They are always fixed and returned free of charge. The 300 Win Mag I wrote about on this forum a few months ago. It had a serious extraction problem. I still can't tell what Winchester did to fix the rifle, but it was returned in short order and works and shoots beautifully. This customer service keeps me coming back.
Some of my "problem" rifles were guns I bought used and cheap, probably because the owner knew of the problems. Winchester fixes these free, and I end up with quality firearms.
On the off chance you got a dog, Winchester will take care of it. Very, very few of the rifles exhibit significant problems.

Bill