I bought my first hunting rifle the summer that I was 14 yrs. old. Since the previous fall, I had devoured every major firearm makers catalog and had narrowed it down to a mod. 70 or a Rem. 700 in .243. I had been borrowing a friend of my father's Marlin 336 for 2 years and my dad had said if I got a summer job and paid for it myself, it was fine with him. I stacked lumber at a sawmill, and as difficult as it was to keep up with grown men sometimes, knowing what I was working for made it a breeze. I finally had settled on the mod. 70 and actually worked an extra week to be able to get it. When the big day came, I think I was vibrating in the car seat all the way to the sporting goods store in Savannah. When we got there the mod. 70 .243 I had lusted for was gone! The prospect of waiting 2 more weeks seemed impossible, so I left with a Rem. 700 ADL and used the difference to also get a Weaver VX-7 2-7 32mm scope with the rectangular objective and was a pretty happy camper. I'm 58 yrs. old now and that mod. 70 never left the back of my mind. I've owned some nice guns in the insuing years, but never a mod. 70. About a month ago I had just returned home from my childhood hunting buddy's funeral and was sitting thinking about things in general when I heard myself tell my wife; I'm going to run over to Bass Pro Shop for a little while". Well I did, and I don't know exactly how it works, but for a little while I was that 14 yr. old kid again, and the most beautiful mod. 70 FN featherweight .243 I had ever seen followed me home. I think it may be,as Humphrey Bogart said, The start of a beautiful relationship.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on that '70!! I had a similar experience 16 years ago but it was a Rolex not a gun. My wife became ill with cancer in '97 so help keep her spirits up, I bought her a Corvette (used) that she always dreamed of owning. That got me thinking, do I have to have a heart attack, stroke, cancer or whatever to have my dream come true? As a kid, I always wanted a Rolex but it never happened for the usual reasons, no money, family obligations, etc. Well, for Christmas of '97, I took my wife and teenage daughter to the mall and said 'your Christmas present is whatever you guys want to buy, have fun'. My present was the Rolex.

Welcome to the Winchester Owners Forum !!

Congrats on your model 70 purchase ! I hope you post some pics !