New gun! Over the weekend while at a flea market I bought a Winchester Model 74, from the serial number this one was made in 1953. Takedown of the rifle is an easy task, pressing one large button at the back of the receiver frees the bolt to be pulled from the rear. The bolt functions by the front half being pushed by recoil into the rear, where the back half of the bolt grabs the firing pin until the trigger is pulled. The safety is neat being placed on top of the receiver instead of by the trigger guard. The rifle loads from the stock, with a spring plunger rod holding 14 rounds. Simply twist the rods handle and pull out until the loading slot is clear. Then drop the ammo into the tube while holding the rifle aimed down and push the rod back in. I have yet to take it to the range but I can manually cycle all 14 rounds with few hang ups. The rifle has a bit of surface rust from the worn blueing, but still has strong rifling. Looking online I can find these running for $250 to $300 making the $75 I paid a pretty good deal.
