ORIGINAL: rynigner
Somehave indeed have done this... For example if you see a Winchester model 70 for a cheap price say sub 300 bucks used. Check and see if it has the mauser extractor on the bolt. If not,Winchester made a cheaper version of the Model 70 to be sold at wal-marts. They shoot fine, and are worth the 300 bucks just not a true model 70...
As a matter of fact you are 100% correct because I own one of those Model 70s. Noone ever said that it was a cheaply made gun, it is just that they produced a push feed rifle that the only place I had ever seen it was at Wal-Mart, and it was significanly cheaper than the models with a claw extractor. It came with a synthetic stock w/o a bottom magazine unloader door.
For people that don't think it's true, just because a company doesn't make cheaper guns for wal mart and the likes, doesn't mean that they don't make specific models to be sold at places like this. It's just like if remington made the 710 and only marketed them at big box chains. They were around 350 or so in a scoped package. I had some trigger work done on mine for 15 dollars and it is a pretty decent shooter.