In 1953 my father bought me my first rifle at Sears & Roebuck. It was a J.C. Higgins Mod 51L .30-06(Husqvarna Action) for $99.99.
Husqvarna
This Swedish made, slightly modified Mauser 98 action was discontinued around 1970. Most of the modifications were made to simplify production and represent a step backward from the original Mauser design, but the changes were minor. These Include a very positive but difficult to operate spring steel magazine floorplate release in the front of the trigger guard and the lack of an external bolt release. (You remove the bolt by pressing down the receiver mounted pivoting ejector, which protrudes from the edge of the bolt face when the bolt is fully open.) Unlike a Mauser 98 but like most other bolt action rifles, the magazine box is separate from the bottom iron.
The safety is a slider mounted at the right rear of the action. It locks the trigger but not the bolt, which can be opened with the safety "on."
The Husqvarna action is very precisely machined from top grade steel. It handles escaping powder gasses as well as any other Mauser pattern action. It is one of the slickest, perhaps
the slickest, Mauser 98 pattern action that I have ever owned.
Other positive features include a one piece bolt, one piece firing pin, flat bottom receiver with integral recoil lug, adjustable trigger, one piece bottom iron, a generous loading/ejection port, and full length extractor for controlled feeding. Like all Mauser 98 style actions, the Husqvarna's full length extractor takes a very large "bite" on the case rim for positive extraction of dirty, oversize, or stuck cases. If you can find one, the Husqvarna is a very fine action and an excellent choice around which to build a custom rifle.