wildpair, it seems that all the good guns have already been made. Im a big fan of the older guns too. Thats why I could care less about these new short mags. Putting high octance in a ford pinto, is still a ford pinto. My gun of choice is a 1968 Model 70 deluxe in 270. Talley mounts, Leupold VXII 3x9, shoots 1" groups with 130 core-loks. Not that its the best ammo on the market, but if if aint broke, dont fix it. Im keeping my fingers crossed on the FN Model 70's that will come out next year. I've been looking for years for a synthetic stocked rifle, and nothing off the rack has suited me so far. I was sold on the A-bolts, untilI saw a used one that the stock looked like it had faded from black to grey. What a mess.All the new stuff just seems so rough to me. I hate the bead blasted finishes. I love the selling point though, "cuts glare so you dont spook game". It cuts manufacturing time, thats it. I'd put a new stock on the one I had, but Ijust spent the last month or so re-checkering and re-finishing it. Kicker is the really nice synthetic stocks costalmost as much as the same rifle new.A used custom rifle is probably the route I'll go.....