My rifle turns out to be,I hate to say rare,so I'll say unique.The sn according to Roger Rules book falls into a block that was "unrecorded" by Winchester as the receiver was made during WW2 when commercial firearms were aahhh regulated for sake of a better word.Hal and I have concluded it was made sometime late 1945/early 46.But it has all the "pre war" (pre WW2) characteristics.Bolt,safety,receiver bridge etc.It has the cloverleaf tang,and has the stripper clip guide (clip slot).
The stock I won off GB,,,and you guys think finding a minty 601 or original car stock is hard and expensive?? Try finding a miny pre 64,pre war M70 wood stock void of any hairline cracks,chips or other damage.Wheeew,mind boggling.This one had no splits,cracks but does have a few dings I can live with,and the color has the nice military red/brown look to it.
If you can get your hands on any of Seniches sniper books and a copy of Roger Rules Winchester book,you will see just how many variations there are and can sort out what you need.I got extremely lucky on this one,I ONLY had to hunt down the stock and scope.Rest of rifle came to me complete,,from a very well edjucated member here.