Pre-64 M70 all the way. .270, .30-06, .300H&H, your choice although the former two are more affordable and easier to acquire. Several years ago I found my “forever rifle” at a pawn shop in the form of a 1956 M70 fwt. 30-06. All original and in good condition, 2018 price too!
It wore a Lyman All-American 4x, although cool in its own right, utter garbage by today’s standard just as
@Terry Cross said. I re-torqued everything, cleaned the barrel, and checked the headspace before loading up some 150gr softpoints and shooting them into 1.5” off a bag with the Lyman and original aluminum buttplate…ouch. Into the back of the safe it went.
Fast forward a few years, hunting/target rifles have come and gone, but the pre64 has always stayed. I was unsure of what to do with it until I found a pre-inlet stock for it in McMillan’s bargain bin. Buying this stock jump started my mental build up. Full teardown, ultrasonic cleaning, packed the wood FWT stock away, assembled with parts bin mounts, and a Burris FFII 3-9x40. When I stepped back from the bench I said “Holy shit. This is it”.
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The McMillan and scope upgrade took the same 1.5” load to an inch, and is a hell of a lot easier on the bum shoulder. The rifle is just under 8lb all up, and the 150s are tame in this setup. I’ll get Chad at LRI to bed it, and tune the trigger before working up a load with 168gr TTSXs. I’d like to go on an elk hunt at least once in the next 10yrs, and hopefully an African plains game trip when I retire, one certainty is this rifle will go with me if these wishes come true.
There are several solid choices presented in this thread that meet your criteria. I’ve made my case for the pre64, so has Terry, and several others. Whether you keep it original, go full custom, or just upgrade the ergos and fine tune like I am… you can’t do wrong with the Rifleman’s Rifle.
