Aside from the fact I am a huge Remington 700 fan and there fore a bit biased, Remington 700 is all ya need to know. Just like the Ruger 10/22 to the rem fire world is the top dog and has accessories galore for it, so does the Remington 700 when it comes to center fire bolt actions. I would rather find a Pre-64 Winchester model 70 though as it was controlled round feed as opposed to push feed the new Model 70'S and all 700's have been.
Sigh ..here we go again. You DO know that the late '64 to to '91 models 70s are actually a ***stronger*** action than the pre '64s don't you? The Mauser type claw extractor was originally eliminated because it's *incompatible* with the post '64 enclosed bolt head and offers much better support for the head of the case. And insofar as it goes the "wedge extractor" is quite similar to the 700s "c" type extractor.
In addition you are obviously unfamilar with the fact that "controlled feed" returned in '92 in the " Model 70 Classic" , which quite literally combined the best features of the "push feed" rifles and the pre '64 models , and without the possibility of breakage inherent on the long mauser type "claw" extractor , the combination of the post 64 extractor and pre '64 bolt face brought about the best version of the Model 70 yet to surface.
The only advantage within the context of the real world to the pre 64 actions *was* ( note that WAS) the fact that the pre 64s supported the bolt better while *open* , the "bolt wobble" problem was fixed in '68 as I remember.
In the end , don't make overly much of the pre 64s , especially in many of todays high pressure chamberings and wildcats , the post 64 rifles are ***stronger***............and yes I've blown up enough of each to *know*.
In closing lets put another myth to rest that's seemingly endlessly popular among the " wanna be sniper" crowd , Hathcock DID NOT originally use a 700 , he originally utilised a model 70 in .30-06 from a batch produced between '54 and '57 and sold to the USMC for National Match competition , any who doubt this can betake themselves to Quantico to the Museum and view the damn rifle for themselves , and incidentally he didn't go to .308 until he started utilisng the M21 platform on a limited basis.
And since '07 and the takeover by FN Herstal *all* the 70s are CRF , that includes the SPR and PBR versions , I've heard rumors of non CRF rifles since '07 but have yet to see one.
And nope this is NOT aimed at you personally , I post this only to shortcut a great many popular misconceptions and myths that float about , the pre '64s are not the rifleman's Holy Grail that many think they are. They're fine rifles and a great piece of history , but in the end that's ALL they are and nothing whatsoever more than that.