Meriden and Beyond...

Huum- back to my M70 Bible- Roger Rule-- by 7mm I am guessing you mean the 7x57mm (aka- Spanish Mauser) round. I passed up a 1940's ish (first style safety and cloverleaf tang M70 in that scarce caliber) at a gun show as the dealer advertised it as an original carbine with 20" barrel- Howsome-ever, the barrel had been cut and recrowned from 24"- and the replacement front ramp was from a 1956 era M70- silver soldered onto the barrel, NOT forged with same as on the "Good M70's)-- I prefer mine made before 1951- the older hook cut rifling and lead lapping, and I don't care for the Featherweight series- I have two in 30-Gov't-06, one a Super Grade my late father bought new in 1940, the other a std. made in 1948-and a .270Win (Homage to castus Jack O'Connor I guess) std. grade made in 1951-- all have Buehler mounts and have Leupold scopes--

If you want a M70 to shoot- hard to beat either the 30-06 or .270Win- especially with modern shells- I have an early M54 in 7x57mm with a Lyman Alaskan scope- it shoots fine- but comparing the trigger on a M54 with that of its successor the 1936-1954 series M70, IMO, is like comparing Mogen David to Leibfraumilch--