The Winchester Model 70 Featherweight is a walnut-stocked bolt-action .270 Winchester built for deer, hog and antelope hunting. It has an MSRP of $1,369.99. It feeds the pre-'64 way, with a long claw extractor that takes hold of the cartridge as it leaves the magazine and keeps hold of it until the case is thrown clear, so the rifle can be worked slowly or upside down without losing a round.

Five rounds go into the magazine from the top and no sights are fitted, so a base, rings and an optic come before anything else. The M.O.A. trigger arrives set at about 3.5 lbs and can be adjusted from there. The three-position safety has a middle position that locks the firing pin but not the bolt, so an unfired cartridge can be lifted out of the chamber with the rifle still on safe.

If you're cross-shopping, the Tikka T3x Lite is 0.6 lbs lighter with a synthetic stock and a threaded muzzle, and it holds three rounds against this rifle's five. The Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT has an MSRP of $2,099.99 and a carbon stock, saving 1.6 lbs for the money. Neither of those is a controlled-round-feed action.