Big Larry said
Not to include the pre war scoped M67, M68, or the M69’s of which I have no interest. Big Larry  

I have no interest in the rifles themselves (or any other boys rifles), or the scopes themselves, for that matter, but I think the combination is quite interesting, being the first time (to my knowledge) that such a “package” was put together by any mfgr.; an enlightened marketing approach, assuming the “boy” could figure out how to adjust the scope properly, which I suspect many could not.  Much more interesting to me are the 677 & 697 models, made without sight slots in the brl.; I could even overcome my strong aversion to chrome-plating to acquire one of those with its original scope!

JWA said
Clarence,
 
He decided the cheap scope was a training tool just like the simple rifle and prepared a person for a better rifle/scope combination later in life…

Certainly it could be, but without knowledgeable guidance, I think the average kid might have some trouble understanding the importance of adjusting the scope from a stable shooting platform.  I had no access to any range or bench-rest when I was that age, but (since I’d been reading outdoor mags from the age of 10 or 11) I’d seen an article showing how to make a crude “bench rest” out of a cardboard box of the right size, and that was what I used to adjust the first scoped .22 (a genuine J. C. Higgins!) my father gave me.  My father knew less about it than I did, and I suspect the same was true for many grown-ups in the ’30s.

(It was, by the way, in one of those newsstand sporting mags I picked up from time to time that I first saw Whelen’s name (Outdoor Life, maybe?), though I’ve never seen his remarks on these scoped rifles. Then I little later I became a charter subscriber to Guns & Ammo, where of course he had a monthly column.)

Looks damn nice to me, although I’m pretty sure my standards fall way short of yours.  Particularly the stock looks good, which of course is the part most subject to being abused.

Next, let’s see a test target!