Hi Oak-

A few things that affect value (collector gun versus shooter)…  I’m assuming it’s a 300 H&H MAGNUM (the barrels were only marked “300 MAGNUM” up until 1950) and that it has not been rechambered to 300 Weatherby Magnum.  The factory didn’t start regularly drilling the bridge of H&H receivers until 1950, so your rifle could go either way, but non-factory D&T holes would diminish collector value (while possibly enhancing shooter value).  The 300 H&H MAGNUM M70s were not supplied with recoil pads.  Finally, condition is everything in a collector gun…  It’s hard to tell how much use your rifle has seen but it doesn’t look to have been abused…

So… A true 98% collector condition 300 MAGNUM pre-64 M70 is probably a $2500-2750 gun.  I saw one similar to yours, a 1952 gun with a MC stock, allegedly 97%, sell on RIA last week for $2250 hammer price.  That means the buyer will be paying out about $2900 by the time he has it in-hand.

But your rifle appears to be more of a shooter, based on condition and the non-factory recoil pad. That really knocks the price down… OTOH the 300 H&H MAGNUM is a popular cartridge with a lot of hunters so I suspect it’s worth more than a comparable condition 30-06.  My WAG would be somewhere in the $1500-1800 range???  

Just my best guess…

Lou