I can't remember at the moment when Winchester began making a short-action (.308 length) Model 70 action, but it hasn't been all that long ago. Winchester chambered the .308 in the Model 70 Featherweight in the early '50s, but they used the same length action that was used for everything else for decades.

If someone already mentioned this, I apologize, but there is an excellent article in the April 2011 edition of the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN, "The Military Model 70" by Bruce Canfield, a military arms expert and certainly the best overall writer this magazine has had in a long time.

As for the non-Remington-looking bolt handle in the photo of the Remington 700 rifle at the beginning of this post, I wouldn't put too much faith in what something "looks like" during an era of almost endless military modifications and experimentation. Bolt handle configuration is a very simple alteration.