Although I agree with a good deal of what Col. Cooper has to say, there are several points of disagreement:

"A modern bolt-action should be instantly convertible from right to left-hand operation."

I can't imagine what this requirement means. All I can think of is the awkward methods Sedgley and others used to convert right handed rifles to left handed operation, with all the other features of the rifle remaining the same.

"Its extractor should not interrupt the circle of the bolt-face, nor should its ejector."

This sounds as though it's describing the Remington post-War Model 700 design with the extractor and ejector embedded in the bolt face circle and in the bolt face itself. No thanks!

"The modern bolt-action should include a magazine cut-off."

I have tried my best to imagine a situation where this device would be advantageous to use and utterly failed. It wasn't even a particularly good idea for a military weapon.

"The modern bolt-action should feature a rotary box magazine."

I would agree with an optional rotary box magazine, but the Mauser type magazine is far more flexible, should a change in caliber come into question.

"It (a mechanical safety latch) should be operable with either hand. It should not extrude from the rifle to catch on things (as is the case with the Winchester three-position safety.)"

I have been carrying Model 70 Winchesters for around fifty years now and have never experienced having the safety catch on anything. Even if this were not the case, there are several alternative safeties, like the Recknagel, which have a latch which has to be depressed to release the safety.

The only explanation I can come up with for this remark, is that Col. Cooper might have been thinking of the pre-War Model 70's, which had their safeties on the left side of the bolt sleeve and the safety lever protruded out at 90 degrees from the long axis of the rifle when the safety was engaged. Later Model 70's all have a safety lever which lies almost flat against the right side of the bolt sleeve when engaged and is very unlikely to "catch" on anything.