Well, it's a beautiful rifle, but.
First, why would anyone remove the original Lyman 48 and replace it with a later version? And then the filling of the sight cut. At least, it can be corrected.
Another thing that has me scratching my head is the barrel. It seems like someone decided to drop a bundle on a new rifle and then save some bucks keeping the military barrel. Or maybe the military barrel shot really well so they kept it, but they could have at least polished the markings off, having them partially obscured by the front sight adds nothing to the rifle.
And the front sight, the rifle deserves a better quality ramp than what was used, I think.
I get the feeling the scope was a later addition, which may have prompted the removal of the original rear sight and the grinding of the bolt handle. That probably accounts for the filling of the cutout for the magazine cutoff too.
I think the placement of the swivel studs is somewhat unconventional. Keith was used to shooting with a sling, the front stud seems too far back to use the sling comfortably, but I could be wrong.
Something about the trigger guard seems wrong to me, the inletting and contours of the guard itself, the engraving isn't done to the level of the woodwork.
I also get the feeling the rifle was hot blued, at a later date. The wood got a new finish after the cutouts were filled, I think. Do you know if the pad is original?
Other than that, it is a nice rifle, well it's an Owen, it should be.
