Mehul,

As I understand it, Europeans (at least in the past) preferred straight grain, rather plain stocks. It had something to do with the thought that wood with all the fiddle back and quilting was considered "diseased" and prone to breakage or cracking, or that the wood was generally weaker than straight grained wood. Today I think that view is changing for the common Joe in Europe. I don't know for sure, as this was what was explained to me by an older American gunsmith, but figured I'd throw it out there. Maybe one of the guys from Europe will confirm or deny...

BTW, e-mail sent about that barrel blank...