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I was looking at the pictures in the gallery area and came across this one, could somebody explain to me how the hell this is supposed to work?

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It's a barrel direction indicator. That way you'll always know which way your barrel is pointing.

Seriously, I saw a similar thing done on a prewar American sporting rifle and the first thing that occurred to me was how much effect that big steel barrel had on the accuracy of the compass. I'd hate to be lost and hungry, thinking I was walking back to the road... following my compass