Trex, Hauptjager is absolutely right. For him to offer you that rifle at that price, trust me, he really WANTS for that rifle to go to you. I cannot envision anyone offering a real gem like that to someone for that price unless they just really wanted for that person to have that item. If it were me, I would buy it without further adoo, and treasure it the rest of my life in honor of a very close friend. Do not feel bad and do not feel like you are taking advantage of him. I f he is the kind of friend to you that I think he is, then the money is not what is important to him. I think that he just wants to see the rifle go to you, and the biggest thing that you could do for him is to allow him to give it to you. He would maybe even actually prefer to simply give it to you straight up, but is worried that you would feel bad about that, and so he is offering it to you at that token price. He really wants to do something nice for you, and you would be doing him a disservice if you did not permit him that joy. The act of giving is itself a gift, but it will only work if there is someone who is willing to receive. Do the man a favor and grant him this wish. What is going on here is something that means a lot to him, and it goes way beyond ballistic charts and cartridge comparisons.