Lancaster,

I worked in Russia a long time ago and not many Medved rifles were built even back then. I knew of one which was with a Duma member whom I met in 94, but have seen no other. I think the Medveds must have died out when the Russians switched to the 9.3x64 round for their Dragunov based hunting rifles from the mid 1990s onwards. I have heard about some Medved rifles in German collections but have not heard from any actual owner - if any are there, they must have been gifts to senior Communist Party members in east Germany in the Cold War years and they must have got sold since to whoever owns them now. It would be interesting to see what turns up in Bulgaria - it was a popular spot for senior Soviet officials to hunt bear in and some would have found their way there as you point out.

Lovely project and please keep the pictures and information coming. Maybe this could become an article for our E-zine?

Good hunting!