Peter,

I know the added piece does not seem correct on a hand made piece, but trust me on that one.

"EVERY ONE" of the "Hammer" Alex Henry rifles I have seen, that were not restocked had this feature.

The reason I think your rifle has been restocked is that, the angle of the grip cap seems to be shallow. That is, not angled steep enough. The cheekpiece seems too heavy and not thin enough. I know the shape is the same, but it seems "to me" not thin enough.

I am not disparaging your rifle, I think it is a wonderful piece and can't wait to see the end result. I am mearly expressing my observations as "I" see them.

One way to usually tell a restock is to look at the inletting of the locks. All Alex Henry rifles have best quality lock inletting, that looks like the wood grew around the lock.

"Just some rambling on, from a man that lives in the sticks"

Take care,

Mark