I appreciate the replies, but I am not interested in a Merkle. I doubt I could get a used Merkle in the 5k price range. Some of the same issues(or non-issues) apply to both the Merkle and Searcy, ie: hardened "shotgun" actions used in the construction. I have a line on a early Searcy and would like advice as outlined in my initial post. Thanks again for the help! Lee.