Dear All

Thank you for your answers and information; that's all very instructive and leads to some more comments and/or questions:

- Lancaster. Thank you for the acetone/hair dryer solution for removing excessive oil from a stock; I will train first on a wood plank before trying on that stock however. Yes, if I feel the requirement one day to have this rifle scoped I will probably go for SEM unless of course finding the proper fit to the existing mounts; something as improbable as finding a honest politician in a traditional political party.

- Rothhammer. Thank you for your comments and catalog page scan; the sight hood is therefore really MS and I also had confirmation that the military rear sight was MS too, I saw it one recently in France, graduated until 1000 m on a M. 1903 stutzen and was really wondering what it was! Well spotted also for the addition on top of the folding peep sight!

- Marrakai and Waidsmannheil. Thank you for identifying the scope bases as early British ones; would you by chance have photos of early Rigby rifles with such scope bases and - icing on the cake, of rifle scopes fitted with scope mounts matching with these bases?

- Kuduae. Thank you for your information about early MS rifles – mainly those to be exported, not always going through the Vienna proof house. I already have a MS 1908 take-down bearing only English proof marks ( http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat....true#Post289721 ) and I can now understand why! Well noted also for the information on factory markings and for a MS 1905 in the range of #1000 dated 1907.

- DonZ. Please read Kuduae’s comments, which are also instructive about your own un-proofed MS 1910 stutzen.

Thank you again to All.

Louis