Hi All,

Thanks for the welcomes and replys, apologies for the delay in responding - lifes busy.

Marrakai - I believe you are very right about bore condition although it is also the hardest thing to gauge in the modern "internet gun market place". At least with shotguns, bore diameters and wall thickness allow a reasonably accurate determination of how well they have been looked after (or not). I would think strong rifling and a bright bore are the key elements but again how to determine this other than the sellers "assurance". Will a rifle with a dark bore yet strong rifling still shoot OK, or is a bright bore with worn rifling better.

Rothhammer1 and NitroX - I had not considered the Mannlicher Schoenauer at this time although they are a strong contender after some consideration. It would seem there are also many variants to get up to speed with. I had a chance to buy a caased takedown version years ago when I first started collecting shotguns and did not buy it cause it was one of "those European Rifles in a funny metric calibre" I have allways regrated that. I am leaning towards a 98 as it is a well known style of action to me, I have a 1916 Erfert Gew98 in an early build Full Bore Target Rifle - cork bedded ect, a RSA Mauser style action Target Rifle and a M77 hunting rifle. They all feed, cycle and shoot very well, I did not "chase these down" I more came across them and they were cheap so I bought them. So given all that maybe an early Mannlicher Schoenauer may be the right choice to diversify the collection. What early Model would you recommend, it would have to be a sporter style stock as I don't really like the full wood style.

Wedgetail - Thanks for the input, I'll certainly look for some input from the community on any contenders, there may be a couple at the moment. Feel free to PM me his contact.

Thanks.