The Parker Hale actions I have had in the past, were comercial 98's without the thumb groove, like the Mark X Mauser action. They are just fine and I prefer not having the thumb groove as all my Mausers now have scopes. Thumb grooves are nice in standard calibres for speed strip loaders for rifles with express sights. Unfortunaely, I haven't seen any strip loaders for a .532" rim. When hunting, it would be nice to carry an extra 3 to 5 rounds on a strip, in the pocket, along with whatever is in the rifle. Up here, one never knows when he'll run into a pack of wolves that needs thinning out.