Adam,

Thanks for your reply. I guessed from the streight bolt that the rifle was a sporter made on a military action but wasn;t sure and wanted to know from experts here about what it could be. The strange thing is that the rifle does not have any British markings - those were the day of the Raj and one would expect a rifle sold in South Asia during this period to have some British markings on it. Since it is in Pakistan, I am presuming that it must have come in through Russia and Afghanistan, or through Iran where custom rifles are still made on Mauser actions these days.

I am fascinated by what the rifle's history might be. Now, if only the riufle could talk!

I know that my friend is very happy with it and it has been performing very well on the large wild boar population in his country.

Good hunting, my friend!