Yes, it was altered. It was originally an 8x57 rimmed and was relined to 222 Rimmed. I saw another one, of the same maker with more engraving available at Cabelas at the same time I acquired this one.

It belonged to a buddy of mine. I beat him to the punch on a very nice Beretta SXS 10 gauge. He is a 10 gauge fanatic and had been trying to relieve me of it since the day I bought it. He finally offered this up in trade and I broke weak. He included 100 rounds of brass with it.

The brass is interesting in that it has no stamping on the base. It is just flat and bare of any markings. And it doesn't appear to have been turned or machined to remove any markings. I have a batch of 357 Maximum brass on the way. I can make brass for the rifle from it, but it will be a tenth of an inch short.