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Curls and I have been discussing our respective Merkel 323Es, both of which are in original condition in 'American' wood, even though they were both built within a year of each other in what was then the DDR. How did the wood get there? The answer is quite simple, wood from varying places around the world found its way into Germany, France, England, etc. to be used by whomever needed something for a rifle built to order or even for a short series.

For example, Sharps found the available wood here in the US not to its needs and stocked many of its 1874 model target rifles from blanks imported from England, including one in my collection. The 1877 Long Range was stocked in English wood.

The 'moral of the story' is that it is impossible to look and a photo of a rifle and decide whether it was restocked from the type or appearance of the wood. Ditto as to checkering pattern (in most cases) as that too can vary. Even a casual visible inspection is not definitive, other than if you see the most obvious signs of restock. I watch a professional go carefully over many a rifle (DR and otherwise) and look for the 'paper trail' of the original stocker. I defer to their opinion and enjoy watching them work. Most recently, I saw a very careful review of what a dealer thought was a restocked Sedgley. An older smith, who had worked on several others, carefully disassembled the rifle and identified the original stocker by small details that I had trouble following until he showed me what he was looking for.

So, we can opine, but certainty requires a first hand inspection by someone who knows what he is doing. As for me, I recognize the admonition of Clint Eastwood, "A man's got to know his limitations." I reserve my expertise for Sharps and vintage port. (By the way, if you like tawny, I just had a case of 50 Year Old Tawny given to me by a client from OZ. Good stuff. One of the lesser-known exports from you folks, good port at good prices.) Dave

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