I appreciate your collective insight!
It being outside of my usual realm of interests, I did not understand what I was looking at when I acquired this gun. It turns out to have been an interesting excursion into one of history's aberrations. Made by a people whose final misfortune was to live under prolonged Soviet occupation, managed by people with a perspective and ethic that we do not share, they probably did the best that they could under those circumstances. But that is all past for 20 years now.
Still, here remains a strong, well fitted, tight gun, with an interesting heritage that fits me well and is fun to shoot. Thanks again!
FJS
