Just looking at the pics I can see alot of things that point me in the direction of poor quality workmanship. Those already mentioned like the poor fit of the upper tang, the poor fit of the lower tang with it's back end protruding a 1/16" out of the wood and the upper portion sunk in near same amt.
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The poor fit of the butt stock to the rear of the action especially at the bottom edges.
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The action itself has rounded edges at the bottom where the lower tang fits.
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It looks to me that the reline job uses the liner to tighten up the action by letting it protrude from the breech face to bear against the breech block. Maybe it's just the pic.
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The checkering has already been hit upon. Very coarse & not well done IMHO.
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Many of the screws have been tweeked with a screwdriver bit.
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The lever pin is too long and it's small set screw is also damaged.
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The blueing is said to be '100% original'. I'll take that to mean original style. It may just be the pics again but it looks to slicky to be a rust blue and even if it is it should be a bit more matted in appearance.
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I've not handled a CPA rifle so I can't comment on those. I've had CPA turn some wood for me and they've always done a nice job with that. I have a set of wood for a Stevens project now sitting here waiting for some time to complete.
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I like the lines and overall looks of the rifle in question as I said earlier, but then again I like the Stevens sporting and Schuetzen looks. It does look good to me 'from a distance'. The fine details are lacking though and that is where I judge a piece of work.
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The auction ended at $1800 w/o reaching reserve so I have no idea what value the owner places on it.
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Listed as a "custom piece for the discriminating collector" but sold "as-is" doesn't really link up in my mind. I'd personally rather put the money into a 44 or 44 1/2 action or barreled action and build my own.
