What do I think? 2 things:
One, I wish oh how I wish it wuz mine!
And two, if it WUZ mine then I'd be bench-fabbing some sort of side mount base for an offset scope, just enough offset to clear the unaltered bolt handle and with a recoil shoulder against the rear of the front ring. Absolutely NO alterations to the rifle and IMO a reasonable approach for aging eyes.
Could even make it a cross-eyed mount for a shooter with damaged right-eye vision, similar the the Mauser that John Amber commissioned when he lost his right-eye vision.
The fact that there are at least 2 rifles done this way is, IMO, significant. It leads me to speculate that perhaps the holes were to accommodate some sort of factory-made item(s) with standard dimensions, or at least similar designs.
So, Michael, what do YOU think?(grin)
Regards, Joe
(Added later) Or maybe a mount originally intended for a Krag or Mannlicher-Schoenauer? But how come we haven't seen it before? Or have we, at least some of us......? Regards, Joe
Last edited by J.D.Steele; 03/27/11 07:27 PM.