I'm being a little coy about the gun in question as it's currently for sale. If I get it you know I'll share...I've saved pics from its listing and will share those if it sells and I don't get it. As always, thank you for the diligence you invest in making sense of PUNs and Reilly SNs. Regarding patents, I guess in a market place in the late 1800s it's not entirely surprising that limitations in the speed of communication would lead to compensating strategies for managing things like patent use numbers. Likewise, inventory does sometimes get stranded, sometimes for years. That applies to completed guns but I would think also actions furnished in the white. FWIW, I once was able to buy a pretty 28ga Beretta 687EELL from a big box retailer because I knew they had it in stock for 7 years already. (I do own 5x as many sxs as o/u's, so please don't stone me.)
