Thanks knute and gunner for the replies. Knute I've read a longggg way back in this forum and have learned alot, but just wanted to confirm my suspicions on the rifle.  And yeah gunner, I would not fire it without confirming what is appropriate...and that the action could be cracked.  By the way, the rifling seems to be in great shape.  I'm having a hard time finding a gunsmith in my area that is willing to tell me anything about this rifle. Maybe the gunshow in 2 wks will have somebody that can tell me something.  Thanks for your time.