So Dick, I appreciate your comments very much. Could you elaborate on the pros and cons of the front site being unchanged from an original 1898 site. I know you are hinting at a real vs made up gun. I can see the view that if it still is there it was always there and thus lend credence to the originality of the gun. On the other hand if they changed out the rear site to up grade the gun why not change the front, and they should have. I did not understand that basically all 1898C guns should be found in  up graded fashion and a gun in original configuration would be very suspect, without iron clad provenance that is. David