In reality we don't own any of this antique military stuff that we hold so dear. It might be in our posession and we bought it but we don't really own it. How many others have 'owned' these artifacts?I would never drill holes in pieces of history just to mount a scope. The Kraghaus mount is a great compromise. No holes in the Krag recvr but you can have a scope. There are plenty of bubba'ed up rifles in the world.