Today I've been thinking that the best thing to do would be to get a Criterion barrel and mount an 03 front band sight ala the NRA sporters that were sold nearly a century ago.  Looking through old posts the way to do this is to turn down the OD of a cut down barrel to fit the ID of the sight.  And then drill out the pin hole for securing it in all place.  Given that last step it seems like it would be best cutting down a rifle barrel to 22-inches as the "flat" on the Criterion carbine barrel would probably negate the effectiveness of the cross pin.  This would at least get me into a barrel that would both look and shoot good.  And who knows, maybe that original carbine barrel will somehow show up some day down the road. Thanks everyone for all your help, education and good advice.