Thanks, I talked to him for quite a while about all kinds of guns etc. He's a collector of civil war era firearms (and a very pleasant and enjoyable person to speak with) and picked up the mauser in a lot of rifles from an estate auction. He put it on gunbroker no reserve and started at $100 with a buy it now of $300, actual shipping to boot. He told me he just wanted to get it sold, as he already had the rifles he wanted out of the lot, and wasn't really worried about getting top dollar for the rifle. It was an impulse buy for me, I just started reading about Mausers the day before. I usually avoid that type of purchase because you don't generally get what you think you are, but i'm really excited to get this one.