Thanks to everyone who replied. I'm still not sure why this rifle caught my attention, but it did. I immediately thought that $160 was an exceptional price for the rifle/scope combination, but yet I told myself that I really had no use for it. The Model 581 numbers, however, rang a loud bell for me from reading about Model 581 rifles here. But a Model 581 was not something that I had been seeking.
Normally I see a 22 LR RF rifle and my brain says you don't need that. Even though the price was very low on this good looking rifle, I thought maybe I wasn't seeing something so I didn't just dump a card on the counter and walk out with it. Hence my questions here.
Anyway.......... I asked the questions here that I asked and no one said, "Run, Forest, run", and the rifle for some reason stayed on the GS shelf for a couple of days, so tomorrow I guess it comes home with me. I'm actually anxious to play with this miniature Model 788... And maybe that's the answer to why it caught my attention as my first CF rifle that I bought myself years ago was a Model 788 in 22-250. In recent years I've found myself noticing and being drawn to more old rather than new rifles. Now I need to drag it along the next time I go to a range with a couple of CF rifles to satisfy my curiosity. Maybe later this week......
Thanks again......... And with that, I need to finish this maybe incoherent rambling.....
-BCB