Youser, bouncing the seller from 1K down to 250 is a guaranteed turn down, regardless of the rifle's real world value. Unless you wanted a novelty, I'd walked away from it too. I could be a hard sell and that too is something I'd want nothing of.
"The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle." John Stapp - "Stapp's Law" "Klaatu barada nikto"