Oh, indeed a Lyman 57 or 48 if going the receiver sight route.. (Huge props if you choose the 48 too.)
Bolt handle? I agree that forging the military handle always leaves it kind of short. If you go to the trouble of welding on a new handle, why not go whole hog and do a classic Oberndorf-style handle since your cutting and welding anyway?
Cocking knob sight? OMG yes! Absolutely the coolest sight of all for a classic iron-sighted bolt gun.
Stepped barrel? The Germans had no problem with using stepped barrels on sporters all along. For some reason we Americans have an aversion to them and I don't understand why. I have a brand new unchambered Lothar Walther barrel in 7mm that is stepped, waiting for just the right gun to come along to use it on.
If Stalin wasn't busy breaking the back of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front thus tying up like four or five times the number of divisions arrayed against us in western Europe, we would still be waiting for a chance to invade France.
