WARNING- for the sensitive types, a live auction. Posting because I don't think it'll get much traction at $10K, but what do I know, I never heard of Ned. Maybe he's a rockstar.

Never heard of this rifle and thought it might be interesting but the more I look at it and read about it the less appealing it became. With it's mishmash of design elements and finishes, and it's weird date differences between manufacture and it's 2006 customization, it just seems odd and unbalanced somehow. I guess as a fundraiser it may have served it's purpose but now, does it have any collector value? 1 of 1, but there's lots of nice rifles that can claim that.

What do you all think?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/984705221

This is my favorite part of the rifle.

Roy,
Ned Smith was a renowned wildlife artist here in PA. His work appeared on 120 covers of the PA Game News. Many of his Limited Edition, signed & numbers prints are highly sought after and command pretty high prices.

Thanks Ted. That explains some of the mystery. I could imagine some fellows with his artwork might be thrilled to get a chance at the rifle then. What do you fellas from back east think of the rifle then?

You still could have waited until the auction was over to see if it sold or not. Why is it important to you to find out who Ned Smith is now, instead of in 5 days?, unless your going to bid? And if you were going to bid, I know you wouldn't list it!

To bad the engraver never finished those side panels, those look terrible. I don't see this ever selling for anywhere close to that.... but we won't know for another 5+ days..... so we all have to sit on the edge of our seats until then.

My Dad and Uncle were buddies with Ned Smith, and he mentored my cousin in his quest to master wildlife artistry. A true gentleman. There's a bunch of original NS artwork hanging on my cousin's walls.

As for the rifle, a real tour de force. I like the metalwork (maybe a bit less engraving, it's just raisins on the cookie) but would've chosen a different wood finish protocol. Worth $10K? Not to me.

Nice knife.

I do like that butt plate.

I think its beautiful. So much of this rifle is appealing. Unsure yet if I like the "Remington 700 Schnable" but man, that is a beautiful rig. We can all say its not worth $10k but, it sure is a beautiful 1 of a kind.

Easy Gene, no ones bidding at that price.

Hey squeeler, look at the timing on those screws buddy! LOL