Jim--
You are dead-on about most "No. 5's" being artificial, but I must say that with a rubber butt-pad and a good sling, these things are as handy as a pocket on a shirt!
Sad but true, the one I've been shooting and hunting with (my father's) is an actual No. 5 that some fool sporterized with an aftermarket stock and gold bead front sight. (If the bore weren't pitted, it might even be worth restoring.) Still and all, it's one of the handiest woods rifles I've ever carried afield, and in the dark timber of CO, I was really hoping for a shot at a legal bull with that carbine, stoked full of Sierra 180g ProHunters at 2450.
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Will you, too, be one who stands in the gap?
Matt