Socrates, in Plato's Allegory of the Cave, illustrates for his pupils his idea of subjective cognizance. To do this, he proposes, briefly, that men in a cave are presented with the shadows of objects on a wall for which they deem is reality. However, when brought into the sunlight and enlightened, so to speak, they perceive the ideal. It is my long held opinion that when these cave dwellers see the shadow of what they can only call "hunting rifle" are presented with perfection, what they see is, of course, a commercial Mauser Model A of pre-WWII vintage, with double set triggers, nice wood and checkering, horn tip and caps, and lightly but tastefully engraved.
The Mauser firm went through an extensive downsizing and reorganization in 1945 which included new management. The physical plants were dramatically reduced in size and most of the assets re-allocated. However, the ideal endured and hunting rifles of the "98" design persist until this very day and are not only made in Germany but also in Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic, and likely in other places. Mauser, the brand name, is now owned by the German firm Blaser, I believe, and they are producing rifles of extraordinary quality. That is what has prompted this post. Mauser, or whoever, has not been idle as evidenced by their model 03. Is this slick, or what?
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