Yup, finally broke down and sent the old gal in for a safety-block lifter repair. While she is in for surgery I opted for two new barrels to be installed: a 20 gauge rifled barrel and a .357 Magnum barrel. I called the customer service line, got an e-mailed form to print out, did so and mailed to them using their mail label. A few days later I got a call form their repair department with an estimate of the charges. The factory people couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. In all, the lifter repair will cost me about $25 over the regular costs of the barrel fitting. I am very impressed with the level of customer service provided by the hybrid H&R/Marlin/Remington company. I did not have this level of satisfaction with parent company Remington back in the 80s when I had a M700 that fired when the safety was flicked off. So---Progress seems to be a good thing. I will post again when I get the 'ol girl back---