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Recently, I picked up a 1939 Tula Mosin-Nagant 91/30 as part of a trade deal.
My first thought was "Cool! Being a '39, it HAD to see action during WWII!" The I got to wondering, since it was refurbed post-war (the parts that should match do, no forced matching and I've been told the internals probably do as well), does it "retain" the parts of history in which it was involved?
It looks nice and new externally but if it could talk, would it tell the same stories as when it was carried for miles or would it tell of decades in storage?
The same goes for any old firearm we pick up. The well used ones probably have stories to tell but would those stories be the same after being reblued and the stock refinished? Or rebuilt into a sporter configuration?
Yeah, my mind works in odd ways while waiting for my second travel mug of coffee for the day...
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits.
-Mark Twain
Proverbs 3:5; Philippians 4:13
Got to have a Jones for this
Jones for that
This running with the Joneses boy
Just ain't where it's at
In this case, since it's a ftr, or arsenal refurb, then no, I say no. The refurb is just another part of the history and doesn't erase the previous history. Not for me anyway.
If it were an original unaltered unreferbed rifle then I'd say restoration would absolutely erase it's history. But an FTR is part of it's history so it's a tougher call.
I have a 1943 Vintage No4 Mk1* that has all matching numbers except the bolt and magazine. All I've done to it is replace a few missing parts and put a correct Long Branch bolt in it. It's an FTR yet it's history is still there. The old battle rifle is a war vet, of this I have no doubt. I won't change it.
An original Winchester lever gun that's unaltered would fall into that "do not restore" category for me too. All I'd do to a gun like that is refurbish it to full functional condition and then enjoy it for the history it has.
JMHO
Moe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
COSteve wrote:I don't bother with this issue 'cause I don't speak rifle so I don't know what they're saying anyway.
I see lots of "historic" firearms where someone back in the day wound up taking a hack-saw or whatever to it, swapping out parts with other models, and so on. We sometimes seem to feel it adds 'authenticity' to the guns because of those modifications, and enjoy learning about or speculating about why they were made.
I'm not all that sure what we do now to a firearm is any different. The only reason NOT to in my book is if the gun is genuinely rare, you have to realize it is a one-way street to modify it, and while the value to yourself might go up greatly, the value as seen by others (collectors) could go down precipitously.
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws "first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
There's a million points of view on that subject. The way I see it, its YOURS and you can do anything you like to it---life is short---don't worry about a hundred dollar loss as we pay more for that every month for electricity alone. As Eric Clapton said back in the mid sixties--"Do What You Like"---great tune
Yes, there are exceptions and nobody in their right mind is gonna refinish a 80% 1886 or for that matter a 0% 1886. Not to condensend on your Russian bolt gun but there are lots of them around and even when they were new, they were built to kill and not to impress.
Have a good time and play with your gun----------and as Eric says, "do what you like" ------Sixgun
The bolt gun in your case shows class.
1st. Gen. Colt SAA’s, 1878 D.A.45 and a 38-55 Marlin TD
COSteve wrote:I don't bother with this issue 'cause I don't speak rifle so I don't know what they're saying anyway.
I don't either, hence the question. If I did, I'd already know the answer.
Sixgun, I have no intention of modding this rifle as it is just too clean and pretty. I got out of the 54R game a while back so I don't know if I'll keep it (another caliber to feed) or move it along.
JBledsoe, that was a poke at OSOK since he and I have similar ideas on sporterizing. I do know enough of those types of collectors on other forums though. I view well done sporterizing jobs as additional history since many were done when such rifles were under $50/ea (and maybe that's the answer to my question anyway). If the purists don't view them that way, well, it's just more for me!
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits.
-Mark Twain
Proverbs 3:5; Philippians 4:13
Got to have a Jones for this
Jones for that
This running with the Joneses boy
Just ain't where it's at
O.S.O.K. wrote:In this case, since it's a ftr, or arsenal refurb, then no, I say no. The refurb is just another part of the history and doesn't erase the previous history. Not for me anyway.
+1
That was maintenance so it could continue to make its history (serviceability). And it is in line with its character. Now if it was chopped and dropped (barrel cut and put in a new style stock) then you have done a major change to its character and at that point it stops being what it was and starts being something new. Just the way I look at it.
.***
