Case in point, i bought an online rifle that had a W.M Large barrel, was done in the 60's or 70's i'd say. Got it out of the box and found it to be an odd mix of features and components. Did have the W.M. Large barrel, in .54 stead of the .58 for which it was advertised. Also has a Bob Roller percussion lock, not dated but is signed. Stock and the custom build wern't signed, no idea who did it...is a gorgeous piece of heavily striped maple but the rifle is slightly rough, metal finish is half patina and half brown, stock is slightly under inletted and the sights are Lyman 57's..peep and front target...blued at that. The rifle is giagantic, big stock and big metal, right at 13lbs. All appears to be original to the build 40 years ago +\-. Hawken style cept for the sights.
Is this a rifle best to be let alone for collector value or is there any harm in fixing it up..browning the metal to perfection and refinishing the stock to its potential? I know rifles just 50+ years older would be treasured for their originality but how about one built in the 60-70's? For the sake of future collectors value is it best to leave them alone or ok to make them better in your opinion? Same question for the old production guns like the 70's T\C's, CVA's, H&R's, H&A's etc...Thanks for your thoughts on this, J.
Is this a rifle best to be let alone for collector value or is there any harm in fixing it up..browning the metal to perfection and refinishing the stock to its potential? I know rifles just 50+ years older would be treasured for their originality but how about one built in the 60-70's? For the sake of future collectors value is it best to leave them alone or ok to make them better in your opinion? Same question for the old production guns like the 70's T\C's, CVA's, H&R's, H&A's etc...Thanks for your thoughts on this, J.