I mean covered in gunk, dirty, grimy, often sold various states of disrepair often sold the way they were found with the potential to not be fireable due to pitting etc. Possibly missing peices.
At this point im willing to take anything long as I have to fix it. I prefer the untouched like ima has with their martini Henry's, kinda more challenging.
As the values have gone up on these old warhorses, they are getting harder to find in the condition you define. They're to the point of being worth the effort to clean them up before sale. The ones that IMA sell without "clean-up" are pretty much hopeless as far as even minor restoration is concerned.(If they could be made usable, IMA has already fixed them.)
I recently came into a 1886 Lebel that fits in this category and have found that parts are practically non-existent. It needs wood, swivels and bands. The forestock had been shortened and the butt stock heavily sanded. If I can find the parts they will probably cost me more than I paid for the rifle... In the meantime it is just sitting in the back of my closet...waiting.
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