Sorry, I should have mentioned that the rifle was made in 1950, and is in .30-30.
The wood has not been sanded below the metal at all. Wood to metal fit is excellent. So, the refinish was apparently done with a very light touch.
The refinish was hard to spot at first, but I can now see that there are a few light scratches in the wood that the finish is on top of. Also, I see evidence that the nose cap was removed, so that the forestock could be pulled for refinishing. Very slightly buggered nose cap screw, plus a couple of distinctive light scratches along the bottom of the mag tube in front of the nose cap, telling me that they had trouble sliding the nose cap back on, plus a couple of small dings (that look like mallet wacks) on the nose cap.
Am I correct that there would be no real collector value to this type of piece, and that it is now just a shooter?
Oh well, whatever it is, it is definitely a beautiful, mechanically sound, pre-64 lever action. Amazingly, people are now asking $1,200 for the crummy Model 64A made in the 1960s, with the powdered receivers! I guess those have now reached collector status.
Mannyrock
