I just found a very nice, original pre-mil 99F in .308 Win in the mid $500 range. No sling swivels, no compass, no pad, and ~90-95% wood and metal. It seems like a very fair deal.
On first glance, I did not notice any major cracks or splits in the wood. Today, I took my glasses off and inspected a little closer with my poor old presbyopic eyes. Much to my dismay, I found two little cracks near the middle of the tang, one above and one below. They are hairline in size and look to be no longer than 1/4", 3/8" at the most.
I have a few questions. Are there very many 99F's out there that have been hunted with and used that don't have these cracks? I had a 99F fixer-upper .243 that had had the stock repaired for some major cracks/splits in the wrist of the stock... when I took the stock off, I was shocked at how "un-substantial" the stock was in that particular area. In my mind, it is not surprising at all that they crack in these areas due to recoil and moisture issues.
Would this be a red flag to others as to purchasing this gun or would you just try to do some discreet non-visible repairs with a dremel/epoxy to shore up the problem? This will not be my go-to rifle but I would like to be able to shoot it a little bit here and there!
Thanks!
Lundtroller
