About 3-4 years ago, i bought a 1955 featherweight in .30/06 at a gun show. The seller wanted $1,800 and we settled on $1,500. It was mint in every respect. I brought it to my rifle maker and he examined it carefully, including an examination with a borescope and a loupe. Said it was factory new and unfired. No handling marks, no scope had ever been mounted, no nothing. I'm a happy camper!
A year ago, I found a 1953 standard weight in .270. It had been refinished and the bore had some pitting, but the action was as solid as a bank vault. I traded a used Swarovski AV American 2.5-10 x 42 even for it.
It has spent the past 9 months at a custom rifle maker and is now a .338 Winnie. per the test target, it shoots .8" with factory ammo. The rifle was sent to a custom loader who is working on load development and he reckons he can do better than that. We'll see.
Point is, there are collector rifles and working/project rifles. I will hunt the .30/06 featherweight, but in gentle country. IMO, collector grade or not, a hunting rifle is meant to be hunted.
