doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com When to restore and or modify?

I like to think of it as "original patina"

i was going to wash the truck after a day out bird hunting on our "seasonal use highway"s a few weeks ago. but it was going to rain - so I left it.

when I went out the next morning there was a rectangular layer of "patina" on the driveway around the truck

At the end of November I drove my RV through about 800 miles of the most miserable rain/freezing rain and slop in my move from San Marcos to Tucson. Why? The simple answer, I washed my RV before I left... duh!
Steve

an interesting subject to be sure. I'm 100% honest about work I do to a gun. The world is not always that way though. I have seen guns I have restored offered by others who claimed that the finish was original. Buyer beware as always. I personally have no issues with a gun which has had proper maintenance, refurbishment etc. I do despise when a guns condition has been misrepresented though. To be fair, when restoration is properly done it is quite hard even for an expert to tell. I just stumbled across one of my restorations being represented as original and that is what inspired my post this morning. I have had very little interaction with the dealer currently marketing the gun and do not want to pass judgement him, but I did drop him a note letting him know the story on the gun. It will be interesting to see if the advertisement is altered in the future alerting the buying public to the real condition of the gun. It is a nice gun, in great shape, but completely restored and should be represented as such in my view. Time will tell.
Steve

I've faced up to the fact that none of the guns I've bought were of collectable condition and most not even collectable makes/models. Of the few that I have that may have been collectable makes/models, they were somehow altered severely or in unusable condition when I acquired them.

I'd like to have some high condition collectable guns to hunt with, but finding them is often difficult and there's the soul searching issue of whether a collectable should be hunted to further wear and deterioration.

Finding a previously molested example of the collectable make/model has been easier and cheaper and allows me to slightly customize the gun to my specs (stocks, etc.) and breathe new life into an old worthy gun. When they are redone, they feel good, shoot good, and make me feel I did something good by putting the gun right. Sometimes I get a bit more money into them than I may be able to get out right away, but they are still cheaper than finding a pristine example. And frankly, I don't have the slightest remorse about regularly hunting a redone gun.

no argument here Chuck. I currently have 2 custom shotguns being built for clients on old field grade doubles, a Fox and A Parker. When complete both guys should end up having the gun they wanted and hardly damaged the collector market. My comment was related to guns being passed off as factory original, not customs. By the way, what are you working on currently? Something fun I hope.
Steve

Steve,
I have several projects. But I haven't worked on any since getting the dogs.