M36 wrote:I wasnt really sure what I was getting when I bought this. Now Im glad I did. Does restoration improve the value of the gun or detract from it? That sure is a sexy rifle you have Floop.
Would anyone venture a ball park value of this?
In my estimation you have a lot going for you with your rifle.
First of all, yours is pristine, in that it hasn't had any shade tree restoration done to it. It has a nice patina that is authentic for its age. It's pretty much original with the exceptions of the inlay in the butt stock and the tapped holes for the scope. It even has traces of the original case hardening on the receiver. I would be very hesitant to touch it at all other than some very gentle cleaning. Be very careful about removing any slight rusting or pitting. It could lower the value of the rifle. Mine was in such poor condition when I got it that it didn't have any value except as parts. My forestock was missing. The right side of the butt stock had been burned away in a cabin fire. The barrel looked like a sewer pipe on the inside. And the exterior had been steel wooled down to bare metal by some well meaning relative at some point in history. I would not have restored mine if it had been in the condition yours was in. What made it worth the $3000 that I put into mine was that it was bought new by my great grandfather.
Second, like mine, yours is an original sporter. There are 1000 military, and military conversions (with various degrees of success) out there for every true sporter. But none of those have the slightly narrower receiver that a true sporter has. Also, the #1 tended to be made in larger calibers, like 45-70, not the smaller ones (mine was a now somewhat rare .38 Long rimfire, I think), so yours is somewhat more rare than most. I have no idea of the value, but just a guess on yours is about $1500 on the low end, and maybe $2500 on the top end. Could be more, or could be less. It's just a guess. But what you have there would be very hard to find if you had to replace it. Go to
Gun Broker and look around. You'll notice that anything close to what you have is very expensive and very rare. I can't over-emphasize that a No.1 Sporter is very hard to find and that people actually try to machine military receivers down to sporter specs to make them. Also, I personally have never seen a No.1 in .32 RF.
Please do consult with a real rolling block expert before attempting any significant cleanup. You could shave a lot of value off the rifle by well meant cleanup efforts. Good luck and enjoy!
Then take a piece of bone or antler and start scrubbing with the edges. Resoak and do it again and again. Takes lots of effort but these guys won't accept any other method and it leaves the patina pretty well alone.