1937 Izhevsk 91/30 SCW rifle.

Just picked up today, for $100, a 91/30 that I am 99.9% sure is a SCW rifle. 1937 dated, both wire hangers (not Finnish style) has NO import marks of any kind. It has been there and gotten the t shirt, as they say. Bore is like a lunar landscape. There is no telling when this rifle was taken apart last or cleaned. It is DIRTY. Need an opinion..to clean or not to clean? Don't want to alter the value on this piece. Hate to leave this description without pics, but computer is down. Kind of like it the way it is, but man, does it need some attention, cleaning wise. Pics soon, hopefully.

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Originally Posted by Anzac15

It is DIRTY. Need an opinion..to clean or not to clean? Don't want to alter the value on this piece.

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DIRT should be cleaned off. It is the result of poor or non-existent maintenance, and has no historical value. And the bore should be cleaned first. If for nothing else, then to prevent any rust from becoming worse.

But it is NOT necessary to refinish a stock, steam out dings etc. They have no effect on shooting performance, and are considered by many to be part of the "been there, done it" aspect of history.

In other words, do what a conscientious user would have done over the last century - keep it clean, keep the bore and action immaculate, but don't pretty it up!

Yeah, I would never refinish it in any way. It just needs a good going over. Hopefully I'll have this computer back up before the week is out, definitely want you guys to see this one