Buy the rifle not the story!!!!!

[Patrick Chadwick]

Some very good definitions by Seaspriter. They certainly help me to clarify my thoughts. May I suggest that it is also helpful to distinguish between the parts and the whole? The word "original", for instance, is frequently used in an ambiguous sense. This results in awkwardness when evaluating some of the rifles photographically presented for our inspection and evaluation.

Starting point:
As made by the factory = original part
As assembled by the factory = ex-factory = original configuration of an original rifle
If configuration was altered = no longer original configuration or original rifle
If configuration retrospectively altered to match ex-factory condition = original configuration, but not original rifle.

Already it starts to get a little grey. I propose avoiding the loose use of "original", and sticking to "ex-factory rifle" to mean "as it left the factory". This refers to the entire assembly of parts, not the quality and condition of the surface finish, which will, in general, have significantly deteriorated by comparison with the "out of the wrap" condition.

However, as the primary function of an armorer is to ensure that the rifles function properly, the proportion of ex-factory rifles in this sense must inevitably decline in service. What bothers us is what happens to the guns after their service life has ended. And it is clear that after a while it is impossible to say in all cases who made an alteration. The "part of it's history" argument sometimes seems to be a cop-out to avoid making a decision, but is also often valid. Is the No.4 butt on my No.8 a "part of it's history" or the work of John Q. Bubba? In such cases, it is IMHO proper to leave it alone if you are not very sure.

So we then have:
Ex-factory = a rifle with all components in the same configuration as they left the factory, nothing having been replaced. Common in beat-up condition, but rarer and rarer in increasingly good condition.
Original configuration = all original parts from the same date/series and in the same configuration as for the rifle when it was delivered ex-factory, but not all from the same rifle, some or more having been replaced. Very common.
Non-original configuration = original parts used for replacement, but some from later versions/series. Very common in order to get an old banger working again.
Returned to original configuration = more and more common as the matchmakers continue their work, but this does not create an original ex-factory rifle. And the matchmakers seem to prefer to ignore the "returned" aspect.

Original part, but original number erased and new number applied = a forged number on what has thereby become a faked part. Very, very common in the world of Mausers and especially Lugers, where some people apparently "Buy the numbers, not the gun"and unmarked original parts from old factory spares stocks can be sold for a hefty premium. Saves having to scrub the old number before force-matching the new part, doesn't it?

Yes, it's all shades of grey. The only thread of logic that I have been able to follow to my own satisfaction is that alterations that are not functionally necessary can easily be the start of a progression of falsification through faking and forgery to fraud. Avoid the F-words!


Any thoughts?