Buy the rifle not the story!!!!!

[Buccaneer]

I started this thread as a bit of a personal rant over what I perceived to be the destruction of a piece of history in able to produce a "pretty" rifle. A comment has been made to the effect that if a rifle does not shoot well then it is just a relic, buts that's just the point these rifles ARE relics and history books as well if you know what to look for, if you change things just to improve the rifles looks then you are bound to destroy part of it's history.
In general these rifles were never designed or built to be anything other than battle rifles capable of hitting a body mass at a reasonable distance when placed in the hands of your common crunchie, they can of course be made to achieve some very impressive results but they were never going to be tack drivers.
I fully appreciate the enormous lengths that some people go to to bring a "lost cause" back from the scrap heap but as Roger Payne has already said if something does not need changing then don't change it.
I have in my collection a 1904 dated Sht LE ConD MkII** N, it started life as a LSA & Co 1897 LE MkI, it has been fitted with a new barrel but that was only because the old barrel was in such poor condition the rifle would have failed proof which would have meant either de act or scrap and that really would have been a crime.The rest of the rifle remains as it was, the woodwork shows every knock and ding put there over the years by everyone who has every handled it but that is all part of its history, I would no more consider changing the wood work to improve its looks than I would take a sander to an antique table top to "restore" its original finish.
I hope that one day when my tempory ownership of this rifle passes to someone else that they see it for what it is, a quite rare and fairly battered old war horse that deserves to be looked after and not messed with as I suspect the people whose comments I overheard at the Phoenix show would have done.
Enjoy the history that is passing through your hands treat it with respect and hope that those who follow us do the same thing.