Hi everyone. I recently picked up a Type 99 at a local auction after looking for an original one with an intact mum, AA sight, and matching bolt for awhile. I'd either find ones that were missing one of my requirements or when I did find them they were out of my price range ($400+), so when I saw this series 32 with what I think is a chrome barrel that met all of the above with one exception, I decided to gamble on it to the tune of $115.
So why $115? Well I tend to find at auctions you need to watch for guns being dumped because they have issues. This one is no exception.
The first, obvious issue is the one lip in the mag well is bent/split. The other, less obvious issue, is the follower is completely stuck. It won't budge an inch. Now this gun was actually sold as a"6.5x51" so I'm wondering if there was some misadventure in the past with wrong ammo that possibly lead to this or just a typo in the catalog but that doesn't matter now. Not pictured is the fact the stock was cut down but fortunately no other serious mods were made to the gun like swapped parts (that I can tell) or scope mount holes so that is the second part of this puzzle.
I apologize for not having pictures of the entire gun, I plan to get some tomorrow after cleaning it up further and shooting pictures of my entire collection in one go. What I'm looking to know is if this gun is worth fixing up, or if it's better just hanging onto as it is, just as a conversation piece.
I've done similar rebuilds before - my grandfather had a 98k that had a cut down stock, and 2 years and $200 later I finally got the parts for it to get it somewhat correct again. That gun will never be matching (more to that story) but it had sentimental value that made it worth it so I had little concern about the end value. On the other hand, I have no sentimental value to this rifle, the bluing is only fair at best and I'm figuring on at least $200 to get a new stock, hand guard, and hardware like barrel bands.
If I can fix the issues with the follower and lip in the receiver, is it worth trying to bring it back to original spec, or am I better off just leaving it as-is? Did stuff like stocks, hand guards, and barrel bands get serialized with the rifle like on the 98k, thus impacting the value when they don't match? I realize I won't come out much cheaper if I bought a complete one in the first place, but I figured it's easier to try and find a stock and misc hardware than trying to match a bolt. I do hope this is the right board, as technically this could be considered a restoration, but I'm also looking for general info about it and if it's even worth going that far with it. Thank you!Information
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