Maintenance and the Collecting of Milsurps

[Singer B]

One of the best parts of this hobby is picking up a piece that needs to saved and preserved. The research is the "hunt" for how to correctly preserve this piece of history. As an example, a friend brought me an Arisaka Type 99 he had just obtained and wanted me to strip it down and detail clean it as I had done with several other rifles. Before starting, I did my research which mentioned the importance and significance of Type 99s that still have staked receiver screws. This rifle was one of those and therefore it received the best detailed cleaning that could be accomplished without dismantling it and breaking the staking on those screws. Nothing in my safes goes unused during the year, even if it is a minimal 10 rounds or so. After all, the second best part is experiencing the feel of these firearms when they do what they are designed to do.