One of the reasons I gave up on the Vintage BMW Owners Association, (of which I was a plank owner), was having two snobs walk by my '67 R69S at rally and criticize it because I had replaced some fender mount bolts with stainless.  That kind of people I don't need in my life.   

I've got a couple of Stevenses that are all original, and the only reason I wouldn't modify one is because they are functional just as they are.  AFAIC properly drilled holes for scope blocks are a plus if it was done in the distant past by a gunsmith to enhance the utility of the gun, and it does. What I DO hate seeing is a refinished gun (often garishly) presented as original.  Especially when the mechanics of the gun have been ignored.   

My $0.05 worth.

scharfe wrote on Apr 9^th, 2023 at 10:32pm:


Old guns are often misidentified for a couple reasons. First being a seller whose not knowledgeable, and sees a similar model that's got a higher value, so he's convinced his is that model.
Second is a seller who knows better, but is hoping a buyer doesn't.

I think it was James Grant who mentioned that the person who insists upon the ultimate in finish and originality will never have a representative collection, just a lot of very fine pieces.

At my purchasing power level, if I see that somebody in the past was excited enough about his rifle’s accuracy potential to spend the money (considerable back then) to mount a scope on it, it is liable to be a great shooter.  The rest of the transaction is dictated by price and “need” considerations.

I find the few pristine originals I have spend most of their time in the safe.  If I was only interested in how the cash value of my accumulation might go up or down, I’d probably be buying stocks and bonds, rather than Single Shot rifles.

Here is a heartbreaker. This is a Remington #2 sporting rifle originally chambered in .25-25 Stevens - an extremely rare chambering for these rifles. It has an excellent bore too.  But some knuckle dragging neanderthal ran what appears to be a .25-20 WCF chamber reamer into it in the misguided hope of using more commonly available ammunition in it.  It is of course ruined 

ssdave wrote on Apr 10^th, 2023 at 11:43am:


Possibly, but .25.25 reamers are not easy to find, nor is brass. It will never be original again...

I've had a chamber sleeve done on a rifle, and if you're going for the same cartridge as before, or a longer cartridge in the same bore size, it is much cheaper. 
Depending on the gunsmith, the chamber is bored and sleeved and the sleeve can be threaded in, or more often Loctite or soldered in. Then a reamer run in to bring it back to the same cartridge, or a longer cartridge.

Yes, that is the rifle. I have a reprint of the book Boy's Rifles coming but don't have it yet. When I get the book I plan to take a few pictures and do a short write-up on the rifle. I want to see what Grant had to say first.

MrTipUp wrote on Apr 10^th, 2023 at 7:55pm:


Yes, I was referring to originallity.  I would consider having the chamber sleeved and rechambered back to .25-25. But I don't know who could do it and who also has a .25-25 reamer on hand. It likely would take a custom made reamer. I thought maybe CPA would have a reamer. But according to their website, no. The closest they have is .25-21