Oh it makes me sick to see a pre war handgun, rifle or shotgun that some schmuck has gone to town to clean the light rust and patina away. They should all be beaten with a big thick hickory stick. lets not even talk about all of the coatings.
I have my own thoughts. A $350-$450 rusted ugly duck model 28 is still more valuable and desirable then one that has been bead blasted and coated. A coated gun makes me think someone is trying to hide things and '"To Me" it will never be as valuable as the the ugly rusted duckling shooter of a gun I bought for $400. Please do not even ask me how I feel about a stock that has been sanded and to the point that all metal of the gun extends beyond the surface of the wood. It makes my skin crawl.
I respect that others won't agree. I just have a love and respect for the older guns the way they are. You can always fix the internals as needed, but if it's coated I assume it was so undesirable that this was needed to make it acceptable.
My personal experience with the younger crowd is that they didn't know they are killing value and character. I have mentored a few younger folks in years past, and truth be told they never gave it any thought. After hanging with me they cam to appreciate the old guns, the heft of the old steel guns, the history and the individual craftsmanship. Like everything in this world, it comes down to educating the next generation.
I recently read a story about the resurrection of revolver love in the millennial population. As much as i hate to see competition for my favorite toys, I know this will ensure that Colt, Taurus, Smith and Wesson and others will continue to make them for many years to come.
I'll sum it up here. How many times have you worked the action on an old gun and and said to yourself. I wish this gun could talk, I wonder who or what it has seen?
