Yes and people get them restored to operating condition.You have never heard of a barn find survivor then.
Yes and people get them restored to operating condition.You have never heard of a barn find survivor then.
That kind of work takes a lifetime to learn, and I bet you could have bought several new guns for what it cost you for that restoration. I wonder how many hours he put into doing it. It was worth it though - that shotgun came back as a thing of beauty.Restoration done right is a thing of beauty but doing it right is neither cheap or fast and requires a master gunsmith of which there are very few in this country. The good ones are booked for years or not taking new work.
Just to give you an idea of what it takes to correctly restore a valuable firearm here is a link to my AH Fox XE restoration performed by a master. An XE is a rare desirable shotgun and I found it cheap but it was in rough shape. The gunsmith is not taking new work in case anyone is wondering.
https://vicknairgunsmithing.blogspot.com/2015/12/restoration-of-fox-xe-grade.html