At least you got to hand pick! I didn't and after transfer it'll be 159.00 otd.
Exactly. I was disappointed when I saw the price tags, there were eight in the store and all of them were $199, but I was set on a MN.
When I slid the bolt out and shined my flashlight through the bore, I felt better.
The way I see it, I paid a little extra, but I got one with a
perfect bore and decent wood.
Buy quality, cry once and all that.
Right now, I'm 'bubba'ing' it by applying a hand rubbed linseed oil finish to the stock.
The shellac looked ok, but when I slid the barrel bands off, the shellac peeled off with them.
Turns out there were two layers of shellac, and I think the outer one was applied by the importers. Both layers chipped and peeled easily with my thumbnail so I scraped it all off, dyed the wood, and have been applying linseed oil every day since.
It looks beautiful with the oil finish, far better than the shellac.
I guess I have destroyed the 'collector value'
D) but since it's a definite keeper I'm not too concerned.
