Restore or leave as is... Lee No4mk2

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Megaclocker

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Bolt is not matching, rifling is very good.
Longbranch 1943 receiver with FTR electropenciled lettering on the side.
Mostly LB parts. Can't find any inscription on stock. Bluing is mostly gone and there's some sort of black paint applied on the rifle.


I was thinking about using a brand new Mk4No2 blonde stock that I have and blast/parkerize the rifle (I got a tank and everything)

Any ideas how I should approach this. Also thinking about just leaving it as is.
 
Megaclocker said:
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IMG_2730.jpg


Bolt is not matching, rifling is very good.
Longbranch 1943 receiver with FTR electropenciled lettering on the side.
Mostly LB parts. Can't find any inscription on stock. Bluing is mostly gone and there's some sort of black paint applied on the rifle.


I was thinking about using a brand new Mk4No2 blonde stock that I have and blast/parkerize the rifle (I got a tank and everything)

Any ideas how I should approach this. Also thinking about just leaving it as is.
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Well, your "restoration" would kill the value completely. Being a Long Branch, you could sell it for $400-$600, maybe more, in that condition. It has a very nice worn look to it.
 
Restore it. Seeing the it is a Factory Though Repair (FTR), it looks like it has been sporterized in some form or another and someone un sporterized it after. A Long Branch is only really worth any money if all the numbers are matching and if it hasn't been sporterized in anyway but there is still some value there. Don't dump a tonne of money into it, just enough to make it look like someone took good care of it. Was at a gun show yesterday and there were 3 Long Branches and a couple of Jungle carbines all within the $375 range.
 
Blastattack said:
Well, your "restoration" would kill the value completely. Being a Long Branch, you could sell it for $400-$600, maybe more, in that condition. It has a very nice worn look to it.
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I seriously doubt your price evaluation.

A rifle in more or less poor condition as the OPs, is worth around $250.00 max.
A good restoration will increase the value considerably.
 
I'd try cleaning the wood first to get the grime off and bring back the original finish as much as possible before I actually attempted to refinish it.
 
Ya, I vote leave it alone. As for value, I'm guessing it would easily fetch 400$+ on the EE. I just saw one much worse...with a chopped barrel go for 500 lol.
 
polaris said:
I seriously doubt your price evaluation.

A rifle in more or less poor condition as the OPs, is worth around $250.00 max.
A good restoration will increase the value considerably.
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I will take a truckload of them in that condition for 250$ ea you must not have been watching the EE board much as the sportered LB rifles with uncut bbls generally go for 200-300$

I also wouldn't touch it, leave it has the " been there done that" look
 
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If you put that rifle as is on a table at the gun shows I go to at $250, it would be gone in no time. It has character. Keep it, clean it up a bit, shoot it, and enjoy it.
 
For those that think that rifle is worth $250 max, I will take every one of them you have that is complete with good bores.

OP, if your want to replace the stock with a new one. Just think about what you have in your hands first. You have a rifle that should bring anywhere from $375 on a bad day to $450 on a good day. You have a nice new No4 MkII stock set worth around $250. You take the rifle you have and completely refinish all of the components to as new. That rifle won't have any collector value but on the other hand it is one of the most common models available. You will need to be extremely careful not to scrub out any markings while you clean off the original finish. Go ahead and park it or even blue it with a very black recipe and you will have a gorgeous No4 MkI/II that doesn't have any collector value but will very certainly be very pretty. One thing though. Make sure you put it together properly. The ways on that stock may be to tight and you may not have enough fore end pressure as a result. There could be other issues as well.

When you get it right and it shoots as well as can be expected the rifle might bring $500 at best. Everyone loves a lovely, clean No4 that looks like new if the restorer does the job properly. That should give you about a dollar an hour for the work you will put into the rifle. Mind you, you should be able to get $150 out of the original stock bits.

The best return you will get out of restoring that rifle will be one of self satisfaction and the experience of doing it as well as a very pretty rifle, if you do a good job.

Not all of these rifles are historical other than in very minor ways. Your rifle won't even make a dimple in the pond as is but on the other hand will certainly turn heads at the range. I have seen more than one rifle refinished tastefully that actually increased in value albeit very little and if the work was farmed out likely a specimen in similar condition could have been found for leas than the cost of restoration.

Keep these factors in mind. Coming on this site to ask for permission will result in all sorts of replies, very many of them emotional rather than practical.
 
What you have is a rifle showing honest wear. I would pick it up from the table and examine it with interest.

If you park and fit a new stock, you would have an obvious restored rifle. Others would but I would not even look at it.
There is a certain amount of skill to restocking a rifle and a method to it. Less so with the No.4 than No.1 but it has to be done right.
I have reworked many nice looking 'rebuilt' rifles and corrected the bedding to get them shooting right.
I now give restored rifles a wide birth.

As for increase/decrease in value, I have no clue in today's market.
Worn original versus pretty rebuild. I know for which one I would pay a premium.
 
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Here's a Savage sporter I did last year. All matching and savage except one handguard and front barrel band.

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I cannot find any markings on the wood on the old/rusty one. Bore is a a 5 groove and it's mint.
Front the look of the barrel band/forend/handguard spot at the front. I think the wood belongs to this rifle or has been on it for a long time.

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Might just putt a newer LB buttstock and buttplate and call it a day.
 
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polaris said:
I seriously doubt your price evaluation.

A rifle in more or less poor condition as the OPs, is worth around $250.00 max.
A good restoration will increase the value considerably.
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I'm not sure what planet you live on, but it's certainly not this one. What you are personally willing to pay and what the market rate is are two completely different things. Any complete No4 seems to go for around $400, good barrel and Long Branch add to that. Also, the wear gives it great character, especially as the wear appears very uniform.
 
Blastattack said:
I'm not sure what planet you live on, but it's certainly not this one. What you are personally willing to pay and what the market rate is are two completely different things. Any complete No4 seems to go for around $400, good barrel and Long Branch add to that. Also, the wear gives it great character, especially as the wear appears very uniform.
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Don't worry, my planet is fine.

On my planet asking price and selling price are two different things, on your planet it might be the same.
On my planet, we know not to take EE asking prices to determine the value of firearms.
On my planet, we see from the OP's pictures that the rifle is in questionable condition with a jungle carbine trigger guard, who knows what else is mixed up.
On my planet, we do not believe that the bore is in good condition judging from the overall condition of the rifle.

Give me the choice, and I will always choose my planet over yours.
 
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