I have one that someone unwrapped to sell at a Calgary show a few years ago. Still packed full of and covered with storage grease and not a ding or even trace of a scratch anywhere. After I got up the nerve to clean it I was a little surprised to find traces of minor corrosion in a couple of spots- under the grease- so was very happy that I got around to cleaning it up. So mine is brand new and unfired (and will remain that way) and can be closely examined by a potential buyer. To me the wrapper is nothing but a means of trying to preserve the brand new rifle inside during storage while owned by the military. When he rifle enters the private market the wrapper becomes irrelevant and may lead to damage if the paper is broken and moisture can get inside. The rifle was not intended to stay in there forever! If I ever sell mine, I wouldn't ask any less than what wrapped examples are going for.
milsurpo
THIS!!!!^^^^
Beware! If the rifle is still completely preserved in its original packaging without any signs of perforation, tearing or peering in by anyone, it might still be safe and sound in there. Rifles that have been removed from their mummification need to be carefully examined even if they are still completely packed with cosmoline! You have no idea where this rifle has been stored, under what conditions, how many people have owned it since it was built/rebuilt, if it was stored in a cold, dry basement and then brought up to show friends on a hot, humid summer day where moisture condensed on and in it before being put away. All rifles still packed with cosmoline could have seen lots of poor situations unknowingly.
I have a beautiful M1917 Eddystone Enfield that is un-issued and perfect from Nov. 1918, still packed with thick cosmoline everywhere. I was going to clean it all up, but then decided that it was too rare in that condition to do so and found another similar one that had already been cleaned and shot a little so that I could shoot it on occasion. Anyway, before I put it all back together, I decided to have a really good look at it. There seemed to be some different colouring under the cosmoline on the magazine box so I gave it a bit of a wipe and found there was actually rust under there!!!! I wiped it all down and cleaned up the box and now it has a large bare spot on the one side where the rust had eaten away the bluing. Nothing bad, no pitting, just bluing loss down to bare metal. Now it is nicely blued, but has a large silver, bare metal patch on the one side! I sourced another unissued one of the exact same type, vintage and manufacturer and greased it all up and put it in there when I put it all back together. I also, just to make absolutely sure, cleaned the bore out and heavily greased it with frog lube paste to make sure that the most important part of the rifle won't be ruined by unsuspecting moisture under the original cosmoline!!!
I have a few other rifles that are either new, unissued or as new packed in cosmoline that I have thoroughly inspected and done the bore cleaning and pasting to as well just to be sure.
I would absolutely recommend taking the time to fully inspect any rifles that you have in your collection that you think are perfectly preserved just to make absolutely sure that that is truly the case and you don't have a hidden bad situation slowly attacking your perfect babies!!!! This is especially true if you have a LOT of rifles to maintain and you don't really even think about those ones thinking that they are completely safe!!! Disposable gloves are really needed here!!!
Ian
