German rifle of some kind G98/40 ??

[helmetbuyers]

I'm sure you asked, but could there be any chance the bolt and other parts are laying around in the basement of whoever you got it from? It might just be worth pestering someone over.

I will give it a try... but... I already asked..

[Wolfsburg]

Did you ever hear an explanation of how the missing pieces got lost?

[phild]

The condition of that rifle strikes me as one that was stored in an out building or perhaps a very damp basement for many years/decades. I'm not sure that 40 -50 years in most attics would leave these kind of condition caracteristics on one.

The wood is very dry and it is a credit to the quality of manufacture that the laminations have not started to really come apart. I'd bet that the rifle was near mint when brought back.

This rifle should illustrate to everyone what proper maintenance (oiling) and proper storage is critical over the long term. It also illustrates why the pop collector slogan "un-touched" is not always a good thing!

Parts to this rifle were probably lost the same ways that thousands of parts were lost in thousands of other firearms that were brought back from the wars.

Having said the above, it is still a nice rifle and deserves attention by someone who knows what they are doing. I'm not talking about anytype of refinish here but rather preservation and wise treatment of the corrosion.

[helmetbuyers]

The condition of that rifle strikes me as one that was stored in an out building or perhaps a very damp basement for many years/decades. I'm not sure that 40 -50 years in most attics would leave these kind of condition caracteristics on one.

The wood is very dry and it is a credit to the quality of manufacture that the laminations have not started to really come apart. I'd bet that the rifle was near mint when brought back.

This rifle should illustrate to everyone what proper maintenance (oiling) and proper storage is critical over the long term. It also illustrates why the pop collector slogan "un-touched" is not always a good thing!

Parts to this rifle were probably lost the same ways that thousands of parts were lost in thousands of other firearms that were brought back from the wars.

Having said the above, it is still a nice rifle and deserves attention by someone who knows what they are doing. I'm not talking about anytype of refinish here but rather preservation and wise treatment of the corrosion.

I don't see any pitting...

It has light surface rust... which would look much better/removed if cleaned with an oily rag/WD-40.

I leave things alone... as not to mess things up.

[phild]

If you are not going to keep the rifle, I agree with you to let the buyer do with it what they want or don't want.IMO the rust looks to be border line as what the metal will look like underneath. I have see some come back very nicely that looked like this and some not so nicely.