I agree, Craig. While I've never been one who sought out top condition S x Ss, as such, I always appreciated one that really looked "nice". Now, my idea of "nice" has changed.
I bought a 32" BE 1918 Fox some years ago to use as a shooter. It had been restocked, the trigger guard had been brazed where it had broken, bluing all but gone and replaced with a plum brown in some places. I found that I shot it very well, and began to entertain thoughts of a restoration of sorts. Glad I got involved with other gun projects and let that idea incubate awhile, because as I bonded with the gun I found that much of the beauty of it is in it's survival of 105 years of use. It'll stay just the way it is, and I'll continue to enjoy it for what it is, not for what it could be.
Old guns could be called much worse things than "a shooter".
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