When my Brother died I inherited a Winchester model 61 that belonged to our uncle. It is one of two from my childhood. The second one belonged to another uncle (they were brothers) and it was the first gun I ever shot. I was five years old sitting on my uncle's lap and I can still remember it!
Now the big question, should I have it restored? It is in good shape mechanically and shoots like a champ. I took it shooting today in fact. The metal and wood are solid but the blue is completely gone in places. It was not a safe queen by any stretch of the imagination.
Before I lost my son I would have never contemplated a refinish. But when I am gone I have no family to leave it to and it will be put on the auction block and its history will be gone forever. So my thought is why not restore it to factory finish and enjoy it as long as I can. I just thought I would ask to see what most of you thought about the idea.
SPJ