Keep in mind the rifle has been "out of service" for some 70 years. Just about anything could have happened. Even if it didn't go through military service, it could have been used for hunting, drill teams, just "banged around, or one of a million other uses that would have produced the wear. It all depends what happened to the rifle AFTER it left the military.
"We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."
--C.S. Lewis