Great rifle. Enjoy shooting it! Of course everyone can lament what these rifles once were when original and as-issued. The same is of course true of the many millions of surplus rifles that were converted sometimes beautifully and sometimes less wonderfully by everyone from high level gunsmiths to kitchen table bubbas. Today we all realize what a treasure these rifles were. We are wise to also realize what a treasure they are. If you've got one, enjoy it! If you can get one that is nice, get it. The actions and shootable rifles are not being made any more.
For my part, I decided long ago to not mess up nice surplus rifles. A loose receiver... that can be built up into something nice is a good opportunity. For instance, a 03-A4 is very expensive. But, one can take a decent 03-A3 action and with care produce a very nice 03-A4 replica that will allow one to enjoy shooting a type of rifle that in excellent condition would be to expensive for everyday use. It's about the same with the various M-98 Mauser actions. The rifles are long gone. But the actions can be used to produce new rifles that will be enjoyed for many years to come. Cool. Sincerely. bruce.
" Unlike most conservatives, libs have no problem exploiting dead children and dancing on their graves."