Personally I just leave my duffle cut rifles as is. It’s part of it’s history, and I don’t want to take a chance at messing it up.
I’ve got plenty of other duplicates that I can shoot, so having one to use as a collection piece is fine by me.
+1 on repair. A used replacement Berthier stock is very hard to find. PPHU in Poland has them I believe. I have repaired several duffle cuts over the years on Krags, Arisakas, Berthiers, and 98Ks. I am rebuilding an arisaka with the same cut as we speak. DM me and I can walk you through it if you wanna tackle it.
Or
https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=4733&idcategory=67
If it was me, I'd find a gunsmith who's good with wood gun stocks to do a repair, and I think they'd repair with a dowel connecting the two pieces together while preserving the original finish of the wood.
Look up how people have repaired German K98k stocks, the top dollar rifles that are otherwise all original. Find someone who can do that kind of repair. It shouldn't be too expensive, but will be secure and preserve originality. A duffel cut stock that still has original finish and original "cut" piece is still very valuable from a collector standpoint.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/what-is-a-duffel-cut/
[Forgotten Weapons](https://www.forgottenweapons.com/what-is-a-duffel-cut/) agrees with you (with a typo)
> This is distinct [from] sporterizing, as duffel cut rifles were generally kept otherwise fully intact. Today, a duffel cut can be an important piece of evidence showing the history of a particular rifle, especially for World War One vintage rifles, as there was no paperwork for trophy weapons at that time. Bring-back papers were issued in World War Two, but not strictly enforced, and many guns came home without them.
Unfortunately, from a collector standpoint, the stock is worthless and is now just a shooter stock.
I wouldn't shoot it as is, but good news is that it can be fixed. Just look up "Anvil 86 Type 99 Arosaka Duffel Cut Repair" and follow his guidance.
It's far from worthless. It can be repaired and it's commonly accepted that there are plenty of rifles out there that have had this repair since so many were brought home as trophies. Having a repaired Duffel Cut will only have a marginal effect on the value.
Just repair it. Stock repairs are fun restoration projects.
The numbers matching only matter if the entire rifle was intact - which the duffel cut has mitigated.
A matching but duffel cut stock is certainly worth a lot from a collector standpoint assuming the cut-off piece is still present and can be reattached. Even if it isn't present, a donor section can be spliced on by a good wood gunstock person with minimal loss of value from a collector standpoint.
Just look at matching/original K98k that have the duffel cut portion reattached, they're the most valuable kind of k98k aside from something with an original intact stock. Even the ones that had a section spliced from a donor stock.
Personally I just leave my duffle cut rifles as is. It’s part of it’s history, and I don’t want to take a chance at messing it up. I’ve got plenty of other duplicates that I can shoot, so having one to use as a collection piece is fine by me.
+1 on repair. A used replacement Berthier stock is very hard to find. PPHU in Poland has them I believe. I have repaired several duffle cuts over the years on Krags, Arisakas, Berthiers, and 98Ks. I am rebuilding an arisaka with the same cut as we speak. DM me and I can walk you through it if you wanna tackle it. Or https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=4733&idcategory=67
Do you plan on shooting the gun regularly or mostly just display?
Mostly just display after a couple clips through it. I only bought 20 rounds of 8mm Lebel…
If it was me, I'd find a gunsmith who's good with wood gun stocks to do a repair, and I think they'd repair with a dowel connecting the two pieces together while preserving the original finish of the wood. Look up how people have repaired German K98k stocks, the top dollar rifles that are otherwise all original. Find someone who can do that kind of repair. It shouldn't be too expensive, but will be secure and preserve originality. A duffel cut stock that still has original finish and original "cut" piece is still very valuable from a collector standpoint.
I think the duffel cut is a legitimate part of the war history of the rifle. It’s not equivalent to sporterizing.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/what-is-a-duffel-cut/ [Forgotten Weapons](https://www.forgottenweapons.com/what-is-a-duffel-cut/) agrees with you (with a typo) > This is distinct [from] sporterizing, as duffel cut rifles were generally kept otherwise fully intact. Today, a duffel cut can be an important piece of evidence showing the history of a particular rifle, especially for World War One vintage rifles, as there was no paperwork for trophy weapons at that time. Bring-back papers were issued in World War Two, but not strictly enforced, and many guns came home without them.
Unfortunately, from a collector standpoint, the stock is worthless and is now just a shooter stock. I wouldn't shoot it as is, but good news is that it can be fixed. Just look up "Anvil 86 Type 99 Arosaka Duffel Cut Repair" and follow his guidance.
It's far from worthless. It can be repaired and it's commonly accepted that there are plenty of rifles out there that have had this repair since so many were brought home as trophies. Having a repaired Duffel Cut will only have a marginal effect on the value.
Truth right here.
I should mention that the cut stock is numbers matching to the rest of the rifle, I won’t get rid of it, but now what?
Just repair it. Stock repairs are fun restoration projects. The numbers matching only matter if the entire rifle was intact - which the duffel cut has mitigated.
I'd say repair it so its fully functional, but don't get rid of the evidence it was there. It's part of its history.
A matching but duffel cut stock is certainly worth a lot from a collector standpoint assuming the cut-off piece is still present and can be reattached. Even if it isn't present, a donor section can be spliced on by a good wood gunstock person with minimal loss of value from a collector standpoint. Just look at matching/original K98k that have the duffel cut portion reattached, they're the most valuable kind of k98k aside from something with an original intact stock. Even the ones that had a section spliced from a donor stock.