nevada68 wrote:
actually i meant to ask about lowering its value. i thought these were just parts gun put together with whatever was on hand so the value was in being a good shooter. is this not the case?
What you have is one of the first Czech export Mausers to be made after WWII. It was made so early that it uses a lot of parts made for the Germans during WWII, which is why it is DOU 45 marked. They soon started scrubbing the markings off the receiver and later went back to the Czech lion crest. A lot of these rifles (but probably not yours) were sold to Israel. I would say it is definitely a collector's rifle and is probably also a good shooter. They must have run out of German type trigger guards because the "winter trigger guard" is strictly Czech.
I need one for my own collection but I am holding off, trying to find one with post WWII Czech Army acceptance markings (very uncommon) to go with a similar marked bayonet I already have.