Old Winchesters - What's the appeal?

[smutt]

But my original point was value for the money. You can buy a Mosin and still have $1,500 left over for a good weekend in Vegas.

I once purchased a NIB Les Baer .45 for half of what it would cost me had I ordered it new. When I asked the guy why he was selling it he told me his wife "wanted to go to Vegas". There's no real value in going to Vegas, but I was happy to help him out.

 

[Donn]

It is like asking "Why should I buy a vintage big block Chevelle when I can drive a Prius much more economically?"

^^^ Precisely ^^^ The above says it all.

 

[Whitens Moss]

There's no real value in going to Vegas, but I was happy to help him out.

That depends whether Lady Luck is on your side. I once read that a guy turned a stake of $800 to $27,000 playing blackjack and went on to start what is now a Fortune 500 company. Maybe apocryphal but I believe it was FedEx.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

That depends whether Lady Luck is on your side. I once read that a guy turned a stake of $800 to $27,000 playing blackjack and went on to start what is now a Fortune 500 company. Maybe apocryphal but I believe it was FedEx.

I got news- Fred Smith came from a multi-millionaire family down in Memphis.
A buddy of mine here in town went to a private junior high in Memphis.
He car pooled. When it was his family's turn, his Mom drove.
When it was the Fred Smith family's turn, chauffeur in black caddy drove.

 

[feralmerril]

Why doesn't a marlin or savage of the same era command as high a price as a Winchester? They were good also dependable counterpart models, right? Some, maybe most collectors buy with a eye towards having a safe investment plus hope it has a high potential to appreciate. So from that sense you have to take in account to what other people think.

 

[Whitens Moss]

I got news- Fred Smith came from a multi-millionaire family down in Memphis.
A buddy of mine here in town went to a private junior high in Memphis.
He car pooled. When it was his family's turn, his Mom drove.
When it was the Fred Smith family's turn, chauffeur in black caddy drove.

Thanks for clearing that up. I still believe the tale is true but it surely was someone else that got his seed money for a big biz at the blackjack tables. Either that or maybe I dreamed it

 

[the ringo kid]

I think this is a big part of the crazy high values. Not to take away from the quality or craftsmanship, but a big part is a combination of a certain generation's nostalgia for the shows of their youth combined with a large disposable income.

Which is why I still want a Henry made "Mares Leg" in 357 or 45 caliber. Steve McQueen could make anything "cool" by using it.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Vasily Zaytsev, during WWII, had 225 confirmed sniper kills including 11 opposing snipers. This had a lot to do with elevating the interest in this lowly Russian weapon. Winchester owns the mansion but Mosin has its own tiny room.

 

[Coldshooter]

I have a Finnish Mosin Nagant and have had it out at 50 below in the Black Spruce and shot at very small targets, read rabbits for head shots. There is a bit of a feeling of what it might have been like to have been one of the Finns in 1939 during the winter war. That to me is the enjoyment of any older gun to see what it was like during other times. many of us are old enough to remember the surplus bolt actions and surplus ammo of the sixties. They were fun to shoot and wonder where they had been.

 

[gregintenn]

Why doesn't a marlin or savage of the same era command as high a price as a Winchester? They were good also dependable counterpart models, right? Some, maybe most collectors buy with a eye towards having a safe investment plus hope it has a high potential to appreciate. So from that sense you have to take in account to what other people think.

Have you priced some of them recently?

The high end 1899 Savages and high grade Marlins bring unbelievable sums.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Get ready, I will write a bunch of thread about my buddy Milt.
Like he was making house calls up in N Korea. A Chinese soldier pulls down on him with a Mosin-Nagant. Milt raises his 1911 only to see that it smokestacked when he shot an enemy soldier next door.
A gun goes off. It's loud. Milt tries to compute if he's been shot.
The Chinaman topples. MSgt George Crabtree is right behind Milt.
George had put the muzzle of his M1 under Milts right ear and touched it off.
If I'm not mistaken, Winchester made a bunch of m1s.
Winchesters are All American guns. Mosin-Nagants are anti-American guns.

 

[Frank237]

Comparing a Mosin to a Winchester 73!

As previously stated...If we have to explain it...you aint gonna get it.

 

[DR505]

Vasily Zaytsev, during WWII, had 225 confirmed sniper kills including 11 opposing snipers. This had a lot to do with elevating the interest in this lowly Russian weapon. Winchester owns the mansion but Mosin has its own tiny room.

Vasily Zaytsev had 242 Confirmed Kills...look at the woman who made him look like an amateur:

Lyudmila Pavlichenko
July 12, 1916 – October 10, 1974

Lyudmyla M Pavlichenko

309 Confirmed Kills

In June 1941, Pavlichenko was 24 and Nazi Germany were invading the Soviet Union. She was among the first volunteers and asked to join the infantry. she was assigned to the Red Armies 25th infantry Division. From there she became one of 2000 female snipers of the soviet.

Her first 2 kills were made near Belyayevka using a Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle with a P.E. 4-power scope. The first action she saw was during the conflict in Odessa. She was there for 2 and a half months and notched 187 kills. When they were forced to relocate, she spent the next 8 months fighting in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula. There she recorded 257 kills and for this feat she was cited by the Southern Army Council. Pavlichenkos' total confirmed kills during WW2 was 309. 36 of those were enemy snipers.
Top 10 Snipers in History

Of course, Simo Häyhä, Nicknamed 'The White Death', had 705 confirmed kills (505 with rifle, 200 with submachine gun) in less than a hundred days!

 

[Whitens Moss]

Comparing a Mosin to a Winchester 73!

As previously stated...If we have to explain it...you aint gonna get it.

I get it. Not comparing, contrasting. Unless you reload the .38/40 is very hard to find and if so, expensive. 7.62x54R is everywhere. Point being that the Winny is a nice keepsake and pass along to the grandkids; the Mosin is a shooter, nothing more.

 

[DeathGrip]

Bolt actions

If you could find a Winchester in Russia, And you had money, It would cost a bunch.

What's a Mosin worth? Would you carry Grandpas mosin to the woods for some deer hunting? Did a Mosin win the American West? Will a Mosin ever out class a Model 70 ? Even a post '64 ???

It's not just me this time.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Vasily Zaytsev had 242 Confirmed Kills...look at the woman who made him look like an amateur:



Of course, Simo Häyhä, Nicknamed 'The White Death', had 705 confirmed kills (505 with rifle, 200 with submachine gun) in less than a hundred days!

I stand corrected.

 

[rburg]

"Why should I buy a vintage big block Chevelle when I can drive a Prius much more economically?"

Sure, and we'd all still respect you.....

 

[BigBill]

Teddy Roosevelt's Winchester?

Winchester 1873?

Anything with the orginal Winchester name on it?

The 1890 Winchester 22 pump?

Get it yet? It's the American gun history around the Winchester brand and name. The west was won by the Winchester lever action repeating rifle. It's true grit American history.

Smith & Wesson and Colt guns are no different. The old western towns had there own boot hill cemeteries filled by deaths from handguns.

Look at the old Russian 91/30 mosins. Look at the history.
Search about "the rifles of the white death" the Finnish mosins nagant rifles. The few gutsy 32 Finnish soldiers who made 3,600 Russians retreat with 400 dead Russians.

 

[BigBill]

I stand corrected.

He used a Finnish mosins with no scope for most of his sniper kills. He did have a scoped Swedish mauser but he prefered the mosin. I believe his number of kills still stands today in his short time of service.

The Finnish armorers took the captured Russian mosins in the Russo/Finnish war of 1939 and reworked them till they shot 1" moas. Then they were released into service. All the Finnish mosins were made from captured Russian mosins. If you remove the receiver from the stock on these rifles you will find shims between the receiver and the wood stock. Remember to return them to the spot they came from.

Don't under estimate the Russian Mosin nagant rifle too. Most were pretty accurate too.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

This is a 1892 Winchester made in 1894. It is a parts gun that has a 25-20 barrel. The 25-20 did not exist until 1895. You will notice that it is a take down model. Whoever put the barrel on it, appears to have blued it without filling it smooth before bluing. It is a joy to shoot.

Click for a larger image.

 

[BigBill]

Nothing wrong with any military surplus rifle too.
I prefer the Swedish mausers and the south American German made 7mm mausers. I like them all but the 6,5mm & 7mm mausers you can shoot very accurately all day.

 

[Jessie]

Vasily Zaytsev had 242 Confirmed Kills...look at the woman who made him look like an amateur:



Of course, Simo Häyhä, Nicknamed 'The White Death', had 705 confirmed kills (505 with rifle, 200 with submachine gun) in less than a hundred days!

I'd kill a lot of people if I was named Simo Hayha, too!

 

[Vegetaman]

Ever hear of the Mosin that won the west?

No... But I hear it's been quite effective in the East.

Don't under estimate the Russian Mosin nagant rifle too. Most were pretty accurate too.

I love mine. Ammo is highly affordable, and it shoots very tightly with its iron sights. I can't really complain about it at all.

 

[rburg]

Steve McQueen could make anything "cool" by using it.

So how's yer supply of spendin' cash? Long ago I was collecting Gil Hibben handmade knives. And at a gun show I picked up a funny looking knife. It was clearly a Hibben, but one side of the blade was screwed up by an attempt to sharpen it. Didn't matter, it was a genuine Hibben.

So Hibben hisself lives down the road a piece in La Grange. And he was helping promote a KenPo karate shop opening not far away. And of course promoting himself and his factory made fantasy knives. So I got to the shop and there was a line standing there to get his autograph on the boxes of overpriced stampings. So when I was up to about 3 from the front, the guy up there asked about his hand made creations. And Gil's wife said the guy 3 back had one in his hand. That was my ticket to move up in line. And I didn't have 1, I had 3 I wanted to know about. But he instantly focused on the one that I felt was the least interesting. It was the one with the damaged blade.

And his questioning started with "where'd you get this one?" So I told him as best I could. He kind of smiled and said its a steak knife (funny, eating steak is one of my favorite things). So he told me a story about it. He made 3 sets of steak knives up to that point. He knew for a fact that 2 of the sets were intact. But the 3rd one was Steve McQueen's, and he was certain my knife was from that set of 16. After his death, the household belongings scattered to the winds. Presumably stolen by the household staff (I've heard they'll steal the silver, too). When I told him I paid $10 for it, he laughed and said it was worth a lot more given the connection to McQueen.

But the commies are probably happy just having "meat" for dinner, not necessarily steak. So if you're happy with the commie rifle, just any old knife will probably suit you too.

 

[feralmerril]

Years ago I worked with a retired army sgt. Besides world war two he had fought in korea. He told me a bad incident he was in. A solider came out of a hole and was aiming at him. He said he knew he was dead! The rifle misfired. (Would that have been a Mosin Nagant?) Anyway they killed him and my friend took the rifle apart to see what happened and he said it had a broken firing pin!

 

[BigBill]

I don't know either. That's why I bought a pair of Mosins for sub-$140 each out the door (both 1943 Izhevsks). Let other people with money to burn go for them "collectables".

These are collectables. These once were only $89. I've seen them for $250/$300 lately. The hex receivers and laminated stocks are much higher cost wise. It's fun owning, shooting, touching a real piece of battle history.

 

[TheHobbyist]

What's special about an ole' Winchester? Everything.

I currently hunt with one dated to 1898 (IIRC), in 30-30.

There is a reason. Hopefully, with any luck, it will help me feed my family this winter too. YMMV

 

[Straightshooter2]

I have an 1892 Winchester made, according to the Cody letter, in 1904. It has the octagonal barrel and it's a .32-20 which is rather hard to find ammo. It has somewhere between 5-10% of the finish left plus the stock and forearm are dented and the forearm has a horizontal crack. It's still the most beautiful gun I own!

Oh and I have 5 Mosins including a '33 hex receiver. Them I would sell...the Winchester will be passed down.