Originally Posted by
Gunlaker
I think the originals are way cooler than the newer ones, but I think you have to be really savvy to buy a well worn original and do well. I only shoot repros now. At one time I'd bought what was my dream lever action rifle. A Winchester 1886 in 38-56 with an octagonal barrel and a full length magazine tube. It had a number of little problems, and when I showed it to a friend who knows a fair bit more than I do, he said that someone had swapped a lot of parts internally and it'd be a lot of work to fix it right. That's more or less been my experience with 100+ year old single shots and lever guns. If they are affordably priced then it's likely that somebody has messed it up.
If I could find the same rifle in really nice condition I'd probably get rid of my newer rifles though :-).
Chris.