Ted Williams Model 100 ( Win 94 )

[cwheel]

Good morning,
I have a 15 year old neighbor that is going out for his first deer hunt this fall. He is looking for his first deer rifle. Another friend has a Ted Williams model 100, 30:30 that he might sell, this is a Sears branded Winchester 94. No scope or mount, no sling or swivels. Condition is good with some lite surface pitting, all else is fine, think it's a mid 70's production. The question is fair price for the seller and buyer, both are friends ?? A little looking on the internet shows these things selling all over the place. Some down to $125 with a scope in rougher shape, some sellers asking in the $500 range. ( doesn't look like those are selling though ) My best guess is in the $200-$250 range, but it's just that, a guess. Thought I'd post here and see if any of you have opinions on this. Remember, both are friends, looking for a fair price to offer for both. Thanks,
Chris

[flyingmonkey35]

Well I picked mine up for about 500 bucks.

It was part of a trade though.

Gun broker has em between 250 + depending on condition and year.

Is loan him one for the first shoot anyway.

[jonp]

I have one that I paid about $300 which included shipping to my FFL. It is in good shape I think considering the age and I am quite happy with it.

Friends sell stuff to each other "at a good price" which is the price they are both happy with. If my buddy told me he would take $250 for it and it was in good shape I would consider that fair.

[bruce drake]

I bought my Model 100 for $225 at a gunshop in GA three years ago. I had to replace a couple of buggered screws and an ejector screw for under $15 from Brownells so $225-$250 for a good condition rifle.

[OverMax]

Well~~~some horse trad'in for a gun case or a 1/2 box of old shells {before hand} keeps all smiling. Better yet. Maybe a guarantee of a package or two of Round or loin steak off the first deer harvested will sweeten the deal up too. {Never can tell with us old guys} As for a young mans first gun. 250-300 if its in nice shape is a equitable place to start between two good friends.

[Wayne Smith]

Does the neighbor reload? Will you be providing boolits? Will you be teaching him to reload and cast? Figure all that in as well as you talk to the young man.

[Kevinakaq]

Guy ifs offerring me one right now for 250 in decent condition....i am on the fence myself so i feel your pain. BUT it is a winchester 94 for 250 bucks and if you are going to hunt with it you cant go wrong and I would jump in...just wouldn't make a good investment/Collectable rifle...

[cwheel]

Thanks guys, looks like I'm not that far off on the price, want to keep it fair for both. Rifle owner is out of the area for another week on a job and will try to swing the deal when he returns. To answer Wayne Smith's question, his dad doesn't reload, I do. This summer will be spent shooting what ever rifle he ends up with, learning safety and marksmanship. Told him to save cases and I'll teach reloading later on next winter. Casting boolits will be a part of it.
Chris

[TXGunNut]

Sounds like a good start for your young neighbor, can't imagine $250 buying a better rifle for him. I hope he'll take advantage of your mentoring offer, could be rewarding experience for both of you. Please keep us posted.

[Kevinakaq]

This summer will be spent shooting what ever rifle he ends up with, learning safety and marksmanship. Told him to save cases and I'll teach reloading later on next winter. Casting boolits will be a part of it.
Chris

Mentoring is where it is at. My hats off to you for your efforts and the contribution to the next generation you are making. Wish we had more doing the same a lot of the troubles we have would diminish.

[blixen]

For what it's worth I saw that sears 30-30 winchester knockoff for $225. Even with the birch stock and a weird stamped steel forearm cap, I was tempted.

[cwheel]

We will know how it's going to turn out next week when the owner comes back to town, no hurry at all. If that one falls through I think I may have another lined up. The other is a Ted Williams Sears house branded Winchester 70 bolt gun in 30:06 with a Sears branded scope. Just a little more money, but much more gun. And that's the concern, thinking a 15 year old of average build will do better with the 30:30 than a 30:06 in factory loads. His dad and I both think it's best to keep the investment low until he gets a chance to get one, gut it, drag it out getting the full treatment seeing if he will continue. Hope he will, but until that time it's unknown. No point in buying a rifle with any collectors value until the second or third season. Old house brands were made by reputable makers, but little or no collectors value.
Chris

[CGT80]

At 14 years old, I was able to shoot my dad's 30-06 Remington 700 (IIRC) with a 3-9 scope. I loaded full power loads with 180 grain jwords and IMR 4895. I was just doing informal target practice. I started to shoot my grandfather's win 94 30-30 a year and a half ago (now 33 years old). It has some kick with full power 170 grain jwords. The 94 is lighter and easier to handle for off hand silhouette shooting, with stock iron sights (I think it is a trapper model as it is short and only holds 6 or so rounds in the tube). What has been really fun is plain base 180 grain boolits at 1300 fps. My mom is in her 50's and is only 5'3" and can shoot them just fine, but she doesn't have the upper body strength/experience to shoot unsupported.

They both sound like nice guns. I don't know how much you can download a 30-30 or 30-06 for hunting, but it could make a big difference for a new shooter. I have run 30.0 grains of imr 4895 under a 150 jword in the 30-06. It takes the edge off the recoil and noise (I always double up on ear pro anyway), vs. a full power load. I run the same cast boolit and shotgun powder in my win 54 30-06 bolt gun, as my win 94 30-30, for the light loads. I don't even use jwords anymore.

The price sounds great on the 30-30. It seems low, but maybe the sears version isn't as sought after as the winchester. My 94 is from the early 70's and it does great. The action is a little clunky, but my grandfather didn't shoot it a lot. It did get me a tie for first place on my third silhouette match. I got compliments on the great shooting rifle. I am no expert at shooting, but I do compete in 3gun, action pistol, and now lever action, on a regular basis.

It sounds like this teen has a great opportunity ahead of him. My dad showed me the basics on reloading, and I had to learn the rest from reading and talking to others. He showed me a little casting, but he only knew the very basics. I have learned a ton from this site in the last few years. It would have been great to have a castboolits member and the forum, to get me going when I was 14 or 15 years old.

[CGT80]

Old house brands were made by reputable makers, but little or no collectors value.
Chris

This makes sense. I think I recall seeing win 94's from the early 70's going for 500-800 dollars, which is still reasonable to me. I thought they may be worth more, but it seems it has to be pre 64 to be a great win 94. Mine, however, is priceless-as it was my grandfather's deer hunting rifle. My win 54 was made in 1926 and was my other grandfather's hunting rifle. It is a short version as well and I have the saddle holster for it (he hunted from horse back). The older guns have a little more character as well. Hopefully this teen will learn to appreciate the sport/lifestyle as much as we do.

[cwheel]

Well the Ted Williams didn't work out, owner wants to give it to his grandson. ( not a bad idea on his part ) Time to see if the 06 is still there and available.
Chris

[bear67]

Nothing wrong with the Sears rebranded stuff. I have some JC Higgins, Sears and Ted Williams rebranded guns and as a shooter who cares. I have a 30-30 in Ted Williams, but the Winchester that I am proudest of is a Sears M54 in 30-30 that I picked up off of a local classified trader paper for $225 that was unfired and had a slight scratch on the forestock.
Not a Winchester, but I also have a JC Higgins M 45 (Marlin 336) in 35 Rem--a great shooter and has a better than average piece of walnut on it. $300, but it came with 120 rounds of factory RP ammo. Guess I am more of a shooter than a collector--If I like it and can afford it, why not buy it.

[Wayne Smith]

Thanks guys, looks like I'm not that far off on the price, want to keep it fair for both. Rifle owner is out of the area for another week on a job and will try to swing the deal when he returns. To answer Wayne Smith's question, his dad doesn't reload, I do. This summer will be spent shooting what ever rifle he ends up with, learning safety and marksmanship. Told him to save cases and I'll teach reloading later on next winter. Casting boolits will be a part of it.
Chris

In that case I'd sell it to him cheap, maybe even allow him to pay it off over time while he learns to feed it.

[cwheel]

Well Wayne, if it was mine, I'd let him work it off over the summer, plenty of work to do here. But it's not mine, and owner wants to keep it to start a grandson on. Understandable, I'd do the same thing if in his shoes. My grandkids have rifles standing by in the safe waiting for the day, can't give away, or sell these. Sent both the young man and his father to the pawn shops locally to see what they might find. Also to the gun broker sites looking as well. Although I have a FFL, it's a C&R and I don't want to get involved in a straw man sale of any kind, don't want to be in the middle. Sure they will find something fairly soon, in this economy there sure seams to be lots of good stuff out there for sale at a reasonable price.
Chris

[Sig556r]

Bought my first 30-30 (Win'94-in-disguise) TW100 last year for $250 OTD in a gunshow with side scope & nice leather sling. Pretty mint condition considering age & old-school bluing.
Shoots good in 150 & 175 FNs RD NOE molds.
Just need to get used to the lever action coming from semis & bolt actions...