They did make a very few that were not gaudy to the point that the average person could not appreciate them . Problem with them new was the price was way high and to hold value they had to sit unfired in the box with anything that came in the box . It's not just a Winchester thing , Colt was as bad or worse .
Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!
Ive got the Centennial 66 in the rifle version 26 inch octagon barrel was $125 brand new when my father Bought 2 of them in 1966
I don't care what anyone says, that's a really nice looking Canada spiker 32 spl. I love the 32 spl almost as much as 35 rem. with 1-14 twist is an ideal cast boo lit shooter right out of the box. i ve got an old ugly 1964 but it shoots great and only one mold needed rcbs 32-170.
Show up to any lever gun silhouette match and you will find plenty on the racks. Most of the commemorative rifles have perfect weight and balance with the rifle length barrels for offhand silhouette shooting. My favorite is a Legendary Frontiersman 38-55 (round barrel), but I also use a Buffalo Bill 30-30 (octagon barrel) as a backup/loaner rifle. Some years ago they could be picked up new for $600, add a decent peep sight and they make a great match rifle...
My Dad picked up a Classic 30/30 carbine back in the 70's for $100 and thought it would be worth something some day and I think he shoot it 3 times. I always liked the gun because of the extra fancy walnut stock and octagonal barrel and a couple of years ago I was visiting Dad and he brings out the Winchester and hands it to me and said happy birthday, I took it home put on a set of Lyman peep sights and proceeded to shot it and boy is it a shooter I also don't care for the scroll stamped engraving on the receiver but it's shooting gun for me.
When I lived in Northern Iowa I rented off a gentleman that let me see his gun collection one day and his gun room was a sight to see but he had two of it seemed like every collector series that had been made up to that date and the boxes to go with them they covered two walls he said he was collecting them for his two sons. Maybe they will have a collection worth something someday but I thought at the time they looked terrible and was not impressed.
Mine is an Oliver F Winchester 38/55 - octagonal barrel - bought supposedly NIB unfired (I had sold a couple of 92's off as collectors for good money and used part of the proceeds) - it sat in the rack unfired for almost 12 months with a pack of commemorative ammo beside the butt - I walked in there one lunchtime, (must have had a bit of attitude going on) looked at that gold plated ornament, what a useless piece of junk!, grabbed it down and some loaded rounds, paper target was already up on my backyard range, I ripped three at 50 yards leaning over the bonnet of my pickup. holy smokes! cover those with my thumbnail! - next weekend I carefully loaded 10 blackpowder rounds and shot at 100 yards using a plastic fertiliser bag full of dirt as a benchrest - similar result ! this thing is a shooter - ooooops - ten shots leaning on that woven plastic bag had removed the gold plating off the sharp edges of the bottom of the action - aint NIB unfired anymore - now its a shooter for sure.
Have had thoughts about trying to remove all the bling plating and blue it - would look a lot better I bet but am told those actions are difficult to blue and how would we get all the bling off - would need sandblasting ----just a bunch of trouble - gain aint worth the pain. I reckon its about the best lever gun shooter I have had (theres been a good few)
My cast boolit sillhouette gun is a Legendary Frontiersman 38-55 that I bought for $AU600 over 20 years ago. Locally these same "fancy" guns are selling for $AU800-1,000.
Hold Still Varmint; while I plugs Yer!
Wallace - if you/we could get a Legendary Frontiersman NIB or nearly for $1000 would be a bargain price for a fine quality shooter I reckon. I woulda preferred a Frontiersman to my OFW ..................... I have a box of commemorative ammo that goes with your gun
I will tell my father to try to unload his 2 John Wayne commemoratives and trash the worthless boxes he has been holding on to. Guessing there is no interest in them, so why trouble him....he seems to enjoy having them.
Take a kid to the range, you'll both be glad you did.
I have my dads 94' Canadian Bicentennial, a very pretty gun and tastefully done, not tacky looking. He bought it for the only reason he wanted a Winchester with a heavy octagonal barrel which this one has. Its a shame these are so under appreciated.
~ Chris
Casting, reloading, shooting, collecting, restoring, smithing, etc, I love it all but most importantly, God, Family, The United States Constitution and Freedom...
God Bless our Troops, Veterans and First Responders!
Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas
Accuracy, Power & Speed
Personally, I've been trying to track down the complete set of the "Voyage of Discovery Defecation Collection" which commemorated the significant bowel movements of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; Lewis's first on entering the Louisiana Purchase; Clark's first after reaching the Pacific; the entire company's on being charged by their first grizzly bear (.45-70). The rarest of the set are stocked with wood from trees Lewis's Dog Seaman are known to have lifted his leg to (gold plated). Those represent true class in arms making.
I also would not "gauge the wind" off any Gunbroker activity unless you are noting a significant trend in actual bidding, but I guess you could say they are probably the best source of low-mileage Winchester 94's out there these days. Some of the less blingy ones with "no box" depreciation are probably not bad options.
WWJMBD?
In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.
"In general, the art of government is to take as much money as possible from one class of citizens and give it to another class of citizens" Voltaire'
The common virtue of capitalism is the sharing of equal opportunity. The common vice of socialism is the equal sharing of misery
NRA Benefactor 2008
gotta love the hood ornament on top of the scope
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |