Value ? on very early Winchester 94 30-30

[bedbugbilly]

An old friend called me today who is settling his father-in-law's estate. He stated that in going through the possessions, he found a Winchester 30-30 in a case packed away in a closet and asked if I had any interest in possibly purchasing it. His father-in-law used to shoot/hunt many years ago but due to bad health, etc., he really hadn't done much in the last thirty years. His father-in-law had tagged the 94 as . . . "1898 or 1899 made Winchester saddle ring carbine". My friend said that if I was interested, I would have first chance at it and that they would like to get $1,000.00 out of it. (They have a number of medical/funeral expenses to pay). He said it looked like it was in good shape but did have some finish wear, small dings on the stock, etc.

I have several questions as I am not that familiar with "early" model 94s.

If it is what the tag says - a 1898 or 1899 Winchester 94 saddle ring carbine and it is in good condition - and the bore is still good - is it worth what they want for it? (i.e. $1,000.00).

Second . . . I would be looking at it for two reasons . . . first as an "investment" due to it's early mfg. date and second, as a Winchester that could be shot once in a while with fairly mild loads/cast boolits for the "historical fun of it". (I already have a much newer Winchester 94 "Ranger" to shoot).

If the date of birth is correct, the Winnie would be at least 116 or 117 years old. If the condition were good with a good bore (not perfect at that age I'm sure) is there anything that a person would have to watch out for if they were going to shoot it? It came out as a rifle designed for the 30-30 which was a smokeless cartridge but is the steel, heat treatment, etc. adequate for mild 30-30 loads? (115 gr. lead mile charge cartridge)

I won't be able to go take a look at it for a couple of weeks as my friend and his wife are going on vacation that they have had planed for months. While we all like to get "bargains" . . . i.e. get the price down . . . I don't feel comfortable in doing that in this situation. I would expect a rifle/carbine to be "perfect" after 116 years as far as finish, etc. but if it is in "good condition", mechanically sound and a halfway decent bore . . . is it worth what he wants for it?

Yes . . . I have taken a look at gun broker but as we all know, the prices of much newer pre 64 models are all over the place . . . and let's face it . . . a new Uberti lever gun costs that much or more depending on the model. I'm thinking that the 1K price he is asking is probably a decent one on a pre 1900 Winchester 94 and that it would only "appreciate" in value as time goes on but it turns out to be what he says it is and is in good condition. . . I don't want to "over pay" as well.

Some thoughts from those of you that are serious Winchester "lever guys". Thanks.

[Ural Driver]

Only way to tell its real age is by serial number. Once you can see the gun, get the nomenclature and serial number. Then you'll have a proper starting point for your questions. Right now it is nothing but conjecture. :idea:

[bedbugbilly]

Yep . . I know the only way to put a date of birth on it is by the serial number . . . but I also was familiar with the gentleman who has passed who owned the Winnie and he was good at nailing things down. So . . . as I asked . . . if the Winnie is in good shape . . . and going on it being a pre 1900 DOB . . . my question still remains . . . thee certainly are a few of them out there to compare it to as far as what the ball park figure of worth is.

[pietro]

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In evaluating any firearm, it's exact "condition" (not "good", excellent, etc) as compared to new & expressed as a percentage ( like 60%, 90%, 95%, etc, etc) is one of the determining factors.

Another determiner would be if the firearm had any factory-installed Special Features (literally a dozen or so), which would add value.

Yet another determiner is where the firearms is offered for sale - IOW, guns are worth more/less, depending upon the location of the prospective buyer.

Unless the specimen is ultra-rare, most collector values only apply to "as-new" guns, that don't show any use.

The true value would be how much a buyer would actually pay for whatever, NOW (or recently) - not "whenever" ("I bought one for $100 at a yard sale")

A fair value can be determined by looking at the sales results of ONLY closed/sold guns that were sold in a well-attended auction site ( online, large/national brick & mortar auction houses, etc).

The $$$$ amounts listed on gun auction websites as "opening bids", "reserve price", "buy it now" (BIN) prices, etc are NOT values - they are simply what the seller thinks they will bring.

IMO, $1K for the described 1894 Carbine is very strong (which is not to say that it wouldn't sell at that price), and not a "friend's" price.

YMMV, of course.


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[Lead Fred]

30wcf

[TXGunNut]

If it's in good condition with a decent bore then yes, I'd give $1000 for it. Many guns of that era show a fair bit of pitting but a couple I bought a few weeks ago actually shoot pretty decent. As mentioned above factory extras get the serious collectors excited and make the rifle more interesting for casual collectors. In this situation I'd take a good look at it and either pay the asking price or thank them for their time if it's not what you expected. OTOH if it's somewhat unusual or very good condition with some serious collector value I'd recommend an impartial appraisal. Old friends are more precious to me than old rifles.