Win. 94's.....say what??!!

[Hickok]

Looking on the Winchester site at the Model 94 AE's. Retail running from $1200 to $1450 !!! These are not the high end models either.

I realize they could be had for somewhat less else where, but these are Winchester's listed retail prices.

Someone has to be nuts. These cost as much or more than what I paid for my Weatherby MK V .257 magnum about 10 years ago.

I guess I am just getting old.

I have a pre-64 1894 30/30 and a 94AE Legacy color case hardened 38/55 26"barrel, and a 94 AE .44 mag with nice checkered wood....maybe I could sell them and buy a motorcycle!:Bright idea:

[Guesser]

The Winchester lever guns being marketed now are made in Japan by Miroku. Really nice guns......but??

[NoAngel]

It's always the marvel of one generation what the next must pay for goods.

Some day someone will comment how they can remember when them 94's could be had for less than $1500 new.

It's not the cost of goods that has increased but the value of the dollar that has decreased.
A bar of gold big enough to buy a mansion on a hill 200 years ago will buy the same mansion today for the most part.

[bullseye67]

Good morning,
Ahhhh, the value of paper versus products.....
One of our older club members is starting to sell some of his accumulated products he won't need. He said his "the best investment" he made was in his small collection of shooting stuff. J-word bullets that were still tagged at $3.95-$5.95 sold for within a couple of dollars of today's prices. Several of the rifles and shotguns he had bought for less than $100.00 in the late 60's and 70's sold for as much and couple for more than todays prices. Especially the old Marlin and Winchester levers in pistol calibers.
He said he did a quick "back of napkin" calculation and if he had invested as much in guns as he had in the cars he had bought along the way. He said he would have had a lot more fun shooting and his rate of return would have exceeded all of his investments except his house.
The best investment is something you can use or brings you joy to own and is worth more in the future. I have never gotten any use or joy from a $100.00 dollar bill...it just lays there all flat and stiff....but, put a couple of them together and change them into a product and WoW!! Now we are enjoying a product....and making an investment in our happiness and wellbeing, that can be traded back to paper at some point in the future, making the circle complete.
Have an awesome week:drinks:

[big bore 99]

Lots of used '94 AEs around much cheaper than that. I have one in 45colt and love it. Smooth as silk. Got it from a gun show a couple years ago.

[nagantguy]

Good morning,
Ahhhh, the value of paper versus products.....
One of our older club members is starting to sell some of his accumulated products he won't need. He said his "the best investment" he made was in his small collection of shooting stuff. J-word bullets that were still tagged at $3.95-$5.95 sold for within a couple of dollars of today's prices. Several of the rifles and shotguns he had bought for less than $100.00 in the late 60's and 70's sold for as much and couple for more than todays prices. Especially the old Marlin and Winchester levers in pistol calibers.
He said he did a quick "back of napkin" calculation and if he had invested as much in guns as he had in the cars he had bought along the way. He said he would have had a lot more fun shooting and his rate of return would have exceeded all of his investments except his house.
The best investment is something you can use or brings you joy to own and is worth more in the future. I have never gotten any use or joy from a $100.00 dollar bill...it just lays there all flat and stiff....but, put a couple of them together and change them into a product and WoW!! Now we are enjoying a product....and making an investment in our happiness and wellbeing, that can be traded back to paper at some point in the future, making the circle complete.
Have an awesome week:drinks:
Really like how you worded that and I'm of the same mind;that $100 dollar bill could be useless tomorrow or next year but the rifle or chainsaw or ammo I buy with it is still worth what you payed with a little card!

[NoAngel]

Good morning,
Ahhhh, the value of paper versus products.....
One of our older club members is starting to sell some of his accumulated products he won't need. He said his "the best investment" he made was in his small collection of shooting stuff. J-word bullets that were still tagged at $3.95-$5.95 sold for within a couple of dollars of today's prices. Several of the rifles and shotguns he had bought for less than $100.00 in the late 60's and 70's sold for as much and couple for more than todays prices. Especially the old Marlin and Winchester levers in pistol calibers.
He said he did a quick "back of napkin" calculation and if he had invested as much in guns as he had in the cars he had bought along the way. He said he would have had a lot more fun shooting and his rate of return would have exceeded all of his investments except his house.
The best investment is something you can use or brings you joy to own and is worth more in the future. I have never gotten any use or joy from a $100.00 dollar bill...it just lays there all flat and stiff....but, put a couple of them together and change them into a product and WoW!! Now we are enjoying a product....and making an investment in our happiness and wellbeing, that can be traded back to paper at some point in the future, making the circle complete.
Have an awesome week:drinks:


Seems like he's making a good return on his investment...but is he really? I will guarantee you he worked harder for the $3.95 it took to buy a box of bullets all those years ago than any of us work for that same $3.95 today.
$100 for a rifle in the 60's was a good chunk of change. $100 ain't much today.
In 1967 minimum wage was $1.40 so at minimum wage you had to work close to 3 hours for that $4 box. If a box cost $20 today ( I just bought some Hornady XTP's the other day for $19.99) and you work for $7.25 (current fed minimum wage) then you worked almost 3 hours for that box of bullets.
Financial times are no different, only the numbers have changed.

[BAGTIC]

Compare current vs historical values with an inflation calculator. There are many online. This is the one I have used most recently.

Unfortunately when one compares the modest price one paid years ago with what they got when selling recently usually one is lucky to break even when adjusting for inflation.

http://www.davemanuel.com/inflation-calculator.php

[NoAngel]

Exactly.
A friend of the family just bought a 1960 Thunderbird with 64k miles. One owner and garage kept.
After taxes and fees he paid $34K
In 1960 it was a $4200 car. Current inflation says he paid the same it cost new.
Pretty cool that it held its value but it's nothing from an investment standpoint

[beechbum444]

The car inflation example makes my head hurt..is a car that cost 35,000$ today going to cost350,000$ in 50 years ??

[308Jeff]

I think I paid @ $400.00 for my .357 94AE back in 2003. Maybe less.

I know inflation is inflation, but the pricing of Win 94s had definitely outpaced it.

Wish I would have bought a few more back then.

[bullseye67]

Ahhhhh.....paper to products.....
What several are missing is the point of using a piece of paper or several to purchase something that makes "us" feel good, we can use for a period of time, love it, caress and care for it, feed it a steady diet of cast boolits.....AND....when we are done pass it along to the next owner. The value keeps up or surpasses what the paper is worth in value in multiple ways!
Cars wear out and are worth a nickel a pound as scrap, beer just ends up flushed, but our hobby of casting and shooting is rewarding on several different levels.

[NoAngel]

The car inflation example makes my head hurt..is a car that cost 35,000$ today going to cost350,000$ in 50 years ??

Possibly. It's what the idiots whining about a $15 minimum wage cannot get through their thick empty skull. If wages go up, cost of goods go up. If McDonald's has to pay $15/hr for labor, then a Big Mac Combo is going up to cover that cost. Money isn't collected from unicorn farts, people have to pay for it. If everyone is making more, then everyone is spending more.

[Scharfschuetze]

Possibly. It's what the idiots whining about a $15 minimum wage cannot get through their thick empty skull. If wages go up, cost of goods go up. If McDonald's has to pay $15/hr for labor, then a Big Mac Combo is going up to cover that cost. Money isn't collected from unicorn farts, people have to pay for it. If everyone is making more, then everyone is spending more.

Yep, mandatory wage levels upset and then skew the economy causing numerous problems; but hey, won't a group hug fix all of that? In reality, the law of "Unintended Consequences" comes into play pretty fast with these inane and feel good laws.

Of course I'm not complaining about the inflated prices my Pre-War and Pre-64 Winchesters are now worth. I wish that my monetary investments' values rose as fast.

I agree with the suggestion that it is wiser to buy a Pre-64 Model 94 v. a new one if you want to have an investment.

[Speedo66]

Look what M-1 carbines are going for now. Saw two at a show Sat., $1250 and $1400, and both pretty beat up.

[sawinredneck]

Look what M-1 carbines are going for now. Saw two at a show Sat., $1250 and $1400, and both pretty beat up.
And how long ago was it you couldn't hardly give them away?

[NoAngel]

Now THAT would have been an investment; military surplus.
Before my time a nice SMLE could be had for $15 or less depending. A minty specimen can fetch $500 or more depending on the time and place.

[sawinredneck]

Now THAT would have been an investment; military surplus.
Before my time a nice SMLE could be had for $15 or less depending. A minty specimen can fetch $500 or more depending on the time and place.
Or the SKS's for $50-75, and AK's for $125-150 that I either walked buy or bought and sold for a $50 profit.

[MOA]

The Winchester lever guns being marketed now are made in Japan by Miroku. Really nice guns......but??



When I was in the business back in 81-82 Winchester had just been sold and was now US Repeating Arms.
That was the initial production beginning for the 94 being made in japan.

[pietro]

When I was in the business back in 81-82 Winchester had just been sold and was now US Repeating Arms.
That was the initial production beginning for the 94 being made in japan.


Not quite.... The only Japanese made "Winchester" prior to the New Haven plant closing was the imported Model 101/96 O/U shotgun llne in the 1960's, next followed in 1993 by some other models (M-12, M-42, M-52).

Here's the timeline skinny, from the horse's mouth: http://www.winchesterguns.com/support/faq/when-why-did-production-winchesters-historic-designs-move.html


.

[richhodg66]

I was in a shop yesterday and looked at one probably from the 70's in decent shape for $389. Considered buying it as most of them seem to have stupid prices on them lately, but I really don't need another lever gun.

I have been intrigued by the Mossberg 464s and like how Mossberg jumped to fill that market niche when the '94 ceased production, but I'm not gonna pay the new price for a 464 when I can still find older Winchesters or Marlins around for the same money or less.

[Hickok]

Look what M-1 carbines are going for now. Saw two at a show Sat., $1250 and $1400, and both pretty beat up.You got that right. Back in the 1970's I just had to have a M1 Carbine. Got one dirt cheap, and it shot good, was nice to carry.
Dang thing had trouble putting ground hogs down with 110 gr soft points. I could hit'em, but it just wouldn't always stop'em from running back to their hole. Gave it to my brother, free of charge. He still has it!

[Texas by God]

I hope he realizes what a good brother you are Hickok!
Around here Pre 64s are $600 and up; post 64s are $300-400; AEs are the same if they are 30-30.
Exotic calibers go for a bit more. A Big Bore .375 Win sat on the rack for two weeks at $450 recently at the LGS before someone snatched it. It was an XTR and quite nice.
Best, Thomas.

[sawinredneck]

You got that right. Back in the 1970's I just had to have a M1 Carbine. Got one dirt cheap, and it shot good, was nice to carry.
Dang thing had trouble putting ground hogs down with 110 gr soft points. I could hit'em, but it just wouldn't always stop'em from running back to their hole. Gave it to my brother, free of charge. He still has it!
And that's why I'm not a big fan of that round/gun. About the same weight and size you could have had the Ruger 44mag carbine that would drop things. But I'm persnickety.


I hope he realizes what a good brother you are Hickok!
Around here Pre 64s are $600 and up; post 64s are $300-400; AEs are the same if they are 30-30.
Exotic calibers go for a bit more. A Big Bore .375 Win sat on the rack for two weeks at $450 recently at the LGS before someone snatched it. It was an XTR and quite nice.
Best, Thomas.
Dad asked me to look at the last gun show I went to, $800 was the cheapest I saw, and it was rough.

[Reverend Al]

I'm glad I bought several Winchesters years ago when the prices were still quite reasonable. I didn't pay anywhere near that new price for my '94 take down rifle. Mfg in 1895, second year of production for the '94 model and first year for the .30 WCF cartridge.

http://i.imgur.com/bBEqDgm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/x1iQ9JI.jpg

[Poppaclutch]

Looking on the Winchester site at the Model 94 AE's. Retail running from $1200 to $1450 !!! These are not the high end models either.

I realize they could be had for somewhat less else where, but these are Winchester's listed retail prices.

Someone has to be nuts. These cost as much or more than what I paid for my Weatherby MK V .257 magnum about 10 years ago.

I guess I am just getting old.

I have a pre-64 1894 30/30 and a 94AE Legacy color case hardened 38/55 26"barrel, and a 94 AE .44 mag with nice checkered wood....maybe I could sell them and buy a motorcycle!:Bright idea:

Sell your house too, and buy a H-D cvo.

[AlanF]

Hickok if you decide to sell the 94 Legacy 38-55 I would be happy to help put you closer to that motorcycle :).

Alan

[308Jeff]

The 30-30's still go for dirt cheap. Nobody really wants those. It's the other calibers that are commanding the high prices.

[MOA]

Not quite.... The only Japanese made "Winchester" prior to the New Haven plant closing was the imported Model 101/96 O/U shotgun llne in the 1960's, next followed in 1993 by some other models (M-12, M-42, M-52).

Here's the timeline skinny, from the horse's mouth: http://www.winchesterguns.com/support/faq/when-why-did-production-winchesters-historic-designs-move.html


.


I stand corrected Pietro, thanks for remembering that for me.

[tdoyka]

i've only seen 30-30, 94s(no ae) go from $400-$600 around here. i remember after deer season(, they were $150 with/without a scope. they stayed that way till '07 or '08, then the '94 was (price wise) unreachable. then they would go $800 and up. but they settled down, but i will never own another one until they go down in price. i have a 94(top eject) in 30-30 that was made in the early '70s, it was my first deer gun and i got my first buck with it.

[Hickok]

TDoyka That is what really gave me the sticker shock. I was always used to seeing the 94's for bargain prices in the years past since I got off Noah's Ark,:) and I knew they had gone up. But I didn't think the 94's price had skyrocketed.

It is what it is! BUT, to me the Win. 94 ain't never gonna' be the Rolex of rifles.

[white eagle]

got to recoup the fuel costs somehow
it takes a lot of fuel to get across the water

[tdoyka]

TDoyka That is what really gave me the sticker shock. I was always used to seeing the 94's for bargain prices in the years past since I got off Noah's Ark,:) and I knew they had gone up. But I didn't think the 94's price had skyrocketed.

It is what it is! BUT, to me the Win. 94 ain't never gonna' be the Rolex of rifles.

i think(i do alot of that now:confused::confused:) a brand new winchester model 1894 in 30-30 was around $200-$225 in the mid '80s. a used 1894 in 32win sp will go $500-$600 in the mid '80s. this year i seen a '94 in 32win sp that goes for $900. next year it might go up or go down, it depends on on the guy who wants or don't want it. for me, it would be nice to have it but i won't pay $900, heck i wouldn't pay $400 for a '94.

one day i took my 30-30 out of the closet(now everything has to be locked up and in a safe) and i found rust on the receiver. this was the day we had no internet, just me and the gunsmith. i said to myself, no problem i'll just wipe it off with gun oil. (it sat unused for 2 years) i was wrong, i tried everything but the rust stayed the same. i took it with tears in my eyes, to my gunsmith. i figured he could get the rust off. i was wrong. i was told not to "blue" the rust because it will continue to rust. the metal was some kinda of alloy that didn't require blueing because it was already "blue". it was a cost cutting device that some bean counter came up with. like the "aluminum can" firing pin that didn't work on my '94. now it sits in "high place" of guns(ok, in my safe) to be cremated with me. i'm working on the cremated gun[smilie=l:[smilie=l:, the wood poses no problem but the steel won't be like ashes!!!

a '94 and the rem 760's were everywhere in PA. you either had a 30-30 or a 30-06 to kill deer. you would see a bolt action, ruger #1, or a savage 99 only rarely. nowadays most people won't take a lever action if you would give it to them. the 30-06 or 270win in a bolt action with a plastic stock seems to be everybody's gun.

[robg]

When I see today's prices I divide by ten to get a seventies price before we had galloping inflation.

[jcwit]

Bought my "94 AE 2 years go from a pawn shop for $75 bucks. Thirty/thirty caliber, like new with the box.

Guess I'm one lucky pup!

[Hickok]

JCwit, I would have jumped on that deal like a gorilla on a banana tree!

[Ardiemus]

I can't find a 94 AE in 357 for a decent price. Who's got one to part with?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jcwit]

JCwit, I would have jumped on that deal like a gorilla on a banana tree!

Believe it, I did!

[dragon813gt]

The Winchester lever guns being marketed now are made in Japan by Miroku. Really nice guns......but??

Mirrors my feelings. They are very well made. But I'm not a fan of any of Winchester's lever actions. I will take a Marlin over one every time. I have no need for collector pieces in my safe anymore. To bad Miroku doesn't make Marlins. I would gladly pay the asking price.

[Jkrem]

I was able to buy a M94 in 32WS in June for $450 here in SE PA. Under the crud and some surface rust on the barrel and receiver from poor storage was a lovely little eastern carbine rifle, which dates to February 1937 according to the Cody Museum. Shot a very nice group with 170gr Hornadys and 3031. I just cast 50 boolits with a Lyman 321265 HP mold that I overpaid for on eBay, and I am going to try them with 8 grains of Unique which I have had luck with in my M94 30/30. Can't wait to shoot it in August.

[FergusonTO35]

I was in a shop yesterday and looked at one probably from the 70's in decent shape for $389. Considered buying it as most of them seem to have stupid prices on them lately, but I really don't need another lever gun.

I have been intrigued by the Mossberg 464s and like how Mossberg jumped to fill that market niche when the '94 ceased production, but I'm not gonna pay the new price for a 464 when I can still find older Winchesters or Marlins around for the same money or less.

You can buy a nice 464 for $300.00 or less. My first one I paid $220.00 for, the one I have now was $300.00 like new. I think the 464 is a better entry level .30-30 than the current Remlin 336W. They cost about the same and the 464 definitely is put together with more care and the wood and metal finish is much nicer. Mossy's factory service is good if you should ever need it. I don't think Winny offers any factory service for the New Haven 94's but I could be wrong. I think they send them to contractors like Remington does, which can be a roll of the dice. I remember they told me to send my 2002 94 to Williams Gunsight for the barrel clocked wrong problem.

[Thundermaker]

It's always the marvel of one generation what the next must pay for goods.

Some day someone will comment how they can remember when them 94's could be had for less than $1500 new.

It's not the cost of goods that has increased but the value of the dollar that has decreased.
A bar of gold big enough to buy a mansion on a hill 200 years ago will buy the same mansion today for the most part.

That's how money works. Hold has a set value. Money fluctuates in value relative to gold, not the other way around.

[FergusonTO35]

94 prices are even more volatile than gold. The price on the very nice 1978 model I have on layaway, described in another thread, was $400.00. Cabela's here in town wants $700.00 for a 1979 model with rust on the receiver and a sidesaddle scope mount that I'm sure required extra holes drilled.

[Thundermaker]

94 prices are even more volatile than gold. The price on the very nice 1978 model I have on layaway, described in another thread, was $400.00. Cabela's here in town wants $700.00 for a 1979 model with rust on the receiver and a sidesaddle scope mount that I'm sure required extra holes drilled.

That just comes from the fact that cabelas is run by people who don't know anything about gun values.

[GhostHawk]

Thank you OP, made my day. I found a pair of Win 94's a year ago at the local pawn shop. Paid 350$ for the post 64 AE in very nice condition. Went back a week later and paid 650$ for a very nice pre -64 made in 1944, great shape. Unhappily it has a somewhat strange bore. Big at the chamber, a tight constriction at the rear sight dovetail that tapers lager to the bore.

I tried bullets as large as .312 and fired 10 at a target at 25 yards and had one hit. Other 9 were lost in space.

I need to send it to JES get it turned into a .35-30-30 or .38-55 but just wonder if it is worth spending the money on. I'm on a pretty tight budget so it hard to shell out that kind of cast for a gun I may never use.

Still you made me feel better about both of them.