Did I Make A Mistake?

[Uncle R.]

At the LGS today I saw a 94 Winchester in .32 Special. Date of manufacture was 1951. I'd say it was 90% or better, wood and metal both. A few small nicks and scratches, maybe a bit of finish thinning on the edges and at the carry point, but overall pretty dang nice. All original as far as I could tell, sights, steel butt plate, finish. Not perfect, but it was the best .32 model 94 I've seen in a long time.

Lever was tied down so I couldn't see the bore without asking a clerk to cut the tie, and I wasn't ready to buy anyway. I'd guess the bore was nice, just based on the rest of the gun.

$550.

I couldn't stop telling myself that I have tuition bills coming due, a couple of vehicles that need tires, and many other reasons to be responsible. I walked away, but that price seems awfully good for a nice pre-64 .32 Special. What do you guys think?

Uncle R.

[Artful]

What's your life worth - I'd rather be riding on good tires and saving for my next purchase than having my family going who wants this old lever gun after my funeral.

[modified5]

Got to agree with artful on this one. I have walked away from some really smokin, and desired guns due to being a responsible adult.
Guns come and go, but keep life as long as God blesses you with it!

[Wayne Smith]

No, you did not make a mistake. Responsible priorities are always hard.

[trails4u]

I think most of us understand the struggle...... I'm looking for a Rem Model 8/81 and a Werndl rifle....my two latest desires. Like you, though....I have two kids still at home, my son's truck needs tires, and we're traveling to Florida to see my eldest son for Thanksgiving. I've had to pass on some of the better deals I've seen on each rifle in the last few weeks.....but that's life. Modified5 said it....the guns will come and go, but life and family matter!!

[Prodigal Son]

It's hard to be an adult but in the end life's worth it! Never having kids I still understand what it's like, grew up very modest and know what is important and it's always been family!

[OverMax]

You walked away from a excellent buyers price and a very collectable rifle. .
As I believe: "Seldom will you see a dandy 32. That's why their called Special."

[shdwlkr]

Have walked away from many a good firearm deal only to tip a friend off about it and watch them buy the firearm I wished I could. Being retired funds are scarce and in short supply, just recently I found a firearm I would like and at a fair price, so I got in touch with a friend that was looking for the same item, friend walked out with it at the price I would have paid and I am glad someone that really wanted it got it and I didn't spend some of scarce funds.
Life is a challenge and we need to understand that and we are going to have to pass on some really great deals in this life and sometimes they come back around when we are better able to afford them. No you didn't make a mistake just bad timing for the find.

[KCSO]

Price Vrs want and NEED. The price was good you dun right!

[sparky45]

Why not do as others do and put it on "lay away", if the dealer would work with you.

[Drm50]

I wish I had the money to buy all the good deals I have come across. I didn't actually pass them
up, I couldn't afford to buy them. To me a passed up deal is when you could have bought if you
so desired. You can't let hobbies control your life.

[TXGunNut]

I've finally learned I can't buy every nice levergun I see. Most hunters and shooters simply don't hold them in the same high regard that I and others do. I have a very nice 32 of similar vintage that came home with me and has seldom left the safe since, but I'm a Winchester collector. I have other demands on my finances these days so I would probably pass on a similar rifle today. It's hard to pass up a rifle as nice as this one but my current policy is to pass unless it leaps into my arms and begs to come home with me. ;-) It still happens now and then but a lot of nice rifles get left in the rack for someone else to enjoy.

[Scorpion8]

It depends if OP actually planned to use the rifle. If it was "for collecting" or just to be a safe queen, then new tires over-rides (pun intended) hobby collecting. But if he was buying it to be a meat-getter, then just drive slow and safe on the older tires for awhile.

[Uncle R.]

I have to admit this thread generated more responses and in a different direction than I anticipated. Thanks to you all for your input and advice.

I appreciate the support for being a responsible adult and putting the safety of my family first. Those responses are absolutely correct, but it's not that the tires wouldn't get replaced or the tuition wouldn't get paid if I bought that rifle. I've been a responsible adult for many years now and even if I'm not wealthy I've reached a point where I could pay for that rifle without major strain.

As some of you noted, there's the question of would I really use it or would it just be a safe queen. While I consider the .32 Special an excellent cast boolit cartridge for range or deer, the truth is my shooting and experimenting have been slowing down over the years and I already have many project guns that have turned into safe queens. A hard look into my soul would make me admit that 94 would quite likely become another "some day" project that I never get around to.

What I was really wondering about was that price. I'm so far behind the times that I don't trust my own judgment these days on scarcity and price, but 550 for a really nice pre-64 .32 just struck me as crazy cheap. Is that right, or am I out in left field?

Thanks again!

Uncle R.

[Speedo66]

That's un-American, you should have just put it on an already overburdened credit card and hope it will either somehow pay itself off or the government will somehow forgive the debt. That's the American way.

Sounds like you did the right thing though.

[runfiverun]

that's about the right price.
maybe 50-75$ more than I'd pay around here for an 'average' one.

[Rcmaveric]

I hear that on bills. I loose 2/3 of my check to child support. Even splurging 60 bucks is tight. My wife gives me a monthly play allowance. When we decide to buy more guns she makes me justify and prioritize those guns. Then we save or wait till tax time. That way i dont have to feel your heart ache. I have had to pass on so many guns. I just refuse to to look at them now until i have the money. Then i price shop and compare. I am not a collector and all my guns get shot and used for why i bought them. I do find great deals when gun shoping though becuase I will go to ever pawn store and gun store in town. But i make sure i have the money before i go. Got a knight wolverine for 50 bucks and my lever gun for 300.

[Bill*B]

It's just a gun. There will ALWAYS be nice guns for sale. Take care of your family first. Buy a nice gun when you have the jack and it doesn't detract from your real needs. Trust me - I've salivated over great deals for 40 years - there will ALWAYS be great guns and fabulous deals to tempt you. ALWAYS. ALWAYS.

[Battis]

If I find a gun that I like, it has to pass a simple test - can I sell it tomorrow for the same price or, even better, make money on it. I recently came across a 1907 Winchester Self Loader .351 for $200, and even though I have one, I grabbed it at that price. I put in a new recoil spring and buffer, and it's a great shooter. I should sell it, but...
Is $550 a good price for a '94 Winchester in .32 Special? Based on Gunbroker, it looks like a good deal.

[historicfirearms]

I have all the guns I'd ever need but I still like shopping for different ones. With two kids at home and not the best paying job, extra money is tight. If I find a gun I like, I pretty much have to give up one of my others to pay for it. Some people gasp and say they would never sell a gun. That's fine, but I actually think my system has worked well. If I don't have a gun in my safe that I am willing to trade for my new eye's apple, then the decision is made, I don't get the new one. My collection is full of guns I really like now after years of doing this. I'm to the point where I don't want to give up anything I have so my new gun itch has mostly been scratched.

[Retumbo]

I kicked myself a few times for walking away from an incredible deals. C'est la vie. Life goes on and other opportunities will come your way.

[ammohead]

I am still haunted by a model 1899 Savage in 25-35 that I passed on when unemployed and a perfectly good visa card in my pocket.

[three50seven]

I have all the guns I'd ever need but I still like shopping for different ones. With two kids at home and not the best paying job, extra money is tight. If I find a gun I like, I pretty much have to give up one of my others to pay for it. Some people gasp and say they would never sell a gun. That's fine, but I actually think my system has worked well. If I don't have a gun in my safe that I am willing to trade for my new eye's apple, then the decision is made, I don't get the new one. My collection is full of guns I really like now after years of doing this. I'm to the point where I don't want to give up anything I have so my new gun itch has mostly been scratched.

I'm in the exact same boat as you. I pretty much have to sell a gun in order to buy another. Sure, I have some regrets, but overall I have a safe full of quality firearms that I enjoy and very little money squandered in the process. My only weakness is that if I find something I really really want, I may sell or trade off a gun that I will end up regretting soon after. You think I would have learned my lesson by now :p

[trails4u]

Why not do as others do and put it on "lay away", if the dealer would work with you.

This is how I ended up with My Tikka. It's one of very few, quality modern firearms I own. I had hunted for years with a 1960s era Remington 742, and accuracy was diminishing to the point it was not much fun anymore....nor wildly successful. My wife took it upon herself to visit my favorite LGS....who doesn't really have a 'layaway' program, but allowed her to start making payments/deposits anyway. (He's a good guy.....if you're in SC and looking for a good smith/LGS...PM me.). Long story short...I guess momma and the kids dropped off $10 here, $20 there....whatever they could for about 6-8 months, until there was enough in the pot for me to pick out a new hunting rifle for my birthday. I don't know that I ever would have done such for myself......but they found a way to make it happen, and we still managed to pay bills and buy groceries. Best. Birthday. Ever!

[Harter66]

I went to a show last Friday . I have a weakness for Model 12s . I've walked away from many ..... A basic trap model for $250 . I didn't even fondle the visually perfect 42 last weekend . Believe me that was hard but nothing like the 16s ,20s and the factory box like example 28 ga .

Having a new home and a 1700 mile move just a few months away makes it easier to walk away .
I did help my buddy Jorge (Scandinavian not Latino) come home with an 1889 example Trapdoor . He said it would look suspicious if we went to a show and bought nothing .........

Proud of my restraint !
It saved me from 2 over priced 45-500+ moulds $100 for nose pour Seaco single , maybe but not for the RCBS and especially not when the copy 3 holer is available at NOE for $25 more to the door ......

You probably did right on the rifle and if it's supposed to be yours it'll be marked down to $475 and still there next month .

[rintinglen]

Not only did you do the adult thing, but in the condition that you describe, I believe that you did the right thing. At least in my neck of the woods, a 32 Special is worth 50-100 bucks less than an equivalent 30 WCF. 550 simolians is a bit high for a well worn 32 SPL. 94, especially back in the mid-west where they are dirt common. I was at Williams Gun Sight store in Davidson Mich a couple years back and was flabbergasted at the number of 94's they had, and how little they were asking for them.

[TXGunNut]

I kicked myself a few times for walking away from an incredible deals. C'est la vie. Life goes on and other opportunities will come your way.

Better to kick yourself for passing on a gun than to kick yourself for buying it. Quite often a gun I REALLY like comes along after I pass on one that I only want to buy just because it's a good deal.

[pietro]

What I was really wondering about was that price.

I'm so far behind the times that I don't trust my own judgment these days on scarcity and price, but 550 for a really nice pre-64 .32 just struck me as crazy cheap.

Is that right, or am I out in left field?

Thanks again!

Uncle R.


While post-64 .32's might be found for the same $$ or less, IME that pre-64 is a steal today (not whenever) at $550 (aka: crazy cheap).



.

[bedbugbilly]

A little late to the party here but I think you did the right thing by passing on it. I know values vary from location to location but I think it was price a bit high. My Dad had one as you described and it was a great rifle - wish he hadn't traded it off - but life still goes on. I have collected / traded for 55 years and many many times run across "deals" or something that I really wanted. But, I also realized that I had other responsibilities just as you described - tuition, new tires, bills, etc. Those are the things that HAVE to come first - that's part of being "grown up". And for all of the good deals that I had to pass up, I still survived and got along just fine without them and the sun still rose the next morning. Take care of the important things first - your family, your bills, your "necessities" - everything else is secondary and frosting if you can afford them. But don't forget to save along the way for the rainy days when things get tight and money may be short - I'd much rather know that my family is riding on good tires or a tuition payment is made than to have a pristine gun sitting on the rack. In the end, sometimes "less is more". Good luck to you - you have your head screwed on the right way! :-)

[Geezer in NH]

You walked your priorities are correct Listening to internet folk who many have none who cares.

[hpdrifter]

that's one reason I don't even look if I don't have enough funds. Seems you always stumble on good deals when you can least afford them.

but........I'm gonna have to bite the bullet fore too long. I really want a nice single shot before I retire in a couple of years.

[salvadore]

I'm kind of an ammohead type guy. I'm pushing 68 and would hate to start acting like an "adult" at this late date. Also I'm getting ready to buy a firearm that I can't afford and not sure what it will be.

[AllanD]

The only 94 Winchesters I regret not buying when I had the chance were both pre-WW2 examples in "nice shape" (I.E. still mostly buued) Still one in 32-40 and the other in 38-55

[PatMarlin]

So tough... I get it. Most every rifle I have ever bought I couldn't afford... and a Lot have risen in value. There's a rare stock I want real bad used right now and the guy wants $375 for it. $375 during Christmas... ugh

[richhodg66]

There's a Pre '64 one in a local shop here. Been there a while, priced at $750 or so. It'll likely be there a while.

The .32 Special is a neat caliber if you cast. I do have a late '40s vintage Marlin I saved from a pawn shop rack. Took a little work and it's not collector grade but is a good shooter and fun to hunt with. It was an impulse buy, but I wouldn't have done it if I couldn't have afforded it.

[northmn]

I am retired and can attest to buying a lot of rifles over the years just to experiment with or to find that perfect rifle. I am cursed with an experimental nature and once I have been there and done that want to move on. Getting over it now to some extent. There are not calibers that are really all that special as far as killing deer. I have used several of them and most work about the same. I am now looking at a Winchester 94 in nice condition for 400 and debating whether I want it. Its in 30-30, but as one writer put it, "a chipmunk cannot blow its nose with the difference in power" between them. I have a 35 Remington I had to have but truth be told I could live without it. I have sat through a lot of itches that need scratching and have often had no regrets.

DEP