Winchester Theodore Rosevelt 30-30 value ?

[Throckmorton]

Hope this is the place for this.
a pal has a fired,but almost perfect TR,about 15 years old.30-30
Iffy on having the box.Under 100 round fired for sure.
I know it's a 'shooter' now,just wondering what the group here would value it at?
I see one on ,GB ,sounds very similiar, not meeting his reserve at 350.00

for the sake of discussion,say it's a 90 % gun,no box. What would you place the value at.

Thanks !

[Hardcast416taylor]

A family friend couldn`t get a $300 offer for his unfired Teddy in a very nice condition box. He went to 2 fairly large gunshops before selling it to another relative for $290.Robert

[Throckmorton]

Thanks Robert,that is about what we are thinking it's going to be going for.
anyone else?

[runfiverun]

wow a fairly beat and used regular one is bout 400 and a decent one is closer to 600 around here.
maybe nobody likes t.r.

[9.3X62AL]

No, more like "Winchester Commemorative Burn-Out" is in play here. Talk about an overdone marketing concept......Winchester insisted for years on building rifles and shotguns that not many wanted, while Remington ate their lunch. Winchester's answer was to doll up leverguns and overprice them, instead of producing REAL rifles like the CRF Model 70, which came as a too-little/too-late add-on to a moribund line of otherwise unappealing schlock. I almost believe that Winchester was trying to bust out the firm by intentionally making things few wanted, and refusing to make what the market craved.

Colt and Winchester both lost their minds first, then lost their markets as a consequence. That kind of management style is usually reserved for government, but private industry isn't immune to the effects of moonbeam strategizing. In the private sector, the effects hit sooner though.

[kingstrider]

Unless it were mint and unfired in the box I wouldn't invest much more than what a plain 94 is worth. But that's me, most of the commemorative models just have too much bling for my liking. Check ended auctions on Gunbroker though, these occasionally sell for a handsome sum so somebody likes them. You know somewhere there is a family photo of President Roosevelt holding my grandfather as a baby at a campaign stop, maybe in Illinois somewhere. I'll have to ask my mom about that.

[MtGun44]

+1 --- What Al said!

Win94 Commems are pretty much a total overload on the market. Usually less than a
normal looking 94 unless the particular commem event/person grabs someone's fancy.
On the average, I'd rather have a plain 94 than a 92nd Anniv of Iowa Hog Farmer's Assn
Commemorative with a gold plated receiver and an uncomfortable hooked buttplate and
a fake gold coin stuck in the side of the stock.

But there is probably at least one guy in Iowa . . . . . . ;-)

And to follow Al's theme - if the knucklheads at Colt would turn out a modern version of
the Dick Spl and the Cobra for anything CLOSE to a reasonable price, they'd sell every single
one that they could make. Think about it, one of THE best snubbies ever in steel or aluminum
and bazillions of avg folks now getting CCWs and Colt drops these revolvers.

Pure genius.

NOT!

Bill

[9.3X62AL]

MtnGun--

Don't get me started down that path, I'll be ranting for an hour.

The Winchester 94 is a fine hunting tool for 90% of the venison-making done in this country, in any of its longer calibers--25/35, 30/30, 32/40, 32 Special, or 38/55. I've always thought that adornment on such tools was like lowering a pickup truck and installing tiny wheels/tires--you make it useless for its intended purpose, just to satisfy a craving for decadence. There's a Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation on that human foible just waiting for a writer to take it on.

[Marlin Junky]

if the knucklheads at Colt would turn out a modern version of the Dick Spl and the Cobra for anything CLOSE to a reasonable price, they'd sell every single one that they could make. Think about it, one of THE best snubbies ever in steel or aluminum and bazillions of avg folks now getting CCWs and Colt drops these revolvers.

Pure genius.

NOT!

Bill

I'm not a pistol packer (but I do like the feel of a SSA) but isn't the trend today more focused on small autos for concealed carry?

MJ

P.S. I'm sorry, this is a levergun forum, isn't it?

[Steelbanger]

I believe the T.R. commemoratives were made in 1969. 20 and 26" barrels were available. I traded into a 26" model last year, brand new in the box. Asking price was just under $600. Right now I am waiting to find a mould for the bullet it likes, the 180 RCBS FN.

[w30wcf]

As steelbanger indicated the TR was made in 1969. I bought mine back in the mid 1990's for $350, and at that time, that's what they were going for in the north east U.S. Prices do vary depending on location.

About 5 years ago there was a TR in a local shop with a $550 price tag on it. It was sold in a matter of a few weeks.

After all, it is a TR named after one of our most notable presidents........:-)

w30wcf

[w30wcf]

Regarding the collector value of the commemorative Winchesters, location has a bit to do with it. A fellow I know had a collection of every Winchester Commemorarive that was made. After he turned 70, he decided to part with it and got close to 3x what he paid for them which means the average rifle sold for around $500. There were a few commemoratives that not many were made including one of the "Dukes" .32-40 comm. Those sold for several thousand $'s each.

w30wcf

[MtGun44]

You put your finger right on it -- few with not many made -- and of course give one that
has a popular figure - John Wayne associated with it.

UNFORTUNATELY if you ask any kid of 18 who John Wayne was most will give you a blank
stare. . . . . Good market for our generation as we cherish JW's memory in large part.

30 yrs from now. . . . not so sure. Hope I am wrong!

Rarity is a huge deal and then how many people are interested in the particular subject.

A Wyoming commemorative would find a lot less market than a California commem, just look
at the population numbers - of course a far higher percentage of Wyo folks like guns than
CA folks, but the population is like 50 times or something. Another KEY point is unfired.
I have seen well used commems going for much less than normal model.

As to tripling your money, well that is real good. Compare to 6X or much more the same time in
some decent mutual funds or other more liquid investments. Some folks are happier with
this sort of investment rather than stocks, others prefer the stocks.

OFF TOPIC WARNING: Marlin Junky - you are right but the J-frames are steady sellers. Flat is
really nice in a pistol for CCW but many folks like the simplicity of the revolver.
Bill

[9.3X62AL]

I have an interesting Win 94 example from the early 1980s. It was likely intended to be some sort of commemorative......rolled scrollwork on the receiver, and a brass saddle ring--but no other stamping or doll-clothes. Kinda nice-looking, with decent walnut too. I bought it in the late 1990s for ~$225 from a shop in Norco, CA.

I bring this up only to emphasize that leaving the comm-guns unfired might be a real tragedy. Of the several 30-30s I've owned, this one is by far the most accurate example I've ever owned or fired. It is lead-friendly in the extreme, and is likely my most-fired cast boolit rifle. An utter cast boolit delight.

I understand the collector perspective to a point--they want unfired examples for their purposes of investment. Not a factor for me, though--I buy firearms to use, THAT is where my enjoyment and appreciation of them comes to the fore. Just my dos centavos, amigos.

ETA--the 30-30 WCF is one of the most useful calibers ever coined, in my view.

[Steelbanger]

One of the things I enjoy about Cowboy silhouette is the fact that at every match you'll see and hear commemoratives and collectibles of every description booming on the line, from 30-30's to the powerful 45-70.

[jlchucker]

No, more like "Winchester Commemorative Burn-Out" is in play here. Talk about an overdone marketing concept......Winchester insisted for years on building rifles and shotguns that not many wanted, while Remington ate their lunch. Winchester's answer was to doll up leverguns and overprice them, instead of producing REAL rifles like the CRF Model 70, which came as a too-little/too-late add-on to a moribund line of otherwise unappealing schlock. I almost believe that Winchester was trying to bust out the firm by intentionally making things few wanted, and refusing to make what the market craved.

Colt and Winchester both lost their minds first, then lost their markets as a consequence. That kind of management style is usually reserved for government, but private industry isn't immune to the effects of moonbeam strategizing. In the private sector, the effects hit sooner though.

I couldn't have described it better myself. My first job after getting out of the Army was at Winchester in New Haven. Back then it was a HUGE collection of very old factory buildings, with manufacturing departments and offices connected by endless empty spaces. I used to have to go from the ammo plant to the machine shop or to the purchasing dept. quite often, and would pass through row after row of these commemoratives, in various stages of assembly. It seemed like they were coming out with a new one every couple of months--all 94's, gussied up to look crappy. They literally shot themselves in the foot by making most of their products as unappealing to shooters as they could.

[JSH]

A high school buddy of mine that was for the most part spoiled rotten was given a few of the commorative 94's by his dad. Oliver H Winchester, John Wayne, T Roosevelt a few others and some of the state rifles.
I will never forget when he got the JW. He called me and i went over to his house. He was swinging the thing around be the big loop, True Grit style, and whacked the ceiling fan and dropped it. If that don't take the cake.................he had the ammo for ALL of them.
Yup, he shot all of the ammo in every single one of them. Like I said he was spoiled rotten. His first shotgun was a SxS Ithica. When he turned 18 he was given a SxS L.C. Smith that was just beautiful. Treated it like ****.

A fired commemorative is nothing more than a samll premium on a regular rifle to me.
jeff

[mroliver77]

I have an O Winchester unfired. It could be a beautiful gun if the plating and engraving were gone. Anybody ever scrub one clean or seen it done?
Jay