| Author | Message | ||
     Sifo |
So my wife surprised me with this piece the other day. It was originally sold new in 1980, but has never been fired. She picked it up for $400! Winchester 94 chambered in 30-30. It's still in beautiful condition.   I'm told it will lose a good deal of value if I start shooting it. It would be a blast to shoot a lever action though. I'm really torn on this. What would you do? | ||
| Orman1649 |
guns were made to be shot...not hung on a wall. besides that, its not a super rare collector item or anything...go have fun with it IMO | ||
| Sifo |
That's kind of where I'm leaning with it. Just looking for a reality check. Thanks. It will probably be on a wall either way though. It's just too cool to lock away.  | ||
| Aesquire |
If it has NEVER been shot, sell it and get a new one. Collectors go nuts over never shot guns... but it's not that old or rare to be a big deal. I'd shoot it. But treat it with care. IMPORTANT. Save that box. All the paperwork, all the packaging. Treat it with care and THAT will near double the price when/if you sell. I know that sounds crazy, but that's how it works. The biggest reason to not shoot it is to sell it, and the biggest reason to sell it is that stupid box cranks the value up. But even if you shoot it, SAVE THE PACKAGING. | ||
| Ltbuell |
...+1 to what Aesquire said...expecially about all the paper/instructions....AND THE BOX.It will at the least double the price of it(i've seen it happen several times). | ||
| Strokizator |
Shoot it. It's not rare at all. Some years ago I bought a model 94 in 38-55 caliber. I asked the shop owner if he had any ammo. He says "You're not going to shoot it are you? That will lessen the value." I told him if he wanted a collector's item he should keep it himself. My dad bought two commemoratives back in the late 60's, a golden spike carbine and another rifle with octagonal barrel. My brothers had them appraised once they inherited them and found out they're worth not much more than retail even in unfired condition. SHOOT IT! | ||
| Panhead_dan |
If it were me, I would advertise it and if it was worth considerably more than a good used one sell. Discuss this with the wife first, she got it for you. I have a 94 chambered in .375 Winchester and I love to shoot that rifle. Either way, DO end up with a 94. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine. | ||
| Sifo |
I would have a hard time selling it. It came from a good friend who's father bought it originally. I was a pall berrer at his funeral. I would feel pretty bad just trying to spin a profit on this deal. I have to agree with what's been said though. It's no collector's piece, just a nice piece. A local shop has a number of them used going for $600-$700 in decent condition. I think I'll have to make a shooter out of it. Lever action just looks like a kick. I was planning on keeping the box and papers though. Thanks for the replies. Good to hear others thinking it needs shooting! | ||
| Ninefortheroad |
Life is meant to be lived! Firearms are meant to be shot! Sure is a nice looking firearm.... I think It would be dis-respectful to try to sell a gift for profit. No doubt you will do the right thing  | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Keep it. Shoot it. Take care of it. To do otherwise would ruin the gift and the associated history. Just like perfectly restored bikes that never get started. One of these days, I will get a westwind 1200 and piss everyone off when I ride it to the stop and shop for a quart of milk. Bikes: Fresh tires and gas Guns: hoppes and fresh ammo | ||
| Ulyranger |
Sounds like I'm just going to agree with the previous posters but since the 94 is one my favorite guns thought I'd opine. No, not a major collector piece, gotta be per-64 to even be in consideration. Very nice gun though. Keep her clean, shoot it well and keep the original packaging/paperwork and most of all.......enjoy. Levers only get sweeter to shoot with use/age. | ||
| Greg_e |
A quick google says there were more than 1.5 million of that model and caliber made between 1970 and 1980, so not really rare at all. Shooting it or not shooting it will probably not change the $400 invested so I doubt you will lose money (except for ammo and targets). If you really need to check before shooting it, there are several sites that will estimate the value based on things like serial number (to verify manufacture date). | ||
| Reepicheep |
Shoot it. There are collectable winchester lever actions in 30/30, but they stopped making them in 64 or something with some kind of redesign. After that, they are still decent shooters, but not particularly valuable. I had one of those. Great to carry, painful to shoot. Lots of recoil in a really light rifle. Be careful with it as well, between the lever action (meaning you can't put a trigger lock), half •••• safety (which is only half a •••• from being not at all safe), and tube fed magazine (which can get dirty and hang up a round and then suprise you with it at some future date after you *thought* it was unloaded), thats a gun that demands some attention to own and shoot. People love them though, and yours is in GREAT shape. I might have some brass left around... I'll look. | ||
| Reepicheep |
LOL. •••• is c o c k. As in armed. Not as in chicken, or part of the male anatomy. | ||
| Ulyranger |
The price on these stays fairly flat, even well used they sell for 3-350 all day. | ||
| Ulyranger |
Painful recoil on a 30-30? Maybe if it was chopped down with a pistol grip. I've got three guns in my stable in this chambering, two of which are carbines, none are harsh IMO. Probably the most tame, common use big game cartridges going......and probably taken more White-tail than the next two/three popular cartridges combined..... The safety does take some awareness, but not particularly tricky. Or maybe it just seems that way those of us who bagged our first bucks with 'em. Half "rooster" and lever slightly "broken", =no bang. Easy peezy. | ||
| Slaughter |
The pre-64 were the US made Winchesters and one of THOSE would be worth protecting. I'd consider reloading. The 30-30 is surprisingly versatile. The 110 JSP is a great short-range varmint round. | ||
| Slaughter |
Also, if you ever want a scope, the top-eject forces you to use off-set mounts. That's why the Marlin is pretty popular for a lever gun. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I acquired a 1966 model that's never been shot. They are not particularly valuable, but yours has a leg up in that it has all the original packaging. Shoot it or don't shoot it. If you really want to shoot something get a .22LR. It'll save you a lot of $$$$ and you can put this away to appreciate in value. | ||
| Gregtonn |
"I'd consider reloading. The 30-30 is surprisingly versatile. The 110 JSP is a great short-range varmint round." Be careful of PSP (Pointed Soft Point) or pointed FMJ center-fire rounds in tubular magazines, recoil has been known to set them off in the magazine. The 30-30 Remington Accelerator rounds were especially known for this. They were discontinued because of that. G | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Thousands of rounds ! Shoot it | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I've never understood the concept of not using something because it's a "collectors item" If it's that rare, it belongs in a museum to gather dust gently. If you need the money do the deal, if you don't, just have fun using it. Every year, near where I used to live there's a classic bike rally & the village closes a loop of roads for "non-competitive demonstration runs" Non-competitive? yeah right! There's an old guy that has a whole stable of old bikes which are all road legal & regularly used. He brings a few every year & rides them to the max. He's in his 80s & some of them he can't even start any more, but some willing soul will fire it up for him. His favourite though is a little Scott Squirrel, water cooled 2 stroke, & I've seen him blow away much more capable machinery with it. When some dickhead with a perfectly restored Honda 750 on a trailer asks him why he rides so hard. He always says they were made to have a certain performance so it would be utterly pointless to own it & not use it, while pointedly looking at the shiny trailer queen. | ||
| Court |
>>>I've never understood the concept of not using something because it's a "collectors item" Ditto. I rode the heck out of my 1977 XLCR Cafe' Racer . . . my 1984 XR-1000 and, although they are just sitting here now, ditto for the first Buell bicycle and my 1952 Cushman 711 Highlander. If it has wheels . . . ride it. My 94 looks like it's been drug behind a truck down a country road. I do have, sitting in Kansas, all those pistols I used to buy at Everett's Hardware and Dry Goods in Concordia, KS on hunting trips and never shot. Bought 10 S.S. 6" 686 .357 for client gifts in 1993 and they sat in boxes for years. | ||
| Rich |
I had one exactly like it, bought it in Seattle in '78. | ||
| Brumbear |
Like Chuck Connors I would!!!!!!!! | ||
| Glitch |
Can I shoot it? | ||
| Aesquire |
After some thought.... It's an '80. Shoot and enjoy. Still say keep the packaging. All of it, preserved. You may not ever sell it, but that stupid cardboard box will make it worth twice as much to the next owner. A good buddy came home from his Father's funeral with a pile of guns and a pile of debt. Based on the promise that he could buy it back...even up... we took a Browning side by side 20ga. off to the gun store to get it appraised. After a long perusal of the books... the first question was, "do you have the box?" No. It had been discarded to ease shipping all the guns across the country. "too bad, that would be another $400". We still joke about the $400 cardboard box. Is that really rational? I don't think so, but it's understandable. I personally find a '94 in .30-30 to be harder kicking than a 7.62x39 and less than a 7.62x54R or .30-06. Just what you'd expect if you lined up the cartridges. The usual steel butt plate doesn't make it any gentler, but the same is true of a century's ++ worth of Mausers and other arms from the era before rubber butt pads. Never use any pointy bullets in a tube magazine repeater. With the sole and special exception of the LeverRevolution stuff from Hornady. They spent days dropping a Marlin on concrete from a ladder to get the polymer tip just springy enough not to gang fire the whole magazine. You DON'T want that to happen to you. For no other reason that after you get out of the hospital and tell us, we will mock you. ( never mind the injured loved ones and ruined gun  ) | ||
| Reepicheep |
With regards to recoil, it's fine for shooting in a hunting context. Carry it most of the time, shoot it a little, its wonderful. But for taking it to the range and putting 200 rounds through it? The light gun with the small butt plate made it not as much fun as other guns. I'd rather bring the Mauser 96 or the M1. Of course if I had to carry it all day, that would be a different story... Reloading them is easy, I just used a soft pint semi jacketed lead round nose, shot a ton of rounds, and never had a problem. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I'm a bit on the boney side myself and my old Mauser beats the crap out of me. Solution? I bring a towel for my shoulder. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Being a light lever action, it will have a bit of a kick. Other than adding a recoil pad, get a good shooting jacket. But a 30-30 isn't all that bad. Put a group down range with a Remington 700 in 7mm Magnum, or put a few rounds through a .303 Enfield. Brutal recoil. |
