The Price of an Icon

At a time when the U.S. government issued Springfield Mod. 1873 single shot rifles to their troops, Winchester was making an icon.

The lever action repeating rifle was the assault rifle of it's day with the rate of fire of two shots per second or at least that's what Winchester advertised at the time.

The Winchester lever action rifles developed from the origins of Vulcan Arms, and Henry Repeating arms have securely embedded there place in history as an American Icon. The last of the Winchester lever actions to be made in Connecticut, USA was the model 94 with over 7 million of it's variants sold.

The rifle enjoys the highest production quantity of any sporting rifle ever made.

Since 2006 the production of Winchester lever actions have been shifted to Japan. The quality is still high yet an icon of America should be made in America.

The price of guns in general varies depending on where you live, the brand and the caliber. With internet sales I've seen an unwarranted explosion in pricing of the 94's. Granted getting as much as you can is considered good salesmanship, yet one person overcharging for a product does not mean there's been an increase in value just because a sucker got took.

The pricing of commemorative Winchesters such as a John Wayne Special is a crap shoot at best. To pay top dollar for a gold plated, sub-production quality wall hanger takes a special type of person to buy.

When looking at lever guns somethings to consider is if the wood matches butt stock to fore-end. They were made from the same slab and the color and grain pattern should look that way. Any marks in the furniture or scratches in the bluing will have a dramatic effect on the price.

For over a decade the value of a post 1964 model 94 30-30 has been around $450.00 in new or like new condition. This really hasn't changed, remember there are over 7 million of these that where sold.

The pricing on Pre-64 model 94's are more subjective and you can expect to pay double that of the post 64 model. Finding one in 90% conditions is nearly impossible, because if it looks to good to be true it probably is.

The majority of Pre-64's that I've seen were in 60% condition with the expected ware patterns in the bluing, refinished wood, and a perfect bore. This I would expect to sell for at most six to eight hundred dollars.

The pricing of antique 94's involves a lot more than the overall condition. The year of manufacture, the caliber and most of all is it correctly configured based on serial number. Your more likely to find a fake or reworked antique, 94 than to find a completely correct one.

When looking for a good deal, first look at the quality of what you want. For example in the 1970's after the gas crunch everything was made cheep. The cars turned into plastic gutless wonders and anything made of solid steel became stamped sheet-metal. This also happened with the 94's, the quality of steel used, the receiver bluing and stamped sheet-metal followers. So try not to pay top dollar for this vintage of 94.

The internet has proven to be a overwrought source of information and it's not all good. When pricing an item refer to as many sources as you can. Check online pricing and compare them with historical references with the Blue Book of Gun Values. Using as many references as you can will all ways find the best price.

I could devote the rest of my life in the pursuit of Winchester knowledge but I'm not. Buyer beware, there are a lot of re-blued, restocked fakes out there and if it's considered a rare rifle, take the time to check. Just because people are asking a lot for a gun does not mean that's what it will sell for.       
  Good Luck