To Collect or to Shoot

Taylor-Made

Taylor-Made

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
21   0   0
I am snooping around for a good Pre-64 Model 94. I am somewhat new to firearms, but very new to antique collectibles. I would like to get an older rifle with a little more history behind it, however, I still would like to shoot it on occasion. How do collectors determine if a rifle is too valuable to shoot and are there types or years of Model 94's that would be a no no to shoot?
 
Taylor-Made......I collect and shoot. I have some very fine and valuable firearms but they all go to the range. Now, I have to explain that I am very careful and I don't shoot smokeless powders in firearms designed for black powder and also about clean up after my shooting days. The fastest way to lose the value of any collectable firearm is to alter it in any way. I don't buy altered pieces and I do not alter any I have. As long as they remain original the value will always be there. Any alteration to any antique firearm, even the slightest, reduces the value by half and then it all goes downhill from there! Unaltered pieces never lose their value and will steadily increase in value over time. Altered pieces will never be worth any more than you pay for them. My advise is that you might better put the $$$$ out when you buy your antique as it will always be there. As for your Model 94, buy the best you can afford. Do your homework prior to buying. Try to buy an older one and one either with special features from the factory or in a rarer caliber or both. Homework!!! Good luck. Dave
 
Last edited:
I agree with Dantforth 100% he said it all. If I can't shoot it I don't want it. As far as Winchester 94's go there are millions of them out there. I recently purchase a 25-35 Sporting rifle (26" barrel) made 1900 couldn't wait to get the dies and brass so I could see what the old girl would do!! With some luck it might make it to the bush this year. Good luck on your search.
 
I think it is a question of condition; if the gun were in factory new condition plus rare and exceptionally expensive (say over 3000), I would be pretty hesitant to shoot it because any wear would reduce the resale price. On the other hand if the gun was in only good condition, I would shoot it because any additional minor wear would be unnoticeable.
I don't completely agree about losing resale price on altered originals; I buy guns which are in poor repair, usually, and return them to functioning. As such their price can either stay the same or go up. On the other hand they start out at a fraction of the cost of a gun in factory new condition . From what I have seen, guns in factory new condition and made in the mid to late 1800s sell for at least double and often more than a similar gun in good condition.

cheers mooncoon
 
Pretty much everything has been said. If the gun isn't in pristene condition, and you don't bubba, load it with high pressure rds, or abuse it, you're good to go.

If you're worried about hurting it from use, go see a competant gunsmith who can offer advice on how to make sure you don't harm it. Low pressure rds are probably the safest way to go if you're really really worried, but that's really dependant on what you're doing.

Like has been said too, Win 94's are pretty common. If you wait and watch you'll find just about any of them at a good price.
 
I think it is a question of condition; if the gun were in factory new condition plus rare and exceptionally expensive (say over 3000), I would be pretty hesitant to shoot it because any wear would reduce the resale price. On the other hand if the gun was in only good condition, I would shoot it because any additional minor wear would be unnoticeable.
I don't completely agree about losing resale price on altered originals; I buy guns which are in poor repair, usually, and return them to functioning. As such their price can either stay the same or go up. On the other hand they start out at a fraction of the cost of a gun in factory new condition . From what I have seen, guns in factory new condition and made in the mid to late 1800s sell for at least double and often more than a similar gun in good condition.
Click to expand...

Very well said. I've bought lots of guns in poor or modified condition and it's always rewarding when you can get them working and shooting again. I'm not in favour of altering or ruining an antique but I frequently buy altered guns as shooters and I never buy a gun I can't shoot.
 
If you are worried about resale value then I would shoot them very little, but that said all firearms regardless of cost were designed to be shot. Unless the firearm in question is at a point where shooting it would be unsafe to the shooter I think it should be used.
 
I agree completely!!


But


with all that said

you have to know the basic difference between a British 19th century guild proof mark and a scratch on the side of a 16th century tent made jezeale beduin musket;)


A pittance of common sence goes a loooong way!
 
The only situation I can see not shooting a collectible Winchester is if you were fortunate enough to acquire one in new in the box condition.
A friend of mine got a 1954 model 94 carbine still in the box with hang tags.
He promptly tied the lever shut with electrical tiewraps so no one could cycle the action and scuff the blueing.
 
There are too many specific examples to quote in regards to shooting this model firearm or that model firearm.
It boils down to what the owner feels comfortable with.

Now comes the hard part...if a guy decides to start shooting an old gun(Note I did not say antique) and has a stupid moment and damages the firearm...his investment is worthless. The quagmire in this case is if the owner figures he will sell the gun and not say anything about it being damaged, he opens himself up for trouble.
The same goes for someone who reloads ammo to higher pressures then acceptable for a vintage firearm and damages it by bending/stretching/cracking the frame or barrel then selling it as an undamaged firearm. Once again he open himself up for trouble.

If a guy wants to shoot his guns go ahead, but don't try to sell the gun years later as being new unfired. In the case of a vintage collectible firearm, by shooting it you turn it from a collectible to a used gun...value generally decreases.

I have a number of antique firearms which will never be fired since they are too valuable to do so. Conversely, I have a couple of antiques which I fire occasionally (usually when Shiloh Sharps rifles need to be eaten alive), though they are not in a condition which puts them into a collectible status.
The guys who say "guns are designed to be shot" are saying this out of false bravado and if given one, will eventually destroy a valuable collectible antique...mind you they may never be able to afford a high quality antique anyhow so the point is mute.

If you decide to fire your old Winchester, do so with caution and with the knowledge that breaking an internal part will generally render it useless and virtually worthless.
Cheers
 
Alonzo said:
Now comes the hard part...if a guy decides to start shooting an old gun(Note I did not say antique) and has a stupid moment and damages the firearm...his investment is worthless.

In the case of a vintage collectible firearm, by shooting it you turn it from a collectible to a used gun...value generally decreases.

if given one, will eventually destroy a valuable collectible antique...mind you they may never be able to afford a high quality antique anyhow so the point is mute.

If you decide to fire your old Winchester, do so with caution and with the knowledge that breaking an internal part will generally render it useless and virtually worthless.
Click to expand...

A lot of what you are saying applies primarily to guns in extremely good condition and more or less defines collectible guns as only being those in extremely good condition. I think that definition is flawed.

Some collectors, perhaps most, collect guns in extremely good condition and rarely if ever shoot them. There are others however, such as myself, who collect guns in much less pristine condition because their mechanism interests me or their history interests me or the craftsmanship in them, in spite of wear and deterioration interests me. Shooting such guns does little to change their status from collectible to used. They were heavily used when I got them and used but functional while I own them without loosing their interest or value to me. I could perhaps afford a small number of pristine antique guns but what good would they be to me? They would be left on the wall, oiled a few times per year and never used. Instead I own a number of antiques that I shoot sporadically and enjoy both as shooters and for the historic reasons I mentioned above. I don't feel their value has decreased at all and in fact a few have increased in value during my ownership.

If a part breaks, it can be repaired or another made and the gun is only temporarily rendered useless and certainly not worthless

cheers mooncoon
 
In the case of a vintage collectible firearm, by shooting it you turn it from a collectible to a used gun...value generally decreases.
Click to expand...

I would say that it is generally quite difficult to find a vintage piece that hasn't been fired, so no change in its condition will occur. Most all these guns were shot, as 'guns are made to be shot.' What actually is the big deal about a vintage piece that could finally break or wear out, anyway? If you consider it too valuable to shoot, you are therefore simply going to look at it. If you shoot it and something breaks, you are then going to just look at it, but you also had the joy of shooting it, too. Besides, I am quite sure that the guns want to be shot, that is their purpose in life, their raison d'etre. I believe the biggest crime is to take a gun that has fired/hunted for so many decades, and then retire it, put it out to pasture. The gun needs to be lovingly restored to shooting shape and but back into service, that's what it wants. Now I'm out $.02!
 
It's a Model 94 winchester.

They are too valuable to pound into rocky soil to use for staking out the horse. Other than that, buy one, use it.

If you are too worried about losing value because you want to shoot it, buy something else. You'd be in the wrong game.

The difference between a low grade POS beater, and an original condition rare collectible valuable antique, is usually whether the same crusty old fart at the gun show is trying to set a price to buy it from you, or sell it to you.

As far as I'm concerned, guns bought as investments, rather than as shooting pieces, are a.) priced out of my range, and b.) for some other sucker to pound their money into.

Shop for a decent used gun. Pay for a decent used gun. Shoot the decent used gun. Treat it reasonably well, it'll always be a decent used gun.

Most of the emotional garbage about preserving the original patina, and preserving the history, etc., is all about trying to get top dollar for hard used goods. I'll buy in, if the gun is 100 plus years old, and in 95% or better factory condition. If it looks like it was dragged behind a Red River cart for it's trip into the West, I'll not.

A gun too valuable to shoot? That's one that you can't afford to buy anyway, if you are dealing with a reasonably honest gun seller. If the seller is feeding you a line of pap about it being too valuable to shoot, and it's not one of those 100 year old, 95% guns, he's just trying to pimp up the price. Everything else, in the world of 94 Winchesters, is just a hunting rifle.

Just buy one and take reasonable care of it. It'll be fine.

Cheers
Trev
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom