Pre- 64 Winchester

Budweiser2

Budweiser2

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Hi
Could any of you give me some input? I have a Pre- 64 Model 70 Winchester Featherweight 308 cal.
The gun is original and the stock has 2 dents in it. Which would most likely come out if the stock was refinished. Otherwise the stock is not bad. The bluing is starting to fade a bit. I would like to sell this gun and don't know what it is worth. If I refinished the stock would it be worth more or leave it original?

Thanks in Advance and Straight Shooting

Budweiser2
 
Dont touch the stock finish if you are planning on selling that rifle.

There may be gun nuts out there that are more fussy than pre-64 M-70 collectors but I have never met any of them.
Anything not original on a collector grade rifle knocks the value down by a huge amount. (usually 40-50%)

Messing with the finish on old rifles is like pulling apart a numbers matching Mopar and replacing the original 426 Hemi with a junkyard 318 CID.

Your 1000.00 dollar "improvement" just cost you 100 times that.
 
Quality pictures are required before anyone could estimate a value.

Original condition is more valuable than anything refinished.

Some calibers are more valuable than others. The 308 Featherweight has the lowest value. (358 is the most valuable caliber - any Super Grade is most valuable)

With gun prices today this has some good value as a shooter possible as much as by a collector.

Condition is extremely important - In my experience a 90% rifle in 308 is probably worth $400 to $650 depending on how bad you wish to sell it and how bad the buyer wishes to own it.

Take it to more than one dealer and see what they would sell it for on a commission basis. That will also give you an idea of value.
 
[


Messing with the finish on old rifles is like pulling apart a numbers matching Mopar and replacing the original 426 Hemi with a junkyard 318 CID.

.[/QUOTE]

No one in this world would, maybe the other way around.
 
"...may be gun nuts out there that are more fussy..." Savage 99 collectors are right up there in fussy.
Epp's is listing a pre-64 .308 Featherweight at $899. That's retail though.
 
Williams Arms in Port Perry Ontario sold a 308 Featherweight made in 1959 for $600. last week. I saw the gun and it was 99% in my opinion. Unfortunately I arrived after the fact.
 
Pre-64 Winchester 308

Hi
Don't know if this helps but I was able to check the serial # and it is from 1954.

Thanks for all your imput.

Budweiser2
 
"Collectors" as I know them - are willing to pay a good buck for high condition guns ...
and by that, high condition means looking like it just came out of the box. The amount of original finish remaining (condition) is everything. Scarce calibers, deluxe factory finishes and unique factory options, as well as original packaging and written provenance all add to value. Well looked-after, common vintage shooters are maybe 30 - 40 percent (or less) of the value of the truly "collectible" stuff. While 99 percent Mod. 70's in 30-06 308 or 270 may well bring $ 1750 or so south of the border ... a similar shooter in good condition might be more in the vicinity of $ 500 - $ 750 and something comparable in say .257 Roberts or 300 H&H, maybe a couple of hundred more. In 375 H7H maybe double.
 
Thanks to all who anwsered my post. I will be taking pics and sending them to the members who were interested.


Straight Shooting

Budweiser2
 
Lazy Ike said:
Should have got a table at the Calgary gunshow.

Pre-64 featherweight could be listed for $2200 easy.
Click to expand...

That's kind of the problem with looking at gun show prices. The price on the tag does not matter as much as the price on the receipt when it changes hands. They can ask the moon, and maybe suck someone in, or they can price it realistically, and sell it for what it's worth. There were quite a few guns there that I recall seeing there last year (1885 Winchesters, mostly priced at stupid levels, and not finding anyone stupid enough!)

For the most part, unless it looks like it was the least favorite rifle, belonging to a guy that did not hunt (ie:in very nice condition!), the collectors don't want it all that badly. Being in "Original" "Unrestored" condition, but looking like it was dragged behind a tractor for 20 of it's many years, makes it "Parts", not "Collectible".

'Course, the same dealer that will go over it with a magnifier tallying up the scratches and reasons to deduct a couple more percent off the "book" price, will happily ignore all those marks once he owns it....

If it's a decent shooting rifle, and is able to be hunted with, it has value. Whether it's collectible or not, is another thing.

I like mine. It's a Model 70 Fwt, in 308, and I'll keep it the way it is, marks, hacks, ####ty re-checker job , and all, because it was my father's, and he's gone, but I have this.

It's not "collectible" either!

Cheers
Trev
 
I once had three parasites follow me across the floor of a gunshow just because I was packing a Winchester 92 in 25-20 with a 26 inch barrel.
Within about 40 steps I'd already heard how many flaws were in the old girl and how they would take it off my hands for two hundred dollars.

I sold the tang sight off it later that day for two hunderd and fifty.:kickInTheNuts:
 
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