Refinished 1873 value

1899

1899

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I am usually not too interested in refinished old Winchesters so I am not really up to speed on the values of these rifles. I saw a nice old 1873 (DOM 1881) in .44 WCF. It had a 24" barrel - which seemed a fairly heavy contour - trap door in the butt plate and just "regular" wood. I didn't take a look at the bore, but let's assume it is ok.

The rifle has been reblued and the wood refinished. The wood has not been heavily sanded so it looks pretty good. The dust cover on the ejection port is a bit gimpy - you need to manually pull it back before working the lever, and then it stays open.

What kind of ball park value would a fellow be looking at for such a rifle, again assuming it is just a regular 1873?
 
A friend has a 73 round barrel rifle and it is really heavy as well, around 7/8 inch at the muzzle, that is standard. I think if the bore is good and the refinish good quality it is probably an $800- $1000 rifle. I think the dust cover is supposed to ride back with the bolt but then stays to the rear if you work the action again at least those I have handled did. My 2 cents.
 
I've seen a few at shows around here the last few years with $500 - $600 on them, and they did not seem to be moving. That in the sense that I saw these guns at the same show on more than one occassion. These were not heavily sanded / buffed guns, but you could very quickly see they were redone in terms of the incorrect bluing used and shiny varnish on wood. Maybe if they were professional jobs they would move and at a higher price like Mike is suggesting. Just what I have seen.
Matt
 
Isn't the dust cover supposed to initially open with the action as you open the lever?

Thanks for the info.
 
Here's how I look at it. An original "restored" toggle Winchester is worth about as much as a modern reproduction. Maybe a little more or less depending on how well it was done and how clean the bore is. It's still a classic firearm...just not collector grade.
 
Newfoundlandrover said:
Here's how I look at it. An original "restored" toggle Winchester is worth about as much as a modern reproduction. Maybe a little more or less depending on how well it was done and how clean the bore is. It's still a classic firearm...just not collector grade.
Click to expand...

I was thinking somewhere along those lines. While I would never refinish a fine original, this one is already done. I could by a Chiapa, Uberti or whatever for plinking....but imo those wouldn't be nearly as "cool".
 
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