What sort of value does this old Winchester hold?

Bigcrigger

Bigcrigger

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Hey All. A few months back I came in possession of a flatside pistol grip 1895 Winchester in .303, a very very uncommon rifle, ESPECIALLY considering it being chambered in .303.

Flatside 1895s are rare, flatside deluxes are a little rarer, flatside non deluxe pistol gripped rifles are quite uncommon from what I have seen.

Anyway, way back in November I requested a factory Winchester letter so I could see what sort of animal I had gotten my hands on. I had the suspicion that it was something rebarreled for .303 because there were no markings on the barrel. Unfortunately I was right!

IMG_4420.jpeg

I’m not crying over it though. The rifle handles .303 very well and it sends it down range with quite a bit of accuracy. I’m happy to keep it as a shooter, it makes a nice range companion to my other .303 1895

IMG_3590.jpeg

Anyway, seeing as this rifle has been rebarreled and rechambered at some point in its life, I’m sure it’s lost some value. The bluing is in decent shape for 1897 (Ha.) and it might not be the collectors dream that I suspected it could have been if it was a factory flatside .303, the question is; what is this rifle really worth?

I’m not asking this because im looking to sell. I’m just asking because i know there are some very knowledgeable folks here who would have a better understanding of what the going price on something like this might be. I think it’s a unique rifle that can be taken to the range and used like any other lever gun, but I do think it’s atleast a little special.

Thanks all.
 
Bigcrigger said:
Hey All. A few months back I came in possession of a flatside pistol grip 1895 Winchester in .303, a very very uncommon rifle, ESPECIALLY considering it being chambered in .303.

Flatside 1895s are rare, flatside deluxes are a little rarer, flatside non deluxe pistol gripped rifles are quite uncommon from what I have seen.

Anyway, way back in November I requested a factory Winchester letter so I could see what sort of animal I had gotten my hands on. I had the suspicion that it was something rebarreled for .303 because there were no markings on the barrel. Unfortunately I was right!

View attachment 892523

I’m not crying over it though. The rifle handles .303 very well and it sends it down range with quite a bit of accuracy. I’m happy to keep it as a shooter, it makes a nice range companion to my other .303 1895

View attachment 892525

Anyway, seeing as this rifle has been rebarreled and rechambered at some point in its life, I’m sure it’s lost some value. The bluing is in decent shape for 1897 (Ha.) and it might not be the collectors dream that I suspected it could have been if it was a factory flatside .303, the question is; what is this rifle really worth?

I’m not asking this because im looking to sell. I’m just asking because i know there are some very knowledgeable folks here who would have a better understanding of what the going price on something like this might be. I think it’s a unique rifle that can be taken to the range and used like any other lever gun, but I do think it’s atleast a little special.

Thanks all.
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Pistol grip is quite scarce as only offered in flat sides. One similar sold at an Orangeville gun show a few months back. It had replaced checkered buttstock. It was a 40-72 with original barrel. Asking was $1800 sold for ???? as I wasn't at that table at the time. I can't guess as to value as can not tell if wood is original or if original sights. Also depends on amount of cash in pocket. LOL Bill
 
Suther said:
You've got not one, but TWO 303cal 1895s? Cool.

Do they have a specific name or term for the not-flat-side ones?
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Only the first 5000 1895 winchesters were flat side actions. I've read that the receiver was beefed up in the locking lug area when smokeless rounds were introduced. 1895 and 1896 were years for flatsides. The 303 british was first chambered in 1895 winchester in 1898 so pretty hard for the ops gun to have been original.
If it were mine and otherwise original I would be on the hunt for a 38/72 round barrel off an original gun. They do come up now and then.Value of the OPs gun as it sits is hard to figure. I would guess at least a grand maybe more to the right guy. In original condition I would think 2500 to 3500 bucks but that's only my opinion. You see so few of them sell in Canada hard to come up with price estimate.
 
Suther said:
You've got not one, but TWO 303cal 1895s? Cool.

Do they have a specific name or term for the not-flat-side ones?
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I got really lucky finding them. I traded a .44 mag henry for one and found the other one in a small gun shop on my way home from school one day. They’re real fun to shoot but a little finicky to disassemble and reassemble for cleaning the action up.
 
Mike Webb said:
Only the first 5000 1895 winchesters were flat side actions. I've read that the receiver was beefed up in the locking lug area when smokeless rounds were introduced. 1895 and 1896 were years for flatsides. The 303 british was first chambered in 1895 winchester in 1898 so pretty hard for the ops gun to have been original.
If it were mine and otherwise original I would be on the hunt for a 38/72 round barrel off an original gun. They do come up now and then.Value of the OPs gun as it sits is hard to figure. I would guess at least a grand maybe more to the right guy. In original condition I would think 2500 to 3500 bucks but that's only my opinion. You see so few of them sell in Canada hard to come up with price estimate.
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There are about 5 known factory .303 flatsides out there from what I can gather. They started producing .303 ones very late into flatside production, but since the beginning they had offered the rifle in 30-40 krag (smokeless)

I think I’m gonna hang onto it for now though. I’m a big fan of 1895s and I know I probably won’t have the opportunity to have another flatside in shooter condition in the near future. I’d like to have a really nice original one, but at that point I’m not sure how often id go out and put rounds through it. I think it would have to be sold to the right person for sure
 
If you ever have the front stock and mag tube off, check under the bawrill where it meets the receiver.
There may be some letters and a date.
If the bawrill was swapped by Winchester, the letters would indicate which gunsmith there did the work.
This could increase the value?

Great pair of levers you have bigcrigger.
 
Bigcrigger said:
There are about 5 known factory .303 flatsides out there from what I can gather. They started producing .303 ones very late into flatside production, but since the beginning they had offered the rifle in 30-40 krag (smokeless)

I think I’m gonna hang onto it for now though. I’m a big fan of 1895s and I know I probably won’t have the opportunity to have another flatside in shooter condition in the near future. I’d like to have a really nice original one, but at that point I’m not sure how often id go out and put rounds through it. I think it would have to be sold to the right person for sure
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I should have been more specific than just saying smokeless. I was more referring to higher pressure chamberings; 30/03, 30/06, 35 winchester etc. Nice rifle still. Like the pistol grip.
 
The non flatside rifle is likely standard 28 inch rifle, they came in 24 and 28 unless special ordered. I think the carbine was 22 inch.
I have one in 35 winchester 24 inch. I find it much handier than the 28 inches.
 
Suther said:
Scallop cut? Is that what collector circles use to refer to the non-flat-side versions? Or just your own descriptor for it?
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That’s what those notches in the receiver on the later rifles are, they’re scalloped. They did it to cut down on weight iirc
 
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