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Value of Winchester Model 88 1956 .308?
- Thread Starter manakiah
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Your Winchester 88 was made prior to 1964, and that adds significantly to its value, since the quality was amongst the best ever in American firearms.
Without seeing the gun, but with you saying its in great shape, minimum $600. The Weaver scope, though not "best" quality was exactly the type of scope that was most frequently put on these guns, and if of the same vintage, and vintage mounts, adds to the overall appeal of the weapon as being "of the period". The .308 was the most common caliber. If you can easily say the gun is in "excellent condition" (all blue present, few if any scratches on the wood), you are in the $800-900 range to a collector that needs this. When offering collectable guns for sale (and this applies to most guns, actually) I advise persons with little knowledge that there are three price ranges: Listed here from low-ball to high-ball.
1) The price a dealer would give you for it (in order that he can turn it for a profit). This is the price you would ask if you absolutely had to sell the gun tomorrow. For a decent (not excellent) 88, this would be $400-500.
2) The price someone would pay who "always wanted one", and intends to use the gun to hunt with, or such. A real nice pre-64 model 88 should bring 600-800.
3) The price a collector would pay for a gun because he absolutely needs it for his collection (with modern firearms such as the 88, this must be a near-perfect specimen). Such a gun to such a customer would bring $800-1000. It might take you significantly longer to sell it at that price. If it were in caliber .284, the value would be nearly double or better.
The "books" (lists of values) generally agree with these pricing assignments, but anyone who regularly consults a book will find omissions, innacurracies, and failures to realize rapidly changing tastes and significant value fluctuations (up or down). The 88 is one of the guns that is rapidly increasing in value. If you keep it, you will do better than money in any bank in the world. Figure easily 20% increase per year on a nice 88.
Without seeing the gun, but with you saying its in great shape, minimum $600. The Weaver scope, though not "best" quality was exactly the type of scope that was most frequently put on these guns, and if of the same vintage, and vintage mounts, adds to the overall appeal of the weapon as being "of the period". The .308 was the most common caliber. If you can easily say the gun is in "excellent condition" (all blue present, few if any scratches on the wood), you are in the $800-900 range to a collector that needs this. When offering collectable guns for sale (and this applies to most guns, actually) I advise persons with little knowledge that there are three price ranges: Listed here from low-ball to high-ball.
1) The price a dealer would give you for it (in order that he can turn it for a profit). This is the price you would ask if you absolutely had to sell the gun tomorrow. For a decent (not excellent) 88, this would be $400-500.
2) The price someone would pay who "always wanted one", and intends to use the gun to hunt with, or such. A real nice pre-64 model 88 should bring 600-800.
3) The price a collector would pay for a gun because he absolutely needs it for his collection (with modern firearms such as the 88, this must be a near-perfect specimen). Such a gun to such a customer would bring $800-1000. It might take you significantly longer to sell it at that price. If it were in caliber .284, the value would be nearly double or better.
The "books" (lists of values) generally agree with these pricing assignments, but anyone who regularly consults a book will find omissions, innacurracies, and failures to realize rapidly changing tastes and significant value fluctuations (up or down). The 88 is one of the guns that is rapidly increasing in value. If you keep it, you will do better than money in any bank in the world. Figure easily 20% increase per year on a nice 88.
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