What would you do? Winchester 1894 RCMP

[orygun]

The Blackhawk I had is in SE Portland. Dormant, too.

 

[old greg]

What would I do with it...?
Sell it or trade for a firearm that I am actually interested in.

However it ain't mine...
So a better question would be....
What you ( as in you the OP ) want to do with it....?
It is your firearm now.
Doesn't really matter just what someone else would do with it.

Something to consider here :
It can be good and fun to own things....however it it wise to not let the things that we own , own us.
As in ....
Having a firearm and not getting enjoyment or use of it , for worry that by doing so , it will somehow make the firearm less valuable for whatever reason.
Andy

And this is why i asked something along the lines of, am i crazy? Cause all i want to do is shoot it. Its cost us nothing to own other than toting the box around the country and leaving it in a closet. Its has no sentimental value, but does actually lose monetary value if we shoot it, as i learned here. Problem with that mindset? If i never planned to sell it in the first place, that value doesnt matter.

pretty much the only reason that lucky rifle hasnt been shot yet because im far more keen to put my own scratchs in it than my less-than-obsessed-with-firearms partner, but its theirs and not mine.

I think what I learned from this is that I should just buy a couple boxes of 30/30, an annie oakley hat for my partner, and up the peer pressure.

 

[Jay Walk]

I see a couple of excellent examples of the Canadian Centennial 30-30 at buy it now $850 a and $1,250
both are no box and do not say unfired. No bids.

If you want to shoot it, I don't see much harm.

 

[RVTECH]

then acquired a better rifle for the job. (Browning B78 45-70)

Came close to owning one of these myself several years ago! And it had been formerly owned by an X prez of the NRA (not an influencing factor however)

A guy had it at a local gunshow and I made what I thought was a fair offer based on his 'asking' price and he refused. I 'upped' it a bit after the show but to no avail.

Fast forward a year and it's back at his table at the show again - but no interest this time around.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

And this is why i asked something along the lines of, am i crazy? Cause all i want to do is shoot it. Its cost us nothing to own other than toting the box around the country and leaving it in a closet. Its has no sentimental value, but does actually lose monetary value if we shoot it, as i learned here. Problem with that mindset? If i never planned to sell it in the first place, that value doesnt matter.

pretty much the only reason that lucky rifle hasnt been shot yet because im far more keen to put my own scratchs in it than my less-than-obsessed-with-firearms partner, but its theirs and not mine.

I think what I learned from this is that I should just buy a couple boxes of 30/30, an annie oakley hat for my partner, and up the peer pressure.

Soooo.....
Shoot the rifle and don't worry 'bout what others think....
Andy

 

[Yarome]

I think @WAYNO in post #14 covered it quite well, and....

....start stocking up on ammo so that I could shoot it like God and JMB* intended

... this sums it up quite nicely.

If it's not your cup of tea, then trading it for something that is has merit. No perfectly decent Win 30-30 ever did anything to anyone that deserves to be locked up and wither away as a safe queen, though. That's just cruel and unusual.

 

[titsonritz]

What would I do?

Shoot the hell out of it.

 

[Knobgoblin]

You ever cross my path, I'll plain give you a box of ammo to run through it.
Winnies are cool , but I'm more of a Marlin fan. I have never seen an unfired Marlin unless it was brand new at the gun counter. All Marlins are meant to be utilized.

 

[RVTECH]

I see a couple of excellent examples of the Canadian Centennial 30-30 at buy it now $850 a and $1,250

There is one currently FS at Bass Pro in Tacoma, WA for $799 and it looks pretty nice.

Actually the standard Canadian Centennial has always been one of the least expensive of all the Comems, at least in the US probably and maybe for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately I passed on one a few years ago for $450 and wish I hadn't! It would have no doubt been a great 'shooter'!

 

[oldcorpgunny]

An interesting factoid: The French actually used model 94's during WWI. A bunch of them were purchased by the French gov't to supplement their venerable 8mm Lebelles.

 

[old greg]

Yall, thanks a ton. Ive learned a lot of good stuff here.

And to round it out, im not worried what others think but more of what others know that i do not. Someone mentioned how drastically the price would drop if it was fired, but its "only" a $1000 ish rifle so im not to worried. And old corp gunny mentioning the french bought some for ww1 which is super interesting, and someone else mentioned they dont think the commemorative rifles had the last round of fitting affirms my opinion that its just a polished turd (sorry). And knobgoblin offering a box! Thats what makes this place amazing. Btw, i cant take your box of ammo unless you shoot half of it, its only fair haha.

 

[Yarome]

Yall, thanks a ton. Ive learned a lot of good stuff here.

And to round it out, im not worried what others think but more of what others know that i do not. Someone mentioned how drastically the price would drop if it was fired, but its "only" a $1000 ish rifle so im not to worried. And old corp gunny mentioning the french bought some for ww1 which is super interesting, and someone else mentioned they dont think the commemorative rifles had the last round of fitting affirms my opinion that its just a polished turd (sorry). And knobgoblin offering a box! Thats what makes this place amazing. Btw, i cant take your box of ammo unless you shoot half of it, its only fair haha.

That's the thing. If it was an exceedingly rare rifle, unfired with orginal box and documentation, it's going to have collectors value and shooting it will have a great impact on the value.

Your slightly above average garden variety shooter... lightly shot and impeccibly maintained... hardly any impact on price at all. You might as well enjoy it, get your money's worth, then sell high during one of these panic cycles... if you ultimately decide to let it go.

"Gold standard" rifles like that really only ever increase in value... so long as they are properly maintained. Not enough to get rich off of, but after a period of enjoyment you'll certainly break even or better... regardless if it's got a couple 100 rounds through it or not.

I certainly wouldn't call it a "turd". Just a shmancy everyday shooter. Nothing wrong with that!

 

[Mark W.]

An interesting factoid: The French actually used model 94's during WWI. A bunch of them were purchased by the French gov't to supplement their venerable 8mm Lebelles.

We also used model 94's during WWI as part of the timber guard protecting our forests. These are highly collectable.

 

[Yarome]

...These are highly collectable.

Very true, although I don't "collect" them per se. They're a "workin man's rifle" and I've got grandkids coming up. As such, It's one rifle I always have on my radar. Find a nice clean one of the proper vintage at a reasonabe price and I'm always going to snag it if I can.