BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 7 months ago
George Block at Observer-Reporter:
Perhaps the greatest collectable, if in pristine and original condition, is the pre-1964 model 70. While 580,000 of these rifles were made, they bring a good price because of the quality of manufacturing and are considered by many collectors and shooters as the finest standard production rifle ever offered to the public. There is one thing about this collectable rifle: it seems to hold value better than any other. But remember, originality and condition still enter into the picture.
There is little doubt but that the name Winchester increases the value of any rifle. There are many lever action models that have jumped in value. An 1888 in good shape is worth quite a bit as is the ugly and awkward to carry 1895. Even the most popular Winchester of all the 1894 holds its value well. The 1894 later became the model 94 that most of us have shot at some time.
In 1927, the 18 was dropped from the name. Like most rules, there are exceptions and the old Winchesters fall under that category. Most high priced collectables are those models that didn’t sell well and were dropped after a brief period.
Earlier I misstated in a reply back to Georgiaboy that Winchester Rifles are now made in Portugal. Actually, Winchester rifles were made in Japan for a number of years, and at that point the quality deteriorated to near nothing.
FN purchased the brand, and now the parts are made in Columbia, S.C., while being assembled in Portugal. It’s still difficult to get a Winchester Model 70 because FN tools their line in Columbia to make a certain gun, retools for the next one, and so on and around it goes. I question whether this is a good business model, but it’s what they do.
Few people outside FN know when a new release of gun models is going to become available. I’ve sent FN customer service notes before on other subjects only to be ignored. I also don’t know anything about the quality of the Model 70s being made today.
