Winchester 1894, 1911 edition, with outstanding wood
Guns International #: 100549326 Seller's Inventory #: 2
Category: Winchester Rifles - Lever Pre-64 - Winchester Rifles - Model 1894 Pre-64
Seller's Information
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Seller: MARK'S SPORTS SHOP
Company: Mark's Sports Center
Member Since: 4/12/15
First Name: Mark
Last Name: Capik
State: California
Zip: 95658
Country: United States
Phone: 916-663-1207
Number of Active Listings: 0
Total Number of Listings: 2
Seller: FFL Dealer
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
Payment Types Accepted: postal or bank money order
Description:
I have quite a story for you about this rifle.It is a Winchester 1894, manufactured in 1911. It has a 26" octagonal barrel and is the rare "takedown" model, usually adding 20% to its value. It is also in the relatively rare .32 WS caliber. In original form it had no inletting, but its most striking feature is its amazing tiger walnut wood, about the nicest I have ever seen. It has a flip-up Mardle rear sight. Now for the "rest of the story". In March of 2014 I sold this rifle, in its original form. A very knowledgable collector in Southern Maine bought it, and told me the beauty of the wood was the reason for his purchase. So I shipped the rifle to him, and that night got a frantic call from his FFL, telling me the stock had been shattered in shipment (see last 2 photos). The buyer was very upset, and so was I. I immediately refunded his purchase $$, and wondered what I was going to do with a shattered 1894 in Maine, 3000 miles away. I started by contacting UPS, and after considerable discussion, with lots of valued assistance from the buyer, they agreed to refund me the purchase price. So I was a bit whole now, and wondering how to proceed. The buyer told me he had heard of a wood repair expert in upstate Maine, and asked me if I wanted him to pursue that. I agreed. So he drove there, and was told the stock could be repaired, but the cost would be $500. So I sent $500 to the original buyer, who drove it to upstate Maine. After about a month I got a call from the buyer who said he had just picked up the repaired 1894, and the job was beautiful. Matter of fact, he offered to buy it again on the spot. But after what I had been thru, I paid him to ship it back to me in California. I called the wood repair expert to find out more about what he had done, as the finished product was astonishly beautiuful. Turns out he had been in this business for 38 years, has a small shop there, and uses older, vintage tools for his work. I asked him to tell me about the repair. He said he had pinned the break and had used Accraglass for extra strength. When asked how strong it would be at the break, he said if it broke again it would not be at the original site --- extremely strong repair. I noticed the beautiful inletting the original rifle did not have, he told me he had original Winchester inletting patterns correct for the era, as he was sure the fit and finish if the piece was original Winchester. But he said the grain thru the wrist was not directional to the stock, so it was weak there. It was his opinion that the rifle was probably made for an employee who knew of the possible strength issue. He said he used heat to take out a few small indentations and then put a nice oil finish on it. I asked about safety to shoot the piece?? He said it had an excellent bore and since the tang screw was not bent, it should be fine to shoot. We discussed the fact that the Cody Museum did not have historic paperwork on this piece due to the fire. He and the original buyer both thought the wood quality was XX, or more probably XXX, but was not so marked due to the weak spot, and again, probably finished for an employee.
So, after months of internal deliberation I have decided to see who out there might want this beautiful 1894. I recently purchase 2 boxes of Winchester .32 WS ammo for it, and will provide this to the eventual buyer. I would be glad to provide contact information on both the original buyer and wood repair expert in upstate Maine, for anyone who might be interested enough to ask. Thank you for your consideration.
May 2015--- I received a call from several buyers who were intrigued by this story, especially the quality of the wood on this piece, and its repair and the follow-on inletting. But they said they thought my price might be a bit high, and asked if I would consider lowering it somewhat. So after some time and consideration, I have dropped the price from $2195 to $1995. I cannot go much lower due to the initial purchase price and all of the repair/improvements. Please give me a call if you would like to discuss, thanks!!
SOLD
Curio/Relic: Yes