foxfire said

My thought exactly. It saddens me greatly to witness this forum (and thus hobby) degraded by members with ulterior motives – from admitting to shill bidding, to refusing to call-out fraudulent sellers. It’s no wonder younger collectors will be lost.   

foxfire said
…….not to suggest anything about Austin. I’ve purchased numerous Colt SAA’s from him and have always been greatly satisfied. 

Rick and Jeremy had valid questions, which were completely whitewashed….  

 foxfire,

 Your statement on the first post “It saddens me greatly to witness this forum (and thus hobby) degraded by members with ulterior motives”. I’m assuming you mean me. I made it quite clear in previous posts that I do not own Austins gun, I have not seen the the gun other than the 124 pictures, and I know him only good enough to say hi in passing at a gun show. I do not have any ulterior motives!

 Your statement on the first post ” from admitting to shill bidding”. I do not shill bid or get involved in any scheme to inflate the auction price!

 Your statement “refusing to call-out fraudulent sellers” It is my opinion that a fraudulent seller is one that does not own the gun he is selling, does not give  your money back if not satisfied, or intentionally misrepresents the gun. Any seller who posts 124 good pictures of the complete gun and gives a inspection period probably is not a fraudulent seller!

 Your statement on the second post “Rick and Jeremy had valid questions, which were completely whitewashed” I agree with the valid question part but not the whitewash. They posted the questions and were considered.

 My experience has been mostly large gun shows and there it is customary to leave buyer and seller alone when the deal is going on. This forum of course is different and should be. Maybe the level of proof should be higher when the bidding is going on. You can cost the seller a lot of money and give the smart buyer a deal. That said, if you are a real buyer then get help and it can be the Forum in the form of questions. T/R

TR, I think foxfire was referring to me “admitting to shill bidding” but I believe I clearly stated it was a club auction and at these auctions many items are donated and the proceeds benefit the club. Sometimes the bidding gets pretty silly but if it gets a slow start I’m not opposed to getting things going or moving things along. Sometimes the item is then re-donated and auctioned off again. And unlike a true “shill bidder” I sometimes “win” the auction and take the item home. I also probably should mention the bar opens a few hours before bidding starts. 

I am concerned that a prospective buyer may be influenced by our discussion of an auction item and may hesitate to buy something that they would otherwise have been very happy to own. I like the gun. I do feel it has been cleaned up and possibly a coat of light oil applied but to me that helps bring out the beauty of the wood grain and insures any surface issues are visible. I don’t have a dog in this fight as this model is generally outside the scope of my collecting interests.

Mike

well this thread has gone sideways… sad as it is this has become the reason why ive chosen to be an “in person collector and advisor” the past 25 years. 

so because so many have chosen to stray from facts im going to stick to what i know are facts. 

Harry-  first let me say your a fellow Canadian and love ya man but that doesn’t sway my opinion on knowledge. you preach 55 years experience  but i dont recall seeing you at the vern vosler sale 15 years ago or even at shows 20 years ago that i attended on a regular basis. your argument sways on the seller being “known” etc.. well known people are subject to error just as I am.  also you state he gives a “3 day inspection” well that inspection is only worth what the persons knowledge looking at it is. 

at this piont ive heard every excuse as to why the butt stock is correct from “its a closet queen” to “its right to me” just vague comments with nothing to back them up.  at least I stuck my neck out and stated what i felt was incorrect with the butt stock period. this is for us to learn and discuss.

TR- you state my comments were considered ? they haven’t even been answered with an intelligent response let alone facts. am i reading the right thread?   maybe too much whiskey but I think its been dismissed which i dont take lightly. 

chuck- I would expect you to post  ” keep your mouth shut” under every one of berts comments when he is asked about guns and give his opinion on “a gun is over priced” or  multiple examples of issues.  infact just recently there were threads of a 45-70 and a 50 ex that were way more harsh then the comments on this gun so feel free to skip over and repost your comment.  my money says you wont. 

telling people to keep there mouth shut is narrow minded and no way to teach or learn. my sensei  tought me to  make sure your words are sweet! as you may have to eat the again one day. 

rick asked a question in regards to a firearm just as many others do on this forum. I replied with facts on what i seen. if you can teach me that my facts are incorrect then please do so. as everyone here, im learning daily. 

Inference-  good point !  since your post lacks evidance on the subject and you tell others to “shut there mouths” that lacks reasoning so i guess your right in saying ” the inference in the way a person posts says a lot about that person” 

I am not an arm chair expert, i do not like online.

i have as many 1886 high grade guns as the next high end collector so gain nothing from my comments and in fact would be better to say nothing and increase the value of my guns. 

you all may not recognize me but ive attended cody shows since 2013 and purchased from many. i had good relations with George madis and norm flayderman i knew well and tought me greatly . 

 shout out to  chris hartman while im at it.. i was good friends with his father in texas, did a lot of study on 1892 guns.. 

how are you chris? .. lol    

pdog72 said

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind owning it. It would make a nice sibling to the one I already have that also letters with fancy stock. The finish on this one looks very similar to the one I have. I figured mine had some extra finish at some point that’s contributed to the high gloss, but pleasantly surprised that the gun being discussed looks the same. Maybe the same guys glossed them up …… who knows. 

The way Austins guns sell, I won’t be shocked if his gun goes for nearly twice what it’s at now.   

That’s a great looking 86 Gary. Those brothers belong together. I agree this gun will go way higher than I can afford.

As a newbie to Winchesters, I am helped by these discussions as well.  I have read the forum for hours but unfortunately links no longer work.  Unless photos were posted it’s hard to follow alon

RickC, I hope you will hang around. You need to cross the 1600 post threshhold.

Thanks,Eric 

mrcvs said

The “let’s pick this gun apart” posts are how we learn, for better or worse, and definitely serve a purpose.

Initially, I thought the finish on the wood might have been enhanced, as it looked particularly shiny.  But then I took the time to look at many of the photographs and see in photograph 44 of 124 that the finish of the forearm where one carries it is worn down to  bare and dull wood, strongly suggesting the remaining finish is glossy as original and the finish is that typical of extra fancy walnut.

I think this is an all original example, but this exercise is a good one as some might not know one way or the other and enhance their knowledge base from a thread such as this one.  

mrcvs you are right about these can be good learning experiences.  That is what they should remain to be.  The problem I’m having with the posts are that a few individuals are using these as some sort of ego trip.  Maybe I shouldn’t have said keep your mouth shut out load but that is exactly what I was thinking.  My apologies to most but not the few.  No way do I want the learning process to stop.  But a couple of posters wouldn’t be missed.  Those of us that have been on this Forum for a long time know that some of the individuals that were called out on this thread are really good guys.

Again, most that responded to this thread are not a problem and are usually helpful and respectful of the others.  Yes, there are some that are a bit stronger willed than most but they still mean well.

Congrats on the sale Austin.  I would be a very proud owner if I had that kind of money set aside.

Don