RickC said
We all like photos so just wanted to post one after acquiring the last piece(model 55) for my 30WCF collection. 

 

  

Rick, that’s a beautiful display case. If you built that yourself, is there any chance you kept notes and dimensions? 

Let me expose my ignorance by trying to identify the collection, from the top down: 

1. An 1894 rifle, because of its barrel length and crescent buttplate.

2. A Model 55 because of its short magazine, straight grip, and shotgun buttplate. 

3. A long wood model 94 carbine because of its sight ramp with hood and position of the barrel band.

4. A Model 64 Deer Rifle because of its forearm cap, short magazine, distinctive pistol grip with deep curved lever and shotgun buttplate. And the Lyman 56 aperture sight that was an optional extra.

Again, a most impressive presentation. Thanks for letting us see it.

Bill

RickC said
Right on the money Bill. I might borrow your post for my description. Thanks 😊

I bought the display at a thrift store for $20 a few years back. It has served its purpose well. 

  

Given the current cost of construction materials, I’d say you scored a real bargain and a terrific. showcase for your collection.  

Those four high condition Wiinchesters and the related cartridge boxes would make an interesting and attractive  display if only laid out on a table. However, cased on that colorful  background, your display reminds me of an old time gun store while emphasizing the Walnut of the stocks. It quadruples the visual impact. 

It also reminds me of my own long and painfully educational path to a decent Deer Rifle.  

Rick, you may have missed a career in Hollywood as a high dollar production designer. 

That Model 55 really is in remarkable condition. I have a theory that the 55 (and the 53) as a group, had an unusually hard life for some reason, maybe because of the great Depression.   You just don’t see many like that and, when one does turn up at a show, more than a few attendees come to a dead stop and freeze in position, like a pointer that’s just gotten a big nose full of Bob white. The gun doesn’t last long and the bargaining is notable for its absence. I’d say you’ve got a highly liquid asset. 

Rick –

Very nice rifles and display!

RickC said
Thanks Steve. Really like the high condition standard guns. More affordable. 

  

That Model 53 is in wonderful condition. While engraved and plated special order guns are fun to look at, we expect them to have been kept pristine as would the owmers of an original Charlie Russell oil.

it’s the field grade Winchesters like yours that are truly rare and fascinating.  All but a very few of the surviving examples were used hard and cannot show us what they looked like when new. Yours can and do, which is important to a continued understanding of the brand and its impact on American history.

RickC said
Thank you Bill and I agree with everything you just wrote.

These are all closet queens. I’ve thinned the herd over the last couple years and down to about a dozen standard guns, but all super high condition with no issues. I’ve purposely not told my son who lives 3000 miles from us, what’s in the safe, so he will get a pleasant surprise someday when I’m gone. 

However, he does know my personality and collecting preference so he’s probably not going to be surprised lol. 

  

Just make sure your presumed executor knows what’s in the safe and why they are so valuable.  The Collector’s worst nightmare is his widow sells his collection for what he told her he paid for it…