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I have a Win high wall wearing a H. M Pope barrel. This barrel is the one with the large dovetail cut at the rear of the barrel to hold a Lyman 48, Wittek-Vaver or Marbles-Goss rear aperture sight for 3-position shooting. As tang-mounted sights weren’t legal for those classes.
A blank closes up the dovetail, but given the 7.2" spacing to provide external adjustment scopes (e.g., Win 5A, Unertl, or Flecker) with 1/4-minute adjustments, there are two sets of mount holes on the barrel. One set is spaced from immediately behind the dovetail and the other starts with both screws actually on (and holding) the dovetail blank in place. Both other sets for the front mount are more forward out on the barrel of course, at the proper distance.
So … this is a shooter (and was extensively used in competition) and I will certainly shoot it .. but how much do extra holes ‘hurt’ values?
April 15, 2005
Online
I can only answer your question from my own perspective, but please keep it in mind that I am an "advanced" Model 1885 collector…
The H.M. Pope barrel was a slight premium until it was modified. As it is now, it is a hefty negative, and it is no longer a "collector" grade rifle. There is no way to put an exact "how much" did it hurt the value, as no two people are going to view it the same. As you have stated more than once, it is a "shooter" grade rifle, and it should be used as such.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
October 27, 2012
Offline
Good question. Most "advanced" collectors won’t buy extra holes unless they are heavily discounted. And, it all depends on the number and location of the holes. Even so, I have seen some rifles with extra holes sell as if the holes weren’t there. Maybe the buyers were not "advanced" enough to care?
Pricing of any non-original featured rifle is difficult and it varies from model to model. Collectors might be more forgiving for very rare rifles–less so for those more common.
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