My dad collected Winchesters it was a small collection including:
1956 std Model 94 carbine with the addition of a receiver mounted Lyman peep sight (my first hunting rifle)
A pre war model 71 .348 Deluxe rifle again with a lyman peep My second hunting rifle as a kid. (at age 14 cause a younger brother started carrying the model 94)
A Model 1895 c1905 in 30-40Krag Lyman #21 deluxe wood 28" barrel no checkering bought at a gun show in 1968 for $125.00 (I now own this beautiful piece of history)
A 1966 Winchester Centennial Rifle (one of the 100K never taken out of the box or cycled) Stood next to dad when he got it from the local gun shop.
Model 1890 rifle in .22 long
Model 55 semi auto single shot .22 (first rifle I shot)
The model 1890 was sold before dad died I almost cried as the guy handed me the money (I just didn’t have the $300.00 dad wanted at the time)
His second wife decided she needed the Centennial (I think because she knew I wanted it so bad "BITCH")
The model 94 and 71’s went to one or the other of my younger brothers.
The model 55 no clue.
And the chrown jewel The 1895 is in my rack one day to be my sons and hopefully a grand son one day.
So I caught the Winchester bug very early my first rifle was and still is a Winchester model 121 .22 bolt. Other guys dream about some silly black lego gun made from parts from so many different companies they aren’t even sure what to call it without a paragraph list of parts. And I dream of the 1 of 1000 Winchester model 73 a collector allowed me to hold up to my shoulder at a collectors show in Portland 25 years ago. Or a set trigger model 94 rifle. or a 1886 in 45-70 or or or or. And the best I can do is dream about saving up for a reproduction 1885.
And then I come here looking for info on the little insert that goes in a model 21 Lyman peep sight. And I find this HUGE wealth of knowledge about collectable Winchesters and I look at photos of rifles I can’t even dream to own. And I get depressed a little.
I guess I’ll learn to deal with the fact I will most likely never own the rifles I want. But I sure love looking at them.
Maybe one day the wife will buy a lottery ticket and let me have a little of the winnings.
In the mean time "My name is Mark and I want to be a Winchester Collector"
Hi Mark,
I know exactly how you feel. My first Winchester was a Model 37 Red Letter Pigtail, 16GA Full Choke. I bought it from my dad when I was 11 years old with my paper route money for $15.00, to go hunting with the following year when I was 12 years old. I hunted everything with that Model 37 Winchester,even deer using slugs. When I was 16 and could drive I loaded it into my 56 Chev 2dr Hardtop and went to a block shoot. I won 7 turkeys and 2 hams that day with my prized Model 37 Winchester. I still use it today hunting Birds as it is a long range shooting shotgun, (a dime will cover the OD of the muzzle) that I enjoy toting into the field on a brisk fall day and remembering all the past history that Winchester Model 37 holds.
As for owning a Special Winchester Model 94, with set trigger, check out Marty’s here on the site, I only wish..Mark Hoke
"I Would Have Rather Lived Through The Industrial Revaluation"
"Instead of The Space Age"
From
 The Twilight Zone
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Mark,
Glad you dropped in. Winchester are kind of like the verse in Hotel California by the Eagles: You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave!
"My name is Michael and it’s been 5 days since I bought a Winchester!!"
Michael
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Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
January 26, 2011
Welcome aboard Mark,
No time to chat, gotta get going to the gun show this morning.
"God grant me the serenity to accept the Winchesters I cannot afford, to buy the ones I can, and the wisdom to identify a restoration."
My names Gary and I’m a Winaholic too.
                                        ~Gary~
                                                                                       Â
Mark, I’m addicted, too. I ran across this site several years ago, and now I check in every day. And, I’m not even a Winchester collector, but I used to be.
I guess you could call me a "has been". I’ve owned over 100 Winchester rifles and had about 40 in my collection along with about 15 Colt SAA’s. I sold all the guns in 1985- new wife, new baby daughter, and just built new house. Priorities changed. Now my daughter is grown, wife left, Winchesters gone (except my saddle gun – a ’94 SRC, ca.1918, actually the newest Win. I owned). Damn, this is depressing to talk about. Maybe I should just delete this. What the hell, I’ll just click on "submit". Oh, and Mark, I don’t think I’d like your step-mother!
P.S. Gotta go now. Going to look at a Winchester a guy just found!
Hi Mark,
Welcome. I am pretty new here also.
I don’t think of myself as a collector, but more of an accumulator, trustee and custodian. Mostly they are 1885s. I do a lot of semi-competitive offhand shooting & I like Winders.
But I slip up every now & then. On my last hunt, I carried a Tigre.
My name is Richard and it has been 14 days since I bought a Winchester.
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It’s getting bad when you start having more books than guns too. This is what it looks like when I try writing and measuring stuff. I do admit I staged the cup of coffee and slid the gun over to get everything in the picture. I would also never let a full cup of coffee sit and get cold like that!
Brad
What a bunch of great guys. I’m so glad I found this little garden of sanity after tromping around in the general firearms type forums where it seams the traditional firearm enthusiast makes up maybe 10-15% the Black rifle and Self defense handgun guys make up another 35-40% and the other half are semi insane consperacy theorists and Kool aide drinkers.
I just want to talk about guns not all the other silly crap. This place will make a nice park bench to sit on and soak up some nice rays each day.
So now I’m off to the local gun show with a was of money in my pocket and a goal.
Hope I have something to show off when I get back.
Mark W.
I love Winchesters…I check in about every day its addictive. I have been looking for the right 1894 carbine for a while,no rush.The one Winchester that I own is a 1892 and would love to own many.This is the best place to get info do to all the great people here and would like to say Thank You all.
Steve
Mark W. said
What a bunch of great guys. I’m so glad I found this little garden of sanity after tromping around in the general firearms type forums where it seams the traditional firearm enthusiast makes up maybe 10-15% the Black rifle and Self defense handgun guys make up another 35-40% and the other half are semi insane consperacy theorists and Kool aide drinkers.
I just want to talk about guns not all the other silly crap. This place will make a nice park bench to sit on and soak up some nice rays each day.
So now I’m off to the local gun show with a was of money in my pocket and a goal.
Hope I have something to show off when I get back.
Mark W.
Hi Mark W. A few years back I bought a shootable Winchester ’73 rather then some Eye-Talian made copy. . . . . and it turned out to be a "project gun" rather than "shootable" . . . and I found this site . . . .was guided thru "Winchester 101" by the good people here. Rebuilt it and got it "shootable". Then got a second ’73 that is really good and shootable.
My other "old gun passion" has been Cap & Ball Remington Revolvers . . . I have quite a collection of replicas and have drooled over and longed for the originals that I couldn’t afford. And now have one of those originals and am of course now longing for another original so that I’ll have a pair of originals. It never, never ends . . . . 🙂
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