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The new Amoskeag auction catalog is on line. Lots 310 & 311 are Winchester Model 1895 Flatside muskets, both fitted with Stevens-Pope barrels in .30-40 Krag and otherwise fitted out for competition at Sea Girt, NJ, the pre-Camp Perry national matches. They both look to have period-correct Krag barrel sights.
You folks probably know that Stevens-Pope barrels are numbered and these two 95s have barrels with consecutive serial numbers. All us Stevens-Pope admirers can now grind our teeth. The description says that both rifles have "dark bores", no doubt neglected by the same guy.
I have seen more than a few Stevens-Pope barrels on several different makes of single shots, including both High Wall and Low Walls. I have seen 3 on Krags. But this is the first time I have ever heard of any on any sort of lever action repeater.
I know that Winchester cataloged an NRA Musket version of the Model 1895. How many were made & in what calibers?
Can anyone supply any more information about these Flatside Muskets?
Just received an e-mail from a Stevens-Pope collector friend. The two flatside muskets sold at hammer prices of $4500 and $4750. To that price must be added a buyer’s premium and Amoskeag’s very reasonable shipping charges.
Odd, or perhaps not, but both muskets used the same description, except for the SN.
As my friend observed, they were both interesting oddities but nothing more. Their Winchester collector value was substantially reduced when Stevens re-barreled them.
Their Stevens-Pope collector value went down the tubes with the "dark bore" descriptions, implying (to me) that they were fired with corrosive ammunition and then not cleaned properly. The Stevens-Pope guys buy the inside of the barrel. The rest is almost irrelevant.
