Log In
Members
Home
Add Reply
Add Topic
Offline
I am looking at a Henry and have been for the last few months(its a money issue) and figured I would poke you’re brains. The gun is serial number 1265. It has the. Dovetail in the receiver and the 900yd rear sight. I went today to refresh my memory on it, and drool. No blue left but very, good metal. Brass is a beautiful butterscotch that hasn’t been messed with. Bore is actually very nice. Wood is very tight except for a little sliver(1/16"x3/4") by the tang and a small chip at the toe. Still has a hickory cleaning rod in butt. I pulled off the butt plate today and the serial numbers on it and the screws is 1903? At this point the guy selling the gun says there is a letter from some guy named Madis. Its a Madis letterhead 3 page letter in blue ink and signed by Mr. Madis himself. Basicallly he went through the entire gun and says its righteous. The different serial numbers are both on the lower tang according to Mr. Madis and inspected by Mr. Henry? He actually states in the letter that this is actually sort of a rare feature to have different numbers? This gun is very nice and I’ll try and get some pics shortly but the asking is 40k 😮 Is the letter from Mr. Madis sufficient to not worry about the numbers? That’s my main question. Thanks.
Mike,
A hands on inspection of the rifle is the only way I would be comfortable saying anything about it.
The $40K asking price is too high in my opinion based on your description of the condition. Pictures of the rifle will be beneficial.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Never buy a gun based on the letter. A hands on inspection is a must and if you don’t know the gun inside and out, get a expert to look at it even if you have to pay him. Henrys have been messed with for a long time. Years ago when they were not worth that much and a dealer had several on a table it was not uncommon for a dealer to swap the stock with another gun that had better metal if the buyer wanted.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Here are some pics.
Thats my question. Wouldn’t George Madis be a very good PROFESSIONAL?
Mike,
When you are writing a letter about someones prized gun it is human nature not to say anything bad about it.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
That rifle looks to be in very nice condition. The brass has not been messed with so far as I can tell from the photos; it has a nice aged patina. The wood also looks like it has never been sanded or refinished. The edges of the frame also look nice and sharp, not worn. I can’t comment on the value, however. I have no experience with buying and selling Henrys.
Real nice looking Henry. Price seems very high to me, but what do I know. I paid $3500 for the last Henry I bought, and sold it later for $6500. That was almost 30 years ago. The numbers on the buttplate screws are assembly numbers. Serial number was also stamped in the stock under the upper tang, which should match the serial number on the barrel.
mikec said
Thats my question. Wouldn’t George Madis be a very good PROFESSIONAL?
I’m one of the few that would tell you a Madis Letter is good as gold.
I have yet to read a Madis letter that was in error in my opinion. There are several good things that come with a Madis letter in my opinion. They were all hand written and signed on his own letterhead. So you know they can’t be faked. George thoroughly examined the firearms before writing a letter about them. And if there was something wrong with the firearm he would state it in the letter. If he thought something was off about the gun or un-genuine or faked most of the time he would let the owner know before ever writing a letter on the gun.
George spent many a hour in courtrooms as an expert witness regarding guns. On how they were genuine or how they had been faked. And he didn’t merely do this on Winchester guns either, he did it on all types.
George’s father was a gun dealer. My father recalls George stating when he was a kid that George’s dad had something like 30-50 Henrys in stock at one time. His dad would keep the whole boxes of 44Henry Rimfire that they came across. If there was only a partial box of 44Henry ammo. He would give it to George and the other kids to go play with and shoot up.
The only problem with a Madis letter now, is that since his death, guns could be altered in a way to suit the owner’s needs. Even then most guns that have a Madis letter are usually such great specimens that wouldn’t need any touching up, sort of speak. I don’t know what George charged for his letters but I doubt it was much if anything at all. He offered to write my father a letter on his open top 76SRC once. That was after he told dad that the rear sight was a replacement. Which dad knew and told George that he had put it on the gun, because the previous owner simply lost the rear sight. Dad told him he would worry about getting a letter another time. But Dad did ask what he wanted for one. The grand total cost for the letter was $0.00 (zero)! Of course I suppose George liking dad and us only living a few hours away in Louisiana may have been a factor. A few years later George passed and Dad never got the letter. I always wanted to know how it would have read.
If George thought the rifle had original miss matched numbers between the stock and the tang. I imagine he had a good reason for doing so. That said all of the Henrys I have ever seen disassembled had matching serial numbers on the tang, buttstock and buttplate. Also with many having matching numbers on the screws.
It is a fine rifle and hope you the best. I would tend to agree with others that it is priced a little high. They can always come down on there price and that is usually how most people think.
Sincerely,
Maverick
P.S. Now a R.L. Wilson letter, that is a different story.
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
maverick said
. . . There are several good things that come with a Madis letter in my opinion. They were all hand written and signed on his own letterhead. . . . I don’t know what George charged for his letters but I doubt it was much if anything at all.
I think he may have just been old school, professional, and nice. To him I could not have been more than just another face in the crowd but when I wrote and inquired about a gun in his book and how to contact the owner, he hand wrote and signed a nice letter on his letterhead explaining the death of the owner and the subsequent sale of his Winchesters by his daughter. Many people and companies I write to today don’t bother to respond unless there is something in it for them.
As to the weapon that is the subject of this thread, I could only parrot the comments of Win38-55.
1 Guest(s)
