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What was the price of a High Wall or Low Wall Schuetzen gallery rifle in .22 Short when fitted out with all the extras (palm rest, Helm buttplate, fancy (Loudensak?) lever, DST, gallery or schuetzen tang sight, and a spirit level windage adjustable front sight. Wood to be checkered but not terribly fancy. I am interested in the 1903-04 catalog price with those extras but with no fancy cosmetic add-ons.
I have the use of a Stevens-Pope "Pope Special" dating from 1904 with very good provenance. The rifle has all the extras for accuracy but nothing much for cosmetics. In 1904, that rifle sold for $82. What would have been the price for a comparable Winchester?
April 15, 2005
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Winchester did not ever refer to their Schuetzen Rifle as a "gallery rifle", as it was their high-end target rifle.
Because it was Winchester’s top of the line rifle, the Schuetzen was outfitted with a palm rest, a Helm (or Laudensack on later rifles) butt plate, a fancy spur lever, double-set triggers, fancy 3X H-pattern checkered walnut stocks, a Dutch cheek piece, and a windgauge adjustable globe front and mid-range vernier tang sight all as standard features. A 1/2 octagon barrel was furnished as an optional no extra cost item (but was not special order).
Special order items included a matted barrel (single barrel flat, or the top three flats, engraving, special plating (gold, silver or nickel), and in later production years, a Winchester Telescope (e.g. B3, B4, B5, or A5).
I will need to look at my 1904 Winchester catalog later this evening, but if memory serves, the listed price for the standard Schuetzen Rifle was $65 or $67.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
