25-20 said

I think any bureaucrats that know that the law exists, assume a gun of that age to be decrepit and harmless wallhanger . (like an automobile, or almost any other machine that has spanned that era ) If they only knew that a first year 1894 or 1895 in excellent cond ,although rare , is just as  functional , accurate , and lethal as a gun being manufactured with Winchester name from Japan today ?

Phil

then again, some of ’em might also be collectors.