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I have an 1873 Win that was given to me by my father. I was wondering just how much it might be worth. I was thinking of ordering a factory letter for it as well. Before anyone gets all excited about it I know that it will not be worth a lot of money because the stock has been replaced and the gun has been re-blued. My father had the bluing done after he purchased the gun. I advised against it at the time but he didn’t think it would matter since the stock had been replaced. I can upload pics later if anyone wants to see it. I will probably never get rid of this gun but I still would like to know what kind of price it would go for. Any info would be appreciated. I did look up the serial # and it shows it was made in 1885.
Thanks,
Scott
Scott,
We need to know what caliber it is, and which variation that it is. Posting some clear pictures is always helpful.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
November 7, 2015
Offline
From what I can see it looks pretty good. Some detail pics of the barrel markings, sights, tangs, receiver sides, serial number and areas where wood & metal meet would be helpful. I’m terrible at taking photos but it looks like you don’t have that handicap.
Scott,
If you want to send them to me I can post them. Like TX said closeups of the different areas are very helpful.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Here are some pics of the gun. Sorry but this is the only way I know how to post them.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5i8OXKPF0fHLTlBQ09VMllVNkk
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5i8OXKPF0fHLUtpN2NobER6NkE
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5i8OXKPF0fHRllEcnNfUFB0TjA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5i8OXKPF0fHNnhlemVoc1VhZjA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5i8OXKPF0fHUmswRXJyTnZIUmM
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5i8OXKPF0fHc2c0YnlIa3RlZUk
Scott,
I looked at the pictures and what I see is your gun was not a quality restoration. They made new wood which they do in a restoration but they used the wrong butt plate. I would say its worth $1200
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Thank you for the information. Do you know where I could find the correct butt plate and maybe someone who could restore the gun properly? Would that be worth doing in your opinion? Would that add to the value of the gun. I was kinda under the assumption that a collector would only want it if it had not been restored in any way. I don’t want to restore it and sell it but I would invest a little in the gun if it would add to the value of it. I would like to pass this gun on to my children one day. Also should I get the factory letter for it as well. It looks like they are about $70. Would that add any value to the gun as well?
Scott
Agree on the buttplate – looks more like what they use on percussion rifle replicas.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
Scott,
You just can’t replace the buttplate since the stock has the wrong shape, so you would have to find a replacement stock and while I was at it I would change out the forearm to match the stock. You can find original wood on Ebay for a 32 caliber 73’s and it might set you back several hundred. The issue with finding original wood is if the wood has been sanded undersize or has repairs. Putting money into another restoration is not worth it. A quality restoration might run you 3,000 – $4,000 which is more than the gun will ever be worth. Like you said it never will be a collector gun since collectors want original guns. A factory letter will not increase its value since its a standard configuration gun. The only thing that can change that is if the gun had special features before it was restored. The only thing I would do is call in the serial number and see what it comes back as. If you give me the number I can do that as a member of the Cody Museum.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
November 7, 2015
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Looks like an attractive shooter if the bore and mechanicals are good. I think that was the goal of previous repairs and refinishing, suspect it was in pretty sad shape before these repairs. I don’t think a restoration would be a good idea, it won’t be the same gun your dad had. Nice old gun in a very pleasant chambering, I would just enjoy it as is.
I think they never checked how the gun lettered when it was restored since it letter as a 20″ short rifle with set trigger. They probably figured it was cut short and made it into a 24″. If that is the serial number on it then that makes it a very rare gun if its put back.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
November 7, 2015
Offline
Good eye, Bob. I overlooked the barrel length. Interesting.
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