hi. i have a model 1873 winchester .32-20 serial number is 2...

hi. i have a model 1873 winchester .32-20 serial number is 2607**b. what i gather it is a first addition. how much is it worth?

Jeff,

Your rifle was manufactured in 1888! So it is getting up there in years. First introduced in 1873 in only .44-40 caliber the .32-20 was later introduced in 1882. There are commonly refered to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd model variations of this rifle. The differences being primarily visible in the shape of the dust cover, its guide rail, and slight differences in the shape of portions of the receiver. First models are typically before serial number 31000 so your's will not be that. The greatest determinant of the value of the rifle is its condition. So I need to know how much bluing is present on the metal? What shape is the wood? Checkered or plain? Is it an octagon or round barrel rifle or round barel carbine style? If you could send a few good photos it would be very helpful. The range of value can be thousands of dollars depending on these points. I know that is not much of an answer but I need to narrow it down somehow.

Thanks
2bit

thanks 2 bit, i will try take some pics of it tomorow and show you. it is missing the dust cover i know.. but for the gun to be old as it is its in good shape. the barrel is octagon. the wood only has very few lil nicks, nothin bad at all, and is very lil patina on the gun. it has been well taken care of. i have been initialy told if i could get $1000.00 for it i should take it.. but lookin on sum sites i see guns selling for more than that and they in far worse shape. so hopin i can get you to look at pics and see what u think.. thanks for taking the time to respond

Jeff

Take the photos in open shade light outdoors. Flash photos typically are terrible since they tend to be exposed for the bright areas and all the detail gets lost. Your rifle is definitely worth more than a $1000 that is for sure. Start at the stock and work your way up one side and then down the other. Glad to be of help and looking forward to the photos.

2bit

Jeff,

Any luck in the photo department?

Take care
2bit

hello 2bit. its been hectic around here.. i just went out to take sum pics and low and behold my battery is low. but i have it charging as i type this and hopefully in few hours i figure out how to send you some pics.. thanks for inquiring

Jeff,

No problem.

2bit

To all.

Jeff and I worked on this for a while outside the forum because handling photos was easier that way. He did a great job with the shots which allowed me to give him a good idea of the state of his rifle. We both agreed that posting a part of the result might help others. So here goes. It will take multiple posts to get all the photos in so hang in there.


Jeff,

Afraid that I have some pretty bad news for you. Basically the $1000 might not be too bad an offer for that old girl.

Photo 27 Left side of stock. The reason the wood looks pretty good is that it has been sanded and refinished. Bad news for value. Almost terminal. You can tell by the poor fit of the metal butt plate to the wood. There is a gap at the upper inside curve and the wood is short of the end of the plate at the bottom

Photo 39 Right side of stock. Same problem with the inside upper curve. In addition, the wood is sanded lower than the metal at the upper end of the steel butt plate. The wood should actually be just a bit higher than the metal edge.

Photo 30 Left side of fore end. Obvious wood replacement at left upper corner. Rear sight elevator is not original. That is the vertical triangular metal piece on the sight.

Photo 29 Left side of receiver. Upper screw is not original. End of stock wood fits poorly at metal. And as you mentioned it is missing the dust cover.

Photo 59 Bottom of lever and stock. You can see just how poorly the wood fit to the receiver is on the upper side.

Photo 31 Left side of barrel. From this photo and others of the metal it is obvious that the rifle has had a poor re-bluing job sometime long ago. The high edges of the octagon barrel are almost the same color as the flats and they should show much more wear on them. In addition, the lever is blued. They were originally case colored and should be much more grey than they are. One other problem is that Winchester receivers almost always have less blue on them than the barrels. On this rifle the receiver has the same coverage as the barrel. A sure sign of something not original.


These are the types of hints and signs that dictate the condition and value in the collecting world. It may look good because the wood has been cleaned up and the color is consistent but it has little value beyond the interior decorating world.

Thanks again Jeff for your efforts. Everyone should learn from this.

2bit