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Varnish on Winchester 1892

22hipower
Have an opportunity to buy a model 1892 winchester rifle with octagon barrel in 25-20 made around 1908. Looks to be in good original condition except for the stock and forearm having been varnished. Action is tight and remaining blue is about what one would expect for a 100 year old well used but not abused rifle. I will shoot this gun some but believe it to have collector value too. My question is, in an otherwise "original" condition gun how much does varnish being added to the wood detract from value? The wood does not appear to have been refinished but someone decided to "protect" that finish by adding varnish. Any rule of thumb as to percentage of value impact of varnish?
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4 comments

Date Votes
  • Bert H.
    There are four things working against the collector value of that old Winchester Model 1892 Sporting Rifle;

    1. The caliber. The 25-20 W.C.F. is the least desired cartridge in the Model 1892, and as such, they typically sell for about %40 - %50 of what an indentical gun in 44 W.C.F. would sell for.

    2. It is a post-1898 production gun (Modern firearm per federal regulations).

    3. The graded condition (the apparent wear to the bluing).

    4. The non-factory varnished stocks (roughly a 20% deduction).

    Sum it all up, and you have a gun that is not very high on the desirability list.
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  • tsr1965
    One more thing you want to look at on that rifle, is the bore. A lot of the ammo back then was corrosively primed, and/or sometimes loaded with black powder that is corrosive. It is always nice to have a brite shiney bore, but with a lot of rifles that age, they are few and far between. You might run across a bore that is a little dark, but still shoots well, but a hands on by a serious collector will knock off points.

    Best
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  • 22hipower
    Bert and tsr1965,
    Thanks much for the quick replies. 20% discount was about what I was thinking so appreciate your confirming that. Yes, I need to check the bore as I will be shooting it. Agree with Bert on the desirability factor of the 25-20 as a collector caliber for the 1892 but it is hard to beat for wild turkeys at reasonable ranges in Texas. Lots of fun to take those on with a hundred year old gun and open sights; especially with eyes that are getting a little old too making those open sights even fuzzier. Hard for you to tell on the value without pictures but the owner is asking $1,200 and I thought, assuming the bore looks good, $1,000 wouldn't be too far off. Thanks again for the quick replies.
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  • glabray
    If it truly is varnish, and if the stock wasn't sanded down a lot before it was applied, and if the original finish was oil, it shouldn't be a huge job to strip the varnish and get the wood back to just about where it was before the varnish was added. I wouldn't get all concerned about the wear to the bluing (as long as it isn't rust or pittig). There is increasing interest in old guns that show honest wear from usage as opposed to looking like they sat on a shelf for 100 years. And the prices are a lot less. All 1892 carbines have decent collector value that is a function of numerous factors including condition, caliber, and even location. Buying a collector firearm strictly as an investment is often not the wisest use of funds. But if the gun is in decent condition the 25-20 can be a lot of fun to shoot. Just be aware that when it comes time to sell it might take awhile to find a buyer. As always, search the auctions for actual sales of comparables before committing to a purchase.
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