May 5, 2018 4 min read

It always seems to work out that products that fail seem to be those that have a higher collector value later on.

This is true in the field of collectable firearms. Those that are well accepted by the public and sold in high numbers, one finds in high numbers 20 or 30 years later. It is nothing more than supply and demand.

To see the truth in that, just go to one of the quarterly gun shows at Arden. One can find a bargain on a Remington 700 but try to find a Winchester 52 Sporter at a bargain price. This well made .22 bolt action rifle was high priced back when it was offered to the public and wasn’t sold in high numbers. If you can find one, take a deep breath before pricing it. However, gun shows are places to find that rare rifle or shotgun you have been seeking.

Perhaps the greatest collectable, if in pristine and original condition, is the pre-1964 model 70. While 580,000 of these rifles were made, they bring a good price because of the quality of manufacturing and are considered by many collectors and shooters as the finest standard production rifle ever offered to the public. There is one thing about this collectable rifle: it seems to hold value better than any other. But remember, originality and condition still enter into the picture.

There is little doubt but that the name Winchester increases the value of any rifle. There are many lever action models that have jumped in value. An 1888 in good shape is worth quite a bit as is the ugly and awkward to carry 1895. Even the most popular Winchester of all the 1894 holds its value well. The 1894 later became the model 94 that most of us have shot at some time.

In 1927, the 18 was dropped from the name. Like most rules, there are exceptions and the old Winchesters fall under that category. Most high priced collectables are those models that didn’t sell well and were dropped after a brief period.

Few gun makers could match the feel for the market with Bill Ruger. It would seem Rugers’ timing or introduction of new models was always perfect. Single action handguns seemed a thing of the past but Ruger saw the popularity of Western movies on TV and did the unthinkable introducing the Blackhawk series of single action revolvers.

But while this newcomer’s timing was as good as anyone at that time, he did have one failure. It was the time of the Jet revolver and the Marlin .256 centerfire in the lever action he designed for this small centerfire cartridge. Well, Ruger’s single shot imitation of a cowboys handgun flopped and flopped bad. Try to buy one today and you better have more than $3,000.00.

Remington has always been successful on the gun market but their 591 in 5m.m. fell like a meteor tumbling to earth. The problem here is the rarity of the 5m.m rim-fire ammo. I could go on for some time about rifles such as the Coltsman with its Mauser style action and a strange ratchet rifling. I have only seen one Marlin 455 and have never spotted a common Ruger International in 7m.m.-08. Now that would be a dandy, a well-made American rifle with a Mannlicher style stock in 7-08. Seems a natural beauty, one that Ruger refuses to offer to the public.

There are others that I have never seen and I am sure they are collectable. Examples would include the Sheridan Knock About, and someone must have the Gyro-Jet. While neither was costly, their rarity in itself makes them expensive. So many times rarity in itself drives up the value.

There also are many times when the cost is determined by the cartridge with which the firearm is chambered. The extremely rare .300 Savage model 70 – which was made but one year, 1947 – is worth far more than the same rifle chambered for the 30-06. One can be worth motr than $1,000 and the identical rifle in the more rare chambering $10,000. So look at chambering; the worst selling usually is the costliest.

I know there is more we could say about collecting firearms, and I haven’t mentioned originality and condition, but for this week we are out of room. That’s another article for another day.