[jsalcedo]

I was at my favorite pawnshop where I spotted a pre 64 winchester 30-30.

I looked it over carefully... The wood was perfect with beautiful grain the blueing was dark except for a little thinning where the hand meets the lever and on the mag tube. The bore was bright and perfect. It had a weaver detachable scope that looked pretty old. the shop owner let me have it for $90.

I took it home and the serial number placed it around 1953.

My only concern is the scope. Its a weaver detachable 4x
and it does not at all get in the way of ejection or the iron sights.
However the quick detach mount is drilled and tapped right into the side of the receiver. So even if I wanted to I can't remove the
mount plate.

Is this setup detrimental to the value of this gun?
Is this just a 90 dollar junker to play with?

Here is a pic

[EJ]

The drilling of the reciever is really detrimental to the collector value of the weapon-- it would be worth in the neighborhood of
3-4 hundred without the damage--
BUT

This is a fine sturdy beautifuly machined rifle==

It's worth at least a hundred and a half as a shooter-- IMO

[Art Eatman]

It's a good working critter. Darned sure worth more than $90, even with the mounting holes drilled in it. Lemme put it this way: If I wanted a good thutty-thutty, I wouldn't have cried at paying near $150 for that rig. Ya done good...

You can take off the scope rig and use blind screws to fill the holes, if you want to use only the iron sights. No biggie. The screws are just for keeping dust out of the action.

A Weaver K4 is a good scope for any hunting rifle. If it's not all beat up and battered, it's worth around $40, just by itself.

Art

[jsalcedo]

Thanks, I will continue to shoot it since I have dies and a ton of brass. (people drop hundreds right before hunting season)

I'm happy to hear I got a decent deal on it.

[cheygriz]

You have one of the great classic rifles of all time. The scope mount is actually a blessing because by lowering the collector value, it increases the "shooter value," and a gun like this should be shot, not stored for collector value. Enjoy it!

[Tom B]

I have never found a pre-64 Winnie in a gunstore in ANY CONDITION for anywhere close to $90! Enjoy! :banghead:

[seeker_two]

If it's breakin' your heart that much, I'll be happy to take it off your hands. I'll even throw in another $10 to be nice...:evil:

[Col. Mustard]

Is there something magic (or valuable) about a pre-64 model?

I kind of inherited a Model 94 .30-30 a few years back that I'm guessing is around that vintage; are there any clues/design features that will tell me? The serial number is 4611xxx.

Thanks for any info...

[jsalcedo]

From what I understand, winchester senior management decided in 1964 to change their
guns to simplify manufacturing techniques.

Stamped instead of milled, cast instead of forged
etc... Needless to say quality suffered to the point where traditional Winchester collectors and shooters decided post 64 guns were junk.

Pre 64 guns began trading at a premium and anyone serious about using a Winchester sought out a pre 64 model.

I'm not sure if this is the complete story but this is how it was related to me

[EJ]

Col M-

4 Mil 600K would put your gun into late 1978
1978 -- 4565926-to-4662210

[Col. Mustard]

I got the gun when the widow of the guy that owned it married my Dad. He (the guy, not my Dad) had been dead for 10+ years, so I thought it would have been older. Oh, well...

[EJ]

It doesn't always seem like it but 25 years is a long time--(1978-2003)

There is nothing wrong with the '78 carbines--
Still "REAL" Winchester--not USRA
No weird safety

and though the stamped cartridge lifter is a weak point I've only had one fail and it is reasonably easy to replace and the parts will always be available--

It's still a great gun-- and a great shooter--
I sold all my pre64's because they just got to be worth too much--compared to the newer carbines I have--
Not that I wouldn't pick up anlother for between $90 and $150 though-- :D

[Kahr carrier]

You got a bargain $90.00.:)