Omega III Rifle by Homer Koon - what's it worth

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ginsmith_1911

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I am in possestion of an Omega III rifle by Homer Koon. I have been asked to sell a collection of guns for a widow. I am having trouble pinning down a value on it. I've read online - anywhere from $1250 to $65K. I don't want to short change her on the deal - on the other hand, it needs to sell in a reasonable amount of time.

Any information is appreciated.
 
Think I read something in a mag a few years back---only 100 were made and the company bought back most of them---very rare---if its what i'm thinking of.
 
Very rare is like saying a Strad violin is a bit expensive. I think only 9 are known to be in existence, 1 owned by the John Wayne or his estate, 1 or 2 owned by the origional owners/makers of the rifle. I would not even start to look at a amount for it lower than 3000 bucks.
 
if condition is perfect, double that amount, if unfired, double it again. You really need to know the provenance of this rifle; who owned it before, and do you have any proof. What you have here, is a rifle made to very exacting tolerances by former aerospace engineers; it was far ahead of it's time, and still is , in many ways. if this was owned by J wayne , or another celeb/famous person, double it again, also if it was owned by one of the origional owner/designers. I wanna say John Ford may have owned one as well, so that is why we need to know where this came from.
 
It's worth nothing in fact it will cost you money, I'll take it off your hands for free and even pay for the shipping!:D

Seriously you need to post a pic of it!;)

Oh and welcome to THR!
 
From a Google search. Might help, or might be old news.
What I know about the Omega III

The first I ever heard of the Omega III was an article in Guns&Ammo several years ago. The High Shear company, known mostly for aerospace parts like explosive bolts for the space shuttle, was looking to branch out into civilian areas. They somehow hooked up with a man named Homer Koon who had designed a rather unique rifle. The receiver is large and heavily machined on the inside, surrounded by a two piece stock. The bolt face is square, giving it a very short throw. The most innovative part is the firing pin spring, which is made up of seven belville washers. The firing pin travel is only 1/8 inch, which gives it a very fast lock time. Altogether it was a pretty expensive rifle made for the higher end market, about $2500 in today's dollars. But after a hundred or so rifles were built, the bean counters at High Shear decided that profits would never amount to much, and liability might be a problem in our lawsuit happy world. It was decided to not only stop production, but to try and buy back all the rifles they had sold. From what I can tell they were pretty successful. I have seen a claim that only three rifles remain, but I have seen one for sale and talked to the owner of another, so I think there are probably a good deal more than three. Two owners I talked to have tried to contact Hi-Sheer about the rifles, but one got no response and the other couldn't find anyone at Hi-Sheer who knew anything about them. I guess that's to be expected, seeing how the Omega division at Hi-Sheer was torpedoed so quickly, and this happened back I believe in the mid 70's.

Before Hi-Sheer, Homer Koon ran the Omega Arms company in Flower Mound Texas to produce these rifles. From what I can gather about 1000 or so rifles were built there in the 60's and early 70's before Koon sold the rights to Hi-Sheer. I have talked to two people who worked at Omega Arms, one of them owns a gun shop today. I own two of the Omega Arms rifles, serial numbers 6xx and 9xx. One is a 7mm Rem Mag and the other a 338 Win Mag. Both are near perfect.

The Hi-Sheer built rifles were marked "HI-SHEER CORP" and "TORRENCE CALIF" on the receiver, and "OMEGA III" on both the receiver and buttpad. The owner of one told me that the crown at the end of the barrel is recessed nearly half an inch. I know that stocks came in either nice walnut or laminates. The only calibers I have heard of in the Hi-Sheer Omega's in 270 Win and 30-06.

The Omega Arms built rifles are marked "OMEGA III" on the receiver top, "BY H KOON" on the receiver side, and "OMEGA ARMS INC, FLOWER MOUND, TX" on the left side of the barrel. There is a nice recess at the muzzle, but not half an inch. Stocks came in many varieties and grades of wood and laminates. It came in a variety of calibers as well. I have also seen a left handed rifle for sale.

One owner I emailed with claimed that his Omega III rifle had no markings at all, no Hi-Sheer, no Omega Arms, nothing, but I don't think that was accurate.

Both rifles have silver grip caps (both of mine are initialed) and nice butt pads. There may be slight differences in the shape of the bolt handles and stock forends that differentiates between the Hi-Sheer and Omage Arms built rifles.

That's about all I know about the Omega III rifle. I understand that Homer Koon died around 1997 or so. If anyone has any additional information or corrections, please email me at [email protected]. I'm very interested in finding out all I can about these rifles, and I'll update this site with that info, since people keep finding me when searching the web for Omega III. Also, if anyone is looking to buy or sell, let me know. I'll try to hook you up.
Click to expand...

From http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/6677/

Hasn't been updated in 5 years though...
 
It was made before Hi Shear took over the production. It is 1 of about 1000 as I understand it. It is 7mm Rem Mag, it has a walnut stock (not laminate like most), it has been hunted with.
 
okay, further research shows some amazing things; they were all destroyed by HiShear, the origional company that backed Homer , to make these rifles.
EXCEPT A FEW DID NOT GET DESTROYED~~~ three rifles were given an add '
S' letter to the serial numbers, these were presentation rifles given to 3 people, the origional dude from HiShear who financially backed Homer, s-1, s-2 was given to John Wayne, and can be seen in the Cowboy Hall of fame, in Oklahoma.
s-3 was given to John Conally, and was sold at a estate sale several years ago, so if someone has that in private hands, that would be huge. The others that escaped? The next 9 production rifles that left the line. So a total of 12 made it out. If you have s-1 or s-3, I would start the bidding at 100k, not a penny less. The other 9? I would start the bidding at 3k.
Now then , the rifles made by just Homer, before Hi shear? I do not know , but even then, I would not start the bidding less than 3k, esecially if in fantastic condition.
The Homer made editions, were all custom made, by custom order, that is why they could be
made in a variety of cals, woods, actions, etc., so that is why they are still worth a ton, even
if they were made before the Hi sheer models.
 
I think only the Hi Shear guns were bought back and destroyed. This one is number 74X, one of the ones he made before he made the deal with Hi Shear. Not that lucky.....
 
You might check with Collector's Firearms for a value. I'm pretty sure that I saw one for sale on their web site last year. Don't recall what they were asking, but it looks like it sold.
 
If you grind it up and eat it, you will be less likely to have a heart attack, as I understand it.
 
The reality here is this:

I've read online - anywhere from $1250 to $65K.
Click to expand...

And they're exactly right - ALL of them. It *could* fetch anywhere from 1250 to 65000, on any given day. It's such a rare unknown thing that it has no established value, nor can a 'standard' value BE established. It's worth exactly what someone will pay for it, so it just depends on the buyer, and finding one of those handful of buyers who really value it intrinsically for its history. So if you want to sell it quickly, without holding out for one of the "right" buyers, it'll likely fetch $2,000-$5,000 pretty easily - taking it to the Wannamacher show, for example, will likely fetch toward the upper end of that spectrum, or maybe a whole lot more. But if you auction it at a serious large auction of fine & rare guns, and are willing to pay the auctioneer's fees, it just might fetch the $25K-$50K or more, if someone with money loses their head a bit at the auction, as well all tend to do. So it's worth all of those prices and everywhere in between, just depending on how patient you are, and how hard you work to find the right market, and if you stick a high reserve on it at the auction, how many times you're willing to let it not sell and re-submit it at the next one.

You could also stick it on gunbroker with a reserve (different type of auction but same principles, of course). You might have to relist it 100 times, depending on the reserve you set, but something THAT rare AND THAT well-made certainly has the potential to fetch a heck of a lot of money. IIRC, there is no re-listing fee on gunbroker, so I'd just stick in on there with a $40,000 reserve, give or take $15,000, and then list it over and over and over again - maybe in 1 month, 6 months, or 5 years, someone will bite. A lot like fishing. :)
 
Nobody....as in not a single person or company concerned with liability buys back every one of their rifles if there wasnt a significant design or material failure. I am willing to bet that there is a high point of failure in the design that was known to the attorneys and accountants. Realizing this they recalled every single rifle, stopped production and closed down the shop until they could sell the patterns and designs to somebody that would work out the issues. Every single retrieved rifle was cut into small pieces......

In the mid 70's there was little anti gun reasons to worry about liability, there was HUGE product failure as this is where attorney's focused their attention.

Warning Will Rodgers, Warning.
 
If this rifle is as rare and unusual as it appears, under no circumstances use Gunbroker or their ilk.

Contact either Christies or Sotheby's, the auctioneers, rare and unusual are their bread and butter and they have some of the most knowledgeable folks around. If the weapon is that rare/expensive, they'll come to you and give you a market valuation.

Christies US number (212) 636 2000
Sotheby's US number (212) 606-7010
 
under no circumstances use Gunbroker or their ilk
Click to expand...

Why not? There's no harm as long as you put the reserve you want up.

But contacting the big auction houses is an excellent idea.

Nobody....as in not a single person or company concerned with liability buys back every one of their rifles if there wasnt a significant design or material failure. I am willing to bet that there is a high point of failure in the design that was known to the attorneys and accountants. Realizing this they recalled every single rifle, stopped production and closed down the shop until they could sell the patterns and designs to somebody that would work out the issues. Every single retrieved rifle was cut into small pieces......

In the mid 70's there was little anti gun reasons to worry about liability, there was HUGE product failure as this is where attorney's focused their attention.

Warning Will Rodgers, Warning.
Click to expand...

I would be willing to bet that you're exactly right about that.

Wait a sec - Will Rogers or Will Robinson? Political satirist or child lost in space? :p

Nevertheless, design defect or not, it could and probably would fetch quite a high price.
 
Why not? There's no harm as long as you put the reserve you want up.

If this is the type of firearm being discussed who knows what is the right reserve, do you have any idea of the reality of the bidders, time wasters, tax liability on the sale, is it the right audience of collectors.

Gunbroker et-al, great for that Moisin, FAL or Sooper-Tactical AR......:cool: bu, for what may be a piece a museum or serious collector would want?
 
Omega III

The Blue Book of Gun Values shows a new in the box Omega at $795 or. HEAR ME OUT, please! However, they also list it as being a single shot rifle, which it is not. I bought a Koons Omega a few years ago for $950 I believe. If not, it was $850. It was laminated and in 25-05. I have actually seen more in high grade wood than in laminate, but that is just what has presented itself to me and is not necessarily a true cross section of the available Omegas out there. I purchased a High Shear model in .270 a couple of years ago for $1,650. It was also a laminated stock, and showed no signs of ever having been fired. Price is what the market will bear, but $2,500 is probably the most you can hope for unless it was owned by a famous person.
To the gentleman who posted the comment about the Omega with no markings: it has "7 mm mag" on the barrel and 101 under the forestock on the left hand side. I either bought that rifle from, or sold it to the gentleman who sent you that information. It does exist, and I wish that I still owned it. The stock was of a different configuration and much, much higher grade wood than is to be found on the already beautiful normal Omegas. As well, the flat metal spring that shows at the top of the rotary magazine the bolt is open is a solid metal piece instead. The trigger pull was better than any I have seen before. I always appreciate information on Omega III's, and would probably be interested n buying another one in a couple of months or so.
Thank you for reading, and though I may have rained on a few peoples parade, I hope that I have been of some help.
farmdog
 
Jeff Koon

Have you sold the rifle yet? If not, and you are still wondering about the price, I will ask my cousin and see if he has kept abreast of the numbers. He has several and I believe that he still has the prototype.
 
Oops.

I see that I entitled my reply "Jeff Koon" by habit. He hated the name "Homer" and went by Jeff.
 
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Omega III

I too have an Omega III in 7MM. I acquired it from one of the gunsmiths who worked for the Koons company. When the company closed its Flower Mound operations, he told me that the company let the employees buy the rather small inventory in lew of severence. Mine is sn#640. I kept it unused for about 15 years but began some very lite use in 1980 for deer and elk when I lived in Colorado.

I am interested in the value for insurance purposes and always believed it to be worth around $3,000 or more mainly because of its rarity and outstanding quality. However I wouldn't sell it for that. The wood in the stock is fabulous. I have never seen another one in a gun show or heard anyone mention that they saw one. But there must be some still in the Dallas area.
 
Gentlemen, this is my first post to THR as I am a new member. I appreciate the commentary on the Omega III that has been posted here. I own 4 of the Omega's including the prototype rifle. Farmdog, referred to this gun in his post and I believe it was I that bought/traded you for it. The serial number is 101, it has a different bolt handle than the production guns and has a longer barrel. The wood on it is fabulous, oil rubbed walnut with a beautiful grain. My father and Homer where very good friends and when Homer opened up Ranger Arms in Gainesville Texas, pre Omega Arms, he produced two actions the Texas Magnum and the Texas Maverick. He gave my father serial #101 which was the first production rifle. He also produced two other guns, the infamous snake charmer and a light rancher gun called the Alpha I. The first time that I saw an Omega was on an opening day of dove season in the early 70's. My dad's hunting group had gathered for the annual opening day hunt and after a successful opening day we met at a friends home and Homer brought in a box with the un-blued action and unfinished stock of his new rifle the Omega III. It truly caught all of our attention and of interest I clearly remember him saying that the idea for the rotery magazine came from the Savage 99 action. He felt that it was a more positive feed mechanism. Anyway, I hope you guys find this of interest and please pass on any other information that you might have. I do not claim to be the final fountain of information. I just love the guns and have a close bonding with them. As for the assertion that there are only 9 Omegas left other than the presentation guns. Well as I count, there are 4 referenced in this blog and I have 4 and I know where there are at least 3 others, so I think that there are more of them around in private collections than just 9. Of course I do not think that they will hit the market as they will most likely just be passed down and kept in the families.
 
MAN!!! this thread is too good!!! We need more info from the seller of the rifle; we need pics and markings, anywhere they can be found on the rifle. To the owners of Omega III's that have talked back here; did he put the markings in easy to find places, or do you need to take them out of the stocks, and look with a mag glass?

Also we are talking about omega III's, what was the prototype? was there a 1 and 2? You mentioned 2 different actions made by Mr. Koon, were these for the Omega III's, or any omega rifles?
Is there an S prefix stamped before any of the serial numbers?
 
The markings on the guns are all very readable and stamped on each part including the stocks. Of course to view those numbers the stocks will have to be removed. As for the prototype, it is a .300 Win Mag, it has a blued bolt handle, where as the production guns were not blued. I am sure there were a number of development actions worked on before the prototype was finally assembled, but i remember seeing this action before it was blued. The two actions that I referenced were for the Ranger Arms Guns, not the Omegas. I have not seen any of the Omegas with an S prefix, but that does not mean they aren't out there.
 
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