Quality vs. Quantity; 2014 Acquisitions

[Noah_Zark]

The "Have a Plan" thread had me respond, "Quality over Quantity," and I took stock of the rifle acquisitions made during 2014 last evening. Remarkably, some of them were pretty decent "deals" as well. The lineup:

A Browning 1895 in 405 Winchester, customized by the former owner with a 20" barrel, target crown, a replica "Climbin' Lyman" rear sight, a Limbsaver pad, and a Butler Creek "Mountain" sling, my favorite sling style. This was my big $$$ purchase at $950:






This is a late-model USRA Winchester Model 94 Trapper in 357 Magnum. It looked horrible, tons or dust between the barrel and mag tube, dull stock finish, and a super-light patina of brown on much of the metal. There was a metric crap ton of schmutz in the bore, mostly dust and spider egg cocoons. I used a "miracle wonder cloth" from my "gun show kit" on a spot on the receiver with the seller's permission, and the "brown" patina gave way to blueing. The stock cleaned up as well. He wanted $595. We extended negotiations from Saturday before opening to just before closing at Sunday afternoon as we were both vendors. We settled on $350 cash and five "Colt" marked AR 30 rd mags which cost me $6 each. A total of $380. Three evenings' worth of detailing later, and look at the figure in that wood:






The next acquisition is a Swedish Model 94 Carbine, all-matching. I found this at a show on tables manned by three of my contemporaries, "old guys" ranging from late 50s to maybe 70. I examined the rifle and saw that the bolt sleeve was unscrewed by one turn so I asked the seller how it fired and he fessed up and said he didn't know what ammo it took, one of the others said it took 6.5 Swedish, and he tried to fire some ammo a friend gave him but the gun didn't fire. They had $495 on it. I countered at $350, saying it does take 6.5 Swedish, but there's an issue that needs fixing. They dropped to $450, and I held firm, saying I didn't know what it would take to fix. They dropped to $400, we settled on $375. I got it home, cleaned it up, screwed on the bolt sleeve completely, and at the range it went "bang." It hits high at ranges short of 300m, but they all do; I call this one "deal," too:






This next one, a Remington Model 81 in 35 Remington, has been a "grail gun" for maybe 10 years, but it had to be as original as possible and that means no drilled and tapped holes. The 35 Remington is one of my favorite cartridges. There wasn't much negotiation because the seller knew what he had, and I didn't mind (much) paying not quite $800 for this kind of quality:






I like the Savage 99, but you can't have them all so I collect earlier models only in 30-30 Winchester chambering. This one was a single-owner hunter's rifle, and has external "character" but is in excellent condition inside. The rotor spring is as-new, and apparently the previous owner never left it loaded. The "private seller" wanted $795. I made an offer at $575 Saturday AM, but was scoffed. The Savage sat on his table all weekend, and about 1400 Sunday afternoon he stopped at me tables and asked if I'd go $650. I said I'd do $600 tops. He thought about three seconds and stuck out his hand. $600 might be kinda top-buck, but it shoots incredible groups:






The 30-40 Krag is one of my favorite cartridges, and I'm equally fond of the Krag-Jorgensen rifle and other rifles chambered in the venerable Krag cartridge. I already had a Miroku-made Winchester 1895 rifle with a 26" barrel and love it, and set my sights on a modern 1895 replica carbine. The seller was originally asking almost $1200 for the Miroku-made Winchester Saddle Ring Carbine in 30-40 Krag shown below, including the box and all paperwork. Problem was, the previous owner applied a red mahogany stain over the factory finish. I wanted a shooter, so long story short, I ended up shelling out ~ $870, and was happy with that. The reddish stock is actually kinda attractive. At least my wife likes it:






At my age and given my collection, I have a VERY short "short list" anymore. Each of these meets criteria for my collecting and shooting goals. They were funded by proceeds of the sale of a number of guns which no longer interest me or fit my shooting interests. The above guns, IMO quality items, each has some historical connection, and are in chamberings of particular interest to me. If I got a "deal," great. If it cost a bit more that I wanted to pay but in my opinion was worth it, then if I was happy that's all that mattered. I've fired them and enjoyed them and hope to continue to do so for some time.

Noah

[NathanB]

I built an ar pistol
Finished a second
Bought a savage 10tr in 308
Glock 22
Glock 34
Glock 19
Sig mosquito
Mossberg 930 jmpro
Won a savage axis in 308
i passed on one of my Grail guns at a great price and then it was gone when I came back or else it would have been At least one more

[streaker69]

Noah has enough wood to build a... well to build something.

[knight0334]

Noah has enough wood to build a... well to build something.

What a coincidence... ...I get wood every time Noah shows off his lever guns.

[Seabee CO]

SCAR 16 s
SCAR 17 s

After those...I couldn't afford anything else....

[Stooperzero]

C96 in 763 mauser.
Madsen in 30-06
Mossberg Brownie
S&W bodyguard .38
S&W 13-4
Mepro M21


thats about it for quality. I make most of my own stuff or rebuild the occasional mil-surp.

[IronButt]

What a coincidence... ...I get wood every time Noah shows off his lever guns.

I wouldn't go that far, but he certainly had a bunch of quality acquisitions for the year.

[MOUNTAINORACLE]

Nice new additions Noah, your is pretty close to mine.
I really like the .35 Remington and .405 Winchester

[gummy jones]

noah remind me to attend your estate auction after you die

[GrumpyBear]

Very nice additions to your collection.


Love those levers.