What should I do to an inherited 94?
Posted: Fri May 22, 2015 1:57 am
I finally got my login permission! This is my first post. Hi, everyone!
Several weeks ago, I received my granddad's Model 94. Serial number puts the manufacture date around the middle of 1941. It's a 20" barrel, chambered in .32 Win Special.
I have a couple questions about it.
First question:
I consider it a family heirloom and have no interest in selling it. I will pass it down to my daughter when I kick the bucket. That said, I would like to know a ball park figure for insurance purposes. Any rough estimates of value?
Second question, and apologies for the long explanation:
Grandpa liked to hunt, and he wasn't interested in keeping the rifle pristine, though he probably cleaned the barrel occasionally. It still looks shiny after a cleaning with a Boresnake.
After grandpa passed, my uncle used it to hunt for several years until he bought a new Remington semi-auto. While my uncle had it, he installed a Williams sight on it, which involved some drilling and tapping of the receiver. He also hand-etched some kind of Minnesota anti-theft registration number on the bottom of the lever.
Between the unremarkable configuration of a 20" barrel, chambered for .32 WS, alterations for the Williams sight, and the crude hand-etching, I figure any "collectible" value has long been destroyed.
But that's okay! The rifle now has some family history. It was used as a tool, much the way that I have treated the claw hammer that I bought when I was 23.
The blueing on the receiver is pretty much gone on the bottom, which is the place where a hand would hold it while walking through the woods. The barrel bands have almost no blueing left, and the barrel and magazine have many nicks and scratches. The furniture has nicks and scrapes, too. My uncle told me that there is an "emergency" round stored under the buttplate, but I haven't taken the buttplate off yet to verify.
I still want to shoot it. My daughter and I took it to the range and put 13 rounds through it, and it functions fine. We both love working the lever. Our wimpy shoulders just couldn't take the pounding, and we had to switch to pistols for the rest of the day.
So finally we get to the second question, which is:
What's the best way to keep the rifle in it's current condition? Should I try to "improve" it by cold blueing or leave it alone and just put oil on everything? Refinish the stocks?
Several weeks ago, I received my granddad's Model 94. Serial number puts the manufacture date around the middle of 1941. It's a 20" barrel, chambered in .32 Win Special.
I have a couple questions about it.
First question:
I consider it a family heirloom and have no interest in selling it. I will pass it down to my daughter when I kick the bucket. That said, I would like to know a ball park figure for insurance purposes. Any rough estimates of value?
Second question, and apologies for the long explanation:
Grandpa liked to hunt, and he wasn't interested in keeping the rifle pristine, though he probably cleaned the barrel occasionally. It still looks shiny after a cleaning with a Boresnake.
After grandpa passed, my uncle used it to hunt for several years until he bought a new Remington semi-auto. While my uncle had it, he installed a Williams sight on it, which involved some drilling and tapping of the receiver. He also hand-etched some kind of Minnesota anti-theft registration number on the bottom of the lever.
Between the unremarkable configuration of a 20" barrel, chambered for .32 WS, alterations for the Williams sight, and the crude hand-etching, I figure any "collectible" value has long been destroyed.
But that's okay! The rifle now has some family history. It was used as a tool, much the way that I have treated the claw hammer that I bought when I was 23.
The blueing on the receiver is pretty much gone on the bottom, which is the place where a hand would hold it while walking through the woods. The barrel bands have almost no blueing left, and the barrel and magazine have many nicks and scratches. The furniture has nicks and scrapes, too. My uncle told me that there is an "emergency" round stored under the buttplate, but I haven't taken the buttplate off yet to verify.
I still want to shoot it. My daughter and I took it to the range and put 13 rounds through it, and it functions fine. We both love working the lever. Our wimpy shoulders just couldn't take the pounding, and we had to switch to pistols for the rest of the day.
So finally we get to the second question, which is:
What's the best way to keep the rifle in it's current condition? Should I try to "improve" it by cold blueing or leave it alone and just put oil on everything? Refinish the stocks?