BUFFALO BILL GUNS/ANTIQUE GUN DEALERS

[jer-z jock]

I have a very interesting discovery I would like to learn more about, IF anyone knows of a reputable gun dealer(antique or very old guns) I woul love to have the info.
Case and point.....my uncle for a living cleans out homes and abandoned units.....he was cleaning out an occuppied home where a elderly man that had failing health was going from a home to hospice care from my understanding. As he finished the job the weakened man let him know he doesnt have the full amount of money owed but does have a gun he would like to sell off for around $350 or the amount still owed. Long story short my uncle says yes and takes the gun which was in good shape and still looked usable.My uncle wanted his money for the gun and recently went to sell the gun, he ran into a fella that offered $500...he knowing he only paid $350 in labor for it agreed with thoughts he made an extra $150, after 2 days the gentlemen that bought the gun for $500 came back to my unks and told him, I ripped you off man I cant do it and my better half is eating away at me getting over on you.....goes on to explain:

The gun was or is a winchester .44 rifle BUFFALO BILL edition made somewhere in the area of 1836 if I am correct(with all paperwork for it). We called a few auctions and dealers and came to find out the gun is worth anyhwere from $100k-250k....we were blown the fuck away!!! The current dealer is in Illinois and we will be meeting up with him IF I cant hunt down another, my unk and the GENTLEMAN that bought the gun came to an agreement....sell the gun and split the profits.....giving me or my cousin a 10% fee for selling it off, we suggested to try and find the elder gentleman that gave the gun away for the cleaning and make sure he is financially stable or not in need. So what I would like to know is does anyone who is a member here KNOW a dealer or KNOW OF a reputable dealer who im sure will take a finders fee as well for selling it, BUT I can agree to that as long as it isnt an outrageous percentage. Thx for any responses and if there's anything that needs to be known that I left out please just ask......we reside in New Jersey if that helps

 

[Woodson]

Very interesting story...


EDIT:

For some reason the story didn't completely post.

I see where you are going back to the original owner.

Very nicely done!

My good friend in Mobile's father has the largest collection of Civil War artifacts and such and is a dealer of guns in this era. Get my email from JAck and I'll send you his number.

He is a retired Colonel and very well knoweldged in this area.

 

[Slink Dawg]

That gun is probably a Model 1873. Winchester started taking special care during the manufacture to guarantee better accuracy, better markings on top of the breech. The gun should have "One of One Thousand" or "One of One hundred" etched on it.
A Winchester factory letter is a must. I hope this is the paperwork that you mentioned.

1-1000 is 30k to 200k
1-100 is 40k to 225k

The gun is definately not a 1836. Buffalo Bill was not born until 1846. Winchester did not make rifles until 1860.

The book that I looked the rifle up in says that of the 1-1000 gun there was only 136 manufactured and they sold for $100.
The 1-100 gun was originally sold for $120
only 8 was manufactered.

Please be careful and study up on that rifle before anything is done.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[BADTODABONE]

good luck with your find...don't go to these dumb crooks :mj07:

 

[jer-z jock]

That gun is probably a Model 1873. Winchester started taking special care during the manufacture to guarantee better accuracy, better markings on top of the breech. The gun should have "One of One Thousand" or "One of One hundred" etched on it.
A Winchester factory letter is a must. I hope this is the paperwork that you mentioned.

1-1000 is 30k to 200k
1-100 is 40k to 225k

The gun is definately not a 1836. Buffalo Bill was not born until 1846. Winchester did not make rifles until 1860.

The book that I looked the rifle up in says that of the 1-1000 gun there was only 136 manufactured and they sold for $100.
The 1-100 gun was originally sold for $120
only 8 was manufactered.

Please be careful and study up on that rifle before anything is done.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

thk you very much.....Woodson yourself as well....I will be shooting you an email sometime over this weekend. As for the date I mentioned I could have been off I was going off memeory and please be reminded I havent studied the facts I am testing the waters. I am going to go to my ncles house and overlook the gun and possibly get some pictures of it and maybe post them to help anyone out that may need to see or even WANT to see, I personally (outside the money that may be gained) think its totally cool to have something like this happen. Will keep updated and get more info posted as soon as I can

 

[The Judge]

RareWinchesters.com

Good luck.