Does anybody know of any good sources or have information/advice on valuation and care of 2 Winchester Model 94 32WS pre-64 rifles that my uncle owns? 32 Specials. One was manufactured around 1943 and the other 1949, according to this site.

I am not an expert on NRA classifications but the older one appears like it would be perfect if not for a small section on the wood near the lever where some oil or cleaner must have deteriorated and caused the wood to stick to the inside of the case, leaving a blemish with cotton/wool strands stuck in the grain.

My uncle wants to give me these rifles and I want to be able to care for them properly. What should I use to clean the blemish and prepare them for storage?

Last question: Anyone know what these might be valued at or know of the best "blue books"/online resources for these types of rifles?

Thanks!

Ask Harley.

Specially when hitler II gets elected president and outlaws the purchase of all guns. Then confiscates all guns bought in the last 30 years of registered purchases... These guns will be priceless..

Thanks for the thread K, cause I have a model 94 32 WS that I bought off a guy in 1965, I've always wondered too.....

They don't make 'em anymore ya know! lol

Good saddle gun, BTW....

Congratulations on the gift. Your uncle must have a great deal of faith in you.

Find a good gun shop you can trust and develop a relationship with them. Sort of like a good "proper" garage if you had an old Jaguar 150, a Moretti or a 1938 Mosley Wombat! Don't go for the one with big neon signs and macho men selling high priced psitols to women they can scare. Look for a small shop run by one old craftsman. Also try local gun club.

This is much more "hands-on" learning than something from a book or internetsite. A gun shop or gun club will teach you how to properly clean and preserve these wonderful old rifles.

Thanks, I asked Harley.

Wrong! They are worth quite a bit more.

I don't plan on selling them, but I'd like to know what they should be insured for. You're right though, they were first purchased by my Grandpappy!

From doing a little research on 'em tonight the difference is that the pre-64 models were milled and the post-64 models were machined, so the pre-64s are worth alot more. I don't know if that is the truth; anybody confirm?

I always use this site: Guns America

It has just about every gun you can think of and a price. It's more of a group of sellers and asking prices rather than a "blue book."

My uncle wants to give me these rifles and I want to be able to care for them properly. What should I use to clean the blemish and prepare them for storage?

The blemish doesn't sound like much of an issue. The oil can be wicked out with a solvent. Just make certain you use a solvent that doesn't react with the varnish. You should be able to remove the contact blemish with a garden variety wood cleaner. Any marring of the varnish can be cleaned up with fine sandpaper.

How you clean and store them depends on for how long you plan to keep them in storage. Clean the barrel by removing the bolt and inserting the ramrod from the rear. Don't insert the ramrod from the muzzle as doing so can degrade the guns accuracy over time.

As far as storage goes, for how long do you intend to keep the guns in storage? For a short period, spray all the cleaned metal parts with silicon, WD-40 or a gun oil. If you intend to keep them in storage for an extended period, metal parts should be coated with vaseline, cosmoline or other grease. What to do with the wood depends on duration of storage and climate conditions. Wood doesn't like low humidity or too high of a humidity. If I were planning to store it for a long time, I'd slather the wood with beeswax. For short term storage, use an airosol furniture polish.

Finally, remember the old rule about long term gun storage. Store a few of your unregistered guns in a well oiled flower bed.

Last question: Anyone know what these might be valued at or know of the best "blue books"/online resources for these types of rifles?

www.auctionarms.com is a pretty decent place to follow and over time, you'll get a fairly good idea of the range it will fetch.

Ask around in your area and find some local gunsmiths. Take the rifles by and let them examine them and give you recommendations both as to care and value.

Definetly worth hanging on too.

The "22nd Edition Blue Book of Gun Values" by S.P. Fjestad, is worth getting for the entertainment value alone, much less the information it contains on estimating value on thousands of guns. If the rifles are in original, unmodified and unrefinished condition, they have some value as collector pieces, but the real value they have is the family history they represent. The Blue Book is handy to have for insurance reasons if they are destroyed or stolen. Enjoy your guns, and Merry Christmas to you!

Good advice.

I see them for around $400-450. I assume it is a standard grade.

A good place to ask would be the non-NFA forum at www.subguns.com. There are some very knowledgeable collectors there. Most of the gun threads on FreeRepublic show an almost painful ignorance of firearms knowledge :)