Thread: Pre '64 Winchester 88 .243 value?

Hi all, over the next year or two, I'm going to be selling off the rifles I don't shoot and focusing on older projects and target or hunting rifles I do intend to use regularly. I essentially want the space in the safes for crappy broken stuff I can work on, not the boring, functional stuff (haha). If I'm not going to shoot it regularly, better be a project somewhere in it. I've decided I'm not a collector really more a tinkerer and a shooter.

Most rifles I have a fair idea on price but the Winchester 88 that I restored I have no idea as I have no idea if it's collectable or not. Even if it is I don't know prices for these, not my interest area.
It's this rifle: https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....oration-97465/
It's a pre-1964 model with a proper walnut stock. It's not original clearly because I've restored it. But full disclosure, you can see everything I've done in the linked thread.

It shoots well with less that an inch 5 shot group at 40m when I sighted it in with open sights. Barrel internally is probably 7/10 when I looked visually and with a bore-scope.
What it'll come with;
Spare original butt pad (good condition), It has a reproduction on it at the moment which I brought because I thought the old one had shrunk, turns out the Winchester 88 butt pads were just a bit undersized.
Skinner peep sight.
Original period correct Lyman receiver sight (Lyman 66W88) with a couple replacement apertures that are suited for hunting. Currently on it, spare receiver plug screws included so all factory threaded holes for mounting can be blanked if wanted.
Original front and rear sight (original rear sight is damaged - has a dovetail blank in the barrel at the moment to fill the rear sight dovetail).
Front sight hood.
Scope rail and screws.
One original magazine.
One magazine someone has "extended" with brazed on bits. Consider it scrap metal if you want it, really bubba'd, doubt it functions.
Slave pins for assembly if you disassemble it and a printed book detailing how to do so as it's no 1873 lever to disassemble...

So Winchester aficionados what is this thing worth?
Probably prefer if people didn't PM me asking to buy it (unless you want to trade for an Austrian Werndl...), I'm not trying to get around the buy & sell rules in terms of price - once I've got an idea of value It'll come up soon enough.

If you're interested I do have some WWII stuff original number matching with bayonets (bayonets not matching but period correct); Portuguese contract K98, Swiss K31 with rare as hen's teeth original factory clip on diopter sights, Lee Enfield Long Branch 1942.
More modern stuff like a Sako 85 .375H&H. Maybe some other stuff, I'm not sure yet.

Greetings @Makros,
I bought one of the later model 88 rifles in .308 second hand in 1981. I played with it for a couple of years and shot some goats with it. I lent it to a young friend whose only rifle was out of service and he shot his first two deer with one mag full, must have sounded like a semi auto. I don't think they were very popular for a number of reasons so trying to put a price on one is always going to be difficult. Mine shot well with the heavier projectiles but the need to clean from the muzzle was a pain so it was moved on in 1984.
Regards Grandpamac.

Thanks @grandpamac if I can't figure a reasonable price it'll just go on trademe on a free selling day for a dollar reserve and the market can decide.

Originally Posted by Makros

Hi all, over the next year or two, I'm going to be selling off the rifles I don't shoot and focusing on older projects and target or hunting rifles I do intend to use regularly. I essentially want the space in the safes for crappy broken stuff I can work on, not the boring, functional stuff (haha). If I'm not going to shoot it regularly, better be a project somewhere in it. I've decided I'm not a collector really more a tinkerer and a shooter.

Most rifles I have a fair idea on price but the Winchester 88 that I restored I have no idea as I have no idea if it's collectable or not. Even if it is I don't know prices for these, not my interest area.
It's this rifle: https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....oration-97465/
It's a pre-1964 model with a proper walnut stock. It's not original clearly because I've restored it. But full disclosure, you can see everything I've done in the linked thread.

It shoots well with less that an inch 5 shot group at 40m when I sighted it in with open sights. Barrel internally is probably 7/10 when I looked visually and with a bore-scope.
What it'll come with;
Spare original butt pad (good condition), It has a reproduction on it at the moment which I brought because I thought the old one had shrunk, turns out the Winchester 88 butt pads were just a bit undersized.
Skinner peep sight.
Original period correct Lyman receiver sight (Lyman 66W88) with a couple replacement apertures that are suited for hunting. Currently on it, spare receiver plug screws included so all factory threaded holes for mounting can be blanked if wanted.
Original front and rear sight (original rear sight is damaged - has a dovetail blank in the barrel at the moment to fill the rear sight dovetail).
Front sight hood.
Scope rail and screws.
One original magazine.
One magazine someone has "extended" with brazed on bits. Consider it scrap metal if you want it, really bubba'd, doubt it functions.
Slave pins for assembly if you disassemble it and a printed book detailing how to do so as it's no 1873 lever to disassemble...

So Winchester aficionados what is this thing worth?
Probably prefer if people didn't PM me asking to buy it (unless you want to trade for an Austrian Werndl...), I'm not trying to get around the buy & sell rules in terms of price - once I've got an idea of value It'll come up soon enough.

If you're interested I do have some WWII stuff original number matching with bayonets (bayonets not matching but period correct); Portuguese contract K98, Swiss K31 with rare as hen's teeth original factory clip on diopter sights, Lee Enfield Long Branch 1942.
More modern stuff like a Sako 85 .375H&H. Maybe some other stuff, I'm not sure yet.

can we have some decent photos please

Plenty in the link but replicated here:

that is one very nice old rifle hope it finds the home it deserves value being .243 and not 308 hmmm okay $1000 - $800

Sold a post 64 for $700 a few years ago, good condition. Yours is obviously better than that one but don’t see the pre64 situation adding that much more value to it in NZ, so would say $900.

Interesting. This is one with niche interest. Most people will be baffled by an old off the wall modern lever action, others will think its some kind of Savage.

But there will be seven people in the country who have been looking for one for ages and think its the best thing ever, these people will care if its pre-64 or not, and will know why, and it dpends on whether one of them has money this week.


You say the bore is not perfect, this is the first issue.

The stock is very pretty though, and people like me are very shallow about these things.

For some reason the prices on Trademe rifles rifles are very expensive at the moment, I hazard a guess becuse each branch of Gun City floods TM with their seceond hand rifle auctions, all over priced by three times their worth in order to deliberately lift the market. But I digress. Anyho9w it means a reaonsable price stands out.

I think its worth $1200. You will sell it easy at $800.