[skeet]

Went to a small show up in Montana today not much of a gun show...BUT. I have been thinking on and off about finding a Winchester Model 71 348 Lever gun. I have seen one at a few gun shows in the last year. Not a really pretty one. Not a deluxe gun either.. BUT. It had an original Bolt Peep on it. The bolt peep is a very expensive addition..worth from 400-600 bucks if original. It disappeared last fall. Then here it was at this show. I had tried to buy it a couple of times before with no dice. Asked the newer owner about his best price..Had 1450 on it. He said 1150..which I had offered before with out buying it. . Offered him 1050 for it and got the darn thing. Bore is great..blue is about 80-85% but very tight mechanically. Wood could use a new finish. I am going to do a rust blue on the darn thing with minimal polishing. See how it turns out. Then I'll get the wood refinished. I am a terrible wood worker. Believe me..when I say wood work...I think axes and chain saws. LOL. If I can find a good guy for that I am also going to have the wood redone on my Winchester 64. Anyway..I am a happy camper. These rifles go for BIG bucks out here. I saw one at an auction in no better condition sell for 1900 bucks. Now. Hopefully I am done buying guns. Y'all believe that ...don'tcha?? I am trying to believe it!! While I was there a guy came up with a Winchester 94 He wanted to work a trade on a Weatherby MK V 257 Weatherby I have. I looked at it and didn't look quite right. Realized pretty quickly it had been rebarreled to 30-30 Winchester. It was serial Number 153. Even had a letter on it. And since I know the guy at the Cody Museum who does the research on Winchesters..He had told me about this gun 10 days ago. It was shipped out of the warehouse on Sept 26 1894 and of course it had to have been a 38-55 or 32-40 I think. 30-30 didn't happen till 1895. It was shipped as a 38-55. If I could have found an original bbl for it..I would have traded him. The guy that does the research told me it is the earliest gun he has ever had to research. With the right parts ol Doug Turnbull would have had another project to do for me. Darn..I think..