Right place, right time... what a deal....!

[RevJammer]

Gander Mountain recently (past 3 months or so) opened a store in our area. I have been in GM before, out of state, and usually their prices are higher than a cat's back.

Today my wife and I were in the neighborhood so we decided just to stroll through and say we have been there. I was NOT looking to buy anything in particular. As we strolled down the huge back wall of guns, I saw a lot of stuff I liked, but again, not looking to make a purchase.

As I got to the end of the wall, the used gun section, I noticed a lever action rifle with a price tag of $199.99. So I waited 15 minutes for an employee to come see if I needed help. I asked to see the rifle and asked what was wrong with it. He assured me nothing was wrong with it, he had just put it on the shelf a little earlier this morning.

It was a Winchester 94 in .32 Winchester Special. I had never really heard of this particular caliber, but any Winchester should be worth more than $200, Right?! The rifle shows signs of use, but no major nicks, scratches, dents, or abuse. I would put it's condition in probably about a 7 out of 10 (10 being mint). Action was actually quite tight and the barrel looked relatively bright and crisp.

What could I do? I couldn't help it... I dropped the $200 on it then and there. Once I got it out... I hopped on the ol' interwebs and come to find out it is a Pre-64... manufactured in 1951! If that wasn't good enough, they had bulk packs of Remington 22.lr for $25 - so I bought one of those too!

I would appreciate any information you all would like to toss my way about this rifle / caliber. Thanks in advance!

Win 94 32 Win Spc.jpg

RJ

[mr surveyor]

heck of a deal!

if you don't reload ...... START NOW!

scrounge all the brass you can find and buy a quality set of dies ... even if you're not set up for reloading, yet.

that's about all the "knowledge" I can pass on


jd

[Archer]

Nice find.
I've read about the caliber in my reloading manuals.

As I recall the reason for it was to help with reloading before smokeless powder was easy to get.

Essentially very similar to the .30-30 with a different diameter and twist rate.

Components were available but may be more difficult to get currently.
I'd look for Starline brass and I might even think about casting bullets if jacketed ones were hard to find.
When my manuals were put out most bullet companies made 1 jacketed bullet designed for the caliber if I recall correctly.

[akuser47]

Nice find dang I never find deal like this.

[Ranch Dog]

Great find and great price! I have a 50's Marlin 336RC chambered in 32 Win Spl, it is an outstanding rifle. I shoot my TLC323-170-RF out of it, never shot jacketed bullets.



I don't shoot it much but I keep it busy and will spend more time with it once I retire.

[Conman]

Dang, you are in luck.................besides finding a great buy on a nice Winchester!!

The November issue of Shooting Times has an article on reloading the .32 Special. If you can't locate a copy of the magazine let me know and I can scan in the reloading info and email it to you.

Congrats.

[rman]

You didn't buy it - you stole it! Congrats on finding a great old rifle at an even greater price.