Being a lefty, Winchester and I never played in the same ballpark until around Y2K so I never developed an interest in them until recently. Just taking a guess though, I'd have to say that the vast majority of pre-64's have at least been through the hands of one collector/accumulator if not more. Regardless where you find them, most will carry a "collector" price tag and thus they move from one safe to another.
Call them what you might but given my latent interest in Winchesters, I think that the late New Haven CRF's would be of interest for someone wanting to "start". They're available, they're not outrageously priced and they're not made anymore. More specifically I'd look for lefty's but I'll leave them for someone younger with more passion!
Last edited by Bull_Elk; 08/04/15.
