Being a history buff, I would hate to wash away the stories of the past with a rebarrel or somehting of that nature. I view these weapons as more than just weapons. And on top of that, they just don't make em like they used to and this rifle will keep my interest and it's mystique for much longer than say a run of the mill 700.
Also, if you take a rifle and swapped, provided you arent' doing your own gunsmithing, won't you probably spend a K on that whole deal, at least?
At the end of the day, I check out this shop somewhat regularly and had never noticed this rifle before, so I came to the conclusion that it hadn't been there too long. All it would have taken was a someone a little nuttier about old Winchesters than me, and that rifle would have been gone. So I bought it, and if I ever needed to, I think I could get my money back out of it. So, I think the price was fair.
