Anybody have one of these? How do you like it? How much would you expect to pay for one that has some honest use, but in good, original condition, maybe with an aftermarket peep site installed.

There is one in a local gun shop. He want $1k for it; real worth is $850 +/-. The rear original sight is missing and it has a Lyman peep. Otherwise it is about 90-95% NRA.

My 'smith just picked one up. Talk about "old school cool"! I'd love one, myself.

I had one many,many years ago....very cool old rifle and chambering

[img]<a href="http://s1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa448/M1jhartman/?action=view&current=Model54002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa448/M1jhartman/Model54002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>[/img]

First time posting pictures...

Well, it oughta be easier on the ears than most stuff we use.....

That is a sweet old rifle! I had one in 30-06. Wish I still had it.

very cool old classic.

The one in our local gunshop just moved yesterday for full price, $1K.

The late Bearrr264 had a Winchester 54 30-30 that was converted to 30-40 Krag by G&H sometime pre-WW2 that was a pretty neat rifle. I never got to fire it, but it was 1 of Dave's favorites and was kitted out with a G&H stock, side-mount, and Lyman Alaskan, put a Lyman #48 receiver sight as an auxillary. The stock had a trapdoor buttplate with space to store the upper half of the receiver sight with the scope was mounted. IIRC, G&H reworked this rifle for Howard Palmer, who was either the president or chairman of the board of the New Haven Rail Road. I wonder where it is today?

JEff

Interesting

See 06 and 270 every now and then. 30-30 hardly ever,
according to Rules book on the M70 a small run of 54s were made
in 32 Special.

The oddest factory specs Winchester 54s that I have seen have been chambered in 7x57, 7.65x53, and 8x57.

JEff

I handled on in 250-3000 many years ago, it was beat to
death and priced high.

When I traded my Father's pre-'64 Winchester collection to Bearrr264, it includes 4 different, minty, 54s in 250-3000. The only 54s that I have seen outside of that collection have been beat, not original, and prices at least 3 to 5 times what I would ever consider paying for them.

JEff

Saw a source once that also said there was several uncataloged runs of the Model 54 in 25, 30, 32 and 35 Remington...

that is a cool rifle.. don't know if I would pay a grand for it...

what I should do is just have one of my Model 70s barreled for one, since I do switch barrels now on a couple of them...

not as cool as vintage... but a lot cheaper also...

I don't believe that any Winchester 54s were ever chambered in 25, 30, 32, or 35 Remington. There were a limited number of Winchester 70s were made in 35 Remington, but it was a cataloged offering, just not a popular cataloged offering. There were 3 NIB 70s in 35 Rem, 2 rifles and 1 carbine, in my Father's collection that went to Bearrr264.

JEff

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.

And one great feature is the box magazine. You can load spitzers in the 30-30 and not just flat point bullets for better longer range performance!

Roger Rule's book, "The Rifleman�s Rifle" only shows the 35 Remington being chambered in the M-54 and it was not a standard offering. The others are not shown, but I sure the Winchester Custom Shop would have built one for a paying customer.

A Winchester 54 in .30/30 was the most accurate by God .30/30 I ever owned. I would blush to tell you how small the groups typically were. It was d/t'ed on the barrel for Unertl scope blocks, so I mounted a 10x Unertl and got sub-MOA accuracy with cast lead bullets. It is one of about 5 rifles I horse traded away over the years (out of hundreds)that I truly wish I had back.

I saw a M54 with a M70 bolt in it at a gunshow today.
This is about the fourth one I have encountered like this
over the years.

Jeff, how large was your Dad's collection and what other calibers and models did it include? I've always been fascinated by the pre-'64 Winchesters. How much do you think the collection would be worth today? Inquiring minds have to know! powdr

I am a self made Winchester collector, allbeit a small one. My grandfather left me his Model 12, and that's what got me going. The model 70 is the slickest rifle I own.

My dad likes old war rifles. Not a winny in the bunch.

Wrong, the "Rifleman's Rifle" book lists the 30-30 as an option in the model 54.

I would buy a 54 in 30/30 and I'm not a Winchester bolt fan in the least.

The Model 54 30-30 is a unique Rifle , it uses a different Receiver and Bolt than all the other Cals. . This is because of the 30-30 being a rimmed Case . There was a guy on one of these Forums a couple of months ago that had just been given a Mod. 54 Carbine in 30-30 and didn't know what he had . The only 54 more rare is the 220 Swift ! I noticed the finger grooves in the Stock and asked him what the Barrel length was and he said 19" . Then I had to tell the poor guy that he had hit the Mod. 54 Jackpot . That was the first and only Mod. 54 30-30 Carbine that I have ever seen , and I've been a Gunnut for 50 Years ! I have yet to see one in .35 Rem. and am skeptical as to their existance !

This has inspired me to take the plunge and get a 30/30 barrel threaded for a model 70 action and pick up a Modified bolt for it..

been learning a lot about switch barrel stuff...

Persevere, it took me over 50 years of looking to find my '54 carbine in 30/30..during that search I acquired one in the rifle config. about 5 years earlier, but picked up 30/30s in Savage super sporter model 45,a super sporter model 40,AND a Remington-Lee, all original,,I think the R-L 30/30 is a whole lot rarer than the model 54... Idabull

Aside from being the popular deer hunting cartridge that it is, the .30/30 is a darn fine target cartridge also- especially with cast lead bullets. I'll go so far as to say that if limited to one cartridge for all of my personal experimenting, target shooting, and hunting it would be the .30/30. A finer platform for that round than the M54 was never invented. (Unless of course one has a Winchester High Wall, or a Martini, but I digress.)