some time ago i inherited my grandfathers model 53.Ive been told this is a bit of a rare bird since its stainless steel as apposed to nickle steel.the rifles in great shape with its original peep site fully intact.my grand father ordered this new from the factory in 1926,and form the little info Ive obtained that's why its stainless, as it wasn't a common option in those days. i cant seem to find a good resource on value of this gun or rarity.any thoughts?

my mistake.model 53.corrections made

Would it be possible to post photos of the markings on the barrel?? Like you mentioned, stainless steel in a non standard caliber (.25-20 WCF yes, .25-20 SS no) would be a double rarity.

ill put some lics up today.but i can never post thme right
ill try

I'm thinking he ment Stainless Steel with the ss in the title ,instead of 25-20 single shot. just guessing. Don

As I reread it you're probably right, my mistake. Sorry littlebuf.

yes stainless steel.

Littlebuf: Are you saying the "barrel" is stainless steel or more of the Rifle is stainless steel?
I am not much up on Model 53's so am hoping to learn from your posting/input!
I "think" the Model 53's were only offered in 44/40 and 25/20 calibers?
Also this, is the peep sight on the tang of your Rifle?
Good luck in establishing the value and rarity of your Model 53.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

They came in 25-20,32-20,38-40,and 44-40 calibers. Don

I've never seen nor heard of a 53 in .38/40 until now....no mention of it in Madis' Winchester book?

ya ,i might have had a brain cramp, got to thinking about it and i dont think the 53,s or 65's were offered in 38-40. i know i don't own any in that caliber. Don

Loggah: For clarification I got out some of my Winchester reference books and indeed it seems the Model 53 Winchesters were never offered in caliber 38-40!
Just in calibers 25-20, 32-20 and 44-40.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

mines a 25-20 and the whole thing is stainless. i'll have to pull it out of the safe and get some pics. we just got our power back up here in western washington

pics.if some one wants to post them so they show up in the post that would be fine with me.i can never get that to work. 4 digit serial number.looked it up and it was 1926.may be hard to see but the last photo shows its a take down model

I believe only the barrel is SS....nice rifle....

What I can't see from your photos littlebuf is any proof marks on the top of the barrel next to the receiver. A "WP" in an oval is factory installed barrel but if it has a "P" in an oval either by itself or in conjunction with the "WP" then it is a mail order replacement barrel.

Also, the "Winchester" stamp on your barrel is italicised which is indictative of a later version. However, it was sometime around the time period your rifle was made that Winchester switched over from the block lettered "Winchester" to the italicised version. I want to say the transition took place in the early 30's but I honestly can't remember.

The whole point is trying to establish whether your barrel is original to the rifle or if it is a replacement. Either way you have a nice old gun.

there is a proof mark on the top of the barrel with a matching one right next to it on the receiver.i will pull it back out and look at it/get a pic so you can see what it is

very well could be. i dont know a lot about these rifles.it does look however that the bluing came off the receiver in the same fashion/pattern its come off the barrel.i was told one of the reasons Winchester didnt make many SS guns in those days was because it didint hold a bluing.

Stainless was an option for barrels on some guns, .220 swifts predominantly had stainless barrels. Stainless Winchester barrels were usually iron plated and then blued.

I have A MODEL 53 IN 25-20 Its blued the model 53 is a take down rifle. At the end of the magazine tube there is a blade like lever that allows the mag to be unthreaded. Then holding the reciever with one hand and the fore stock with the other twist in the opposite directions and the gun splits into two pcs.
I too am interested in finding the value of my rifle. It has no
sentimental value to me. It was split off a collection a friend of mine purchased. never heard of a s.s. version but i believe there were only 25,000 produced in the mid to late twenties

If you look at littlebuf's pictures, his 53 is a take-down also. I have the same exact rifle, mine is in the 3400 serial # range, and also has that stainless steel barrel marking. Great little rifles. Amazing that of the few posters here, we can account for three of them!

I have 4 53,s 3 in 25-20 and one in 32-20 , none of them are stainless steel barreled, and pretty sure one is a solid frame and three takedowns.they are in the picture under the 1876 bayonet !!!! Don

funny mine came from New Hampshire.well by way of new york first.grandfather bought it brand new in 1926 while logging in new york.months wages at 16 years old is the story.Dad grew up in New Hampshire thats where this rifle came to me from.family still owns 16 acres on deer island,used to be 32 acre "camp rugged" is what Appa called it,donated 16 acres to the state for a bird sanctuary after he died.ran it as a camp for a while back in the day for the summer season on winipisokki (man i butchered that spelling),but im sure you know thw lake im talking about.its "the lake" after all.i gotta get back east,its been a while

Winnipesaukee, its about 20 miles away from me as the crow flys, but takes a little over 1/2 hr to get there !!!!! mine all came locally , over 40 years!!! Don

Loggah do you have any idea what the average value would be I'd like to move mine down the road?

macdog, I really hate to establish prices,i do know condition is everything, go to a bunch of auction sites and look at completed auctions and maybe you can get an idea!!, i've had mine over twenty years so what i paid is way low i'm sure. Don

I have visited a few auctions. If I can establish a fair condition of the rifle and a resonable price you may see it on the fire. thanks