I was out checking prices, just for the hell of it. Fun to look around and see how things are these days. I was worried prices may be way out of hand, considering the current state of the union. Here are some winchesters I saw today:
1. 1963 243 featherweight. Stock was refinished, but still had the plastic butt plate and uncut stock: $895.00
2. 6 digit classic featherweight in like new condition, chambered in 30-06 with bushnell elite 3200 with rainguard coating 3-9x40: $800.00
3. Like new 6 digit classic compact 243win with bushnell 3-9x40 scope: $700.00
4. 1955 standard weight 243 winchester in excellent condition, but missing rear sight: $1,300.00
5. Winchester FN BACO (made in USA, not Portugal) 325 WSM Extreme weather for $699.99
And maybe the best deal, a stainless Tikka T3 chambered in 308 win with 3-9x40 rifle scope for $549.00. Sorry, it's not a winchester, but at that price, gets an honorable mention..
Keep us posted.
I bought the Tikka. Looked it over with a fine tooth comb and it hasn't been fired. Bolt face looked new, rifling and chamber looked new, no copper at all and extremely sharp lands. Its going to be a shooter. I'll glass bed it of course and install a stainless recoil lug, but other than that, I'll just use it like it is. Been researching scope prices and a used Bushnell elite 3200 sells for $230-$250.00 on ebay. Taking that into consideration, it was dumb for me to walk away from it on Saturday, when I looked at it the first time. If I were to sell the scope for $250.00 on ebay, I'd basically have $300.00 into the rifle. That's the kind of deals I search out... Oh, I was #4,530 on the wait for the background check, so I'll have the rifle in about a week. There's a lot of talk about "budget" rifles here in the forums, and my suggestion is always, "look for a used Tikka". They are far better than a TC Compass or anything Savage or RAR you can find. And at damn affordable prices. Yeah, it's not a pre 64 model 70, but they sure do shoot good and function 100% reliably. That's just my take on the Tikka rifles. I haven't been disappointed yet after fixing their little quirks like replacing the aluminum recoil lug and glass bedding them.
