In the past month or so I have seen no less than 12 Winchester M88s in 308 WIN for sale at gun shows and pawn shops. Used to never see them now they seem to be eveywhere, only 308 though, none of the other calibers.
Prices arent bad either, $450-700

I'll guess the old gents that owned them are passing away or retiring from hunting; the kids/grandkids don't hunt or already have the latest and greatest rifle. Lot's of Browning Auto-5 shotguns available lately too.

You could add Model 12s to that list also. If it ain't camo/synthetic the new generation isn't interested.

Yep. In fact, a LGS has 5 Model 71's, shooters/collectors, long/short tang. Years past, a 71 was a rare sighting in our local racks. Older generation is selling. Talked with one old boy, said his worthless offspring don't shoot/hunt or have legal issues prohibiting ownership. He said, to hell with 'em, is selling his iron and spending their inheritance..

What has befuddled me is the two cabelas stores I like to look at. One in billings mt. One in Rodgers Mn.. the vintage lever action inventory, Ia almost non existent . As in very very few 4 sale. But people at gun shows and my own experiences on gunbroker has shown that the market is at best " soft" if not non existent. Perhaps Cabelas offering credit, and some security in purchases is the difference?

Cabela's only offers 60% of what they claim that they will price it at retail for firearms trades, so a trade to Cabela's is almost always a losing proposition for the trader. A good used firearms deal at Cabela's is a rare event at the LaVista, NE, store. I look over the used firearms at the LaVista Cabela's at least once each week and probably only find 5 or 6 "deals" in the course of a year, some that I buy, some that I try to pass on to other guys, and some that I just can't justify buying despite the deal.

I am one of the younger accumulators of walnut and steel beauties. It's amazing what is out there at good prices.

This Remington 17 was $395 at an Indiana gun shop in January 2017:



A year ago I got no bidders at $1,250 for this pristine Ithaca NID:



I doubt I would get $750 for this 1927 99 G

But what I was trying to say is in years past the cabelas I would visit twice a year had 30 to 40 lever action vintage rifles 2 look at now almost none.

I agree with your assessment Angus. The library closest to me has only a few vintage lever guns now. A year ago they had a decent collection of pre-64 Winchesters, Savage and Marlins. Their web page went from 10+ pages to 4. Dont know if they’re just not buying or people aren’t trading as they used to.

I was told by two Cabelas library managers west coast and mid-west, corporate instructed to exercise greater scrutiny on their used purchases; looks to have reduced inventory. Perhaps something to do with BP merger.

Been putting my 1963 M88 308 WIN to work this season, two does so far.

That's a neat deer rifle !

Killed my biggest buck with a M/88 .308 and a 180 gr. Hornady RN handload.

110,000 M88’s left the factory chambered for the 308 Win. That’s 35,000 more than production numbers in any other caliber.

Years ago I had one in 308 that I got tired of slapping me with the factory stock. So I rebarrelled it to 7mm-08. Much improved with 139 gr. pills.

Next generation coming up is the "black gun" generation.

Won't be able to give away a blued steel and wood stocked gun 30 years from now. Won't be anybody left to buy them.

I'm glad I won't live to see it.

John Wootters use to write about his 308 model 88 in some of his articles. It may have been the first new deer rifle he purchased. He later sold it and used to list the serial number in articles he wrote hoping he could buy it back.

As a young man John was one of my favorite outdoor writers, In fact so much so, that he influenced me to purchase an early 60's Sako Mannlicher in .308 which he wrote about his personal one numerous times. Still have it and it goes with me every fall. A nice little Burris Signature (older one) 2x7 sets atop it. Another of my favorite shotguns is a Remington 11-48 28 gauge. Bought that years ago as a young man because I used to read about Jack O'Connor and his 11-48 28 gauge. Miss those days.

My book collection includes several by John Wooters and many by Jack O'Conner - I still like reading their style of hunting literature. Jack O'Conner influenced me greatly; when I got married in 1977 I was finishing college and my wife was already working and had a good job - she offered to buy me my first center-fire hunting rifle. I followed a paragraph from O'Conner's The Rifle Book, 3rd Edition (which I had read to pieces) and picked out a Ruger M77 in 270 WIN along with a Weaver Steelite II 3X scope. I still own and hunt with that rifle but the scope has long since been replaced. Without the influence of other hunters writing on the internet those writers held great sway over the hunters of their day.

In one of JOCs books he mentions the Winchester 88 and said it looked like a Savage Model 99 that had been scared by a Winchester Model 70.

I once traded for a first year four digit .308 Winchester 88 that looked new. Fired three shots, didn't like the recoil, and traded it within a week of getting it for a 12 gauge Winchester 97 that was a lot easier on my shoulder.

Besides the heavy trigger one of the M/88's deficiencies is the stock has quite a lot of drop at the heel which makes the .308's recoil more pronounced than in a straighter stocked rifle.

Despite all it's deficiencies of being 55 years old, possessing bad design, having no gun writer respect, got excessive stock drop, a poor & creepy trigger pull, ugly pressed checkering, bland wood, and a honery owner, the old girl will still shoot good groups and kill deer regularly. I like run on sentences despite having a good parochial school education.

Popped one more deer with the Winchester M88, 308 WIN this week. 123 lbs. doe, neck shot at 128 yards. This old M88 keeps doing its job.