What would be a value range for this rifle given the available information and pictures? Its a Henry W. Egg in (we think) 450/400 BPE. The owner was not available at the moment and I was in a rush to get back to work. A friend of mine is interested in it and I hope he buys this thing cause it fit me perfectly! The gun was tight with no detectable movement in the unlock postion with the forearm removed. The bores were very bright and shiny with no pitting detected with the naked eye. The only case coloring that remained was on the inside of the underlever and the portion of the trigger guard that it covered. The overall finish seemed good for a gun this old. We could not find a serial number anywhere. It does not come with a case or any accessories. What do yall think? Question/comments?

What's the black streak on the stock? Magic marker?

I'd go up to 4K if it checks out that good.

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What's the black streak on the stock? Magic marker?

That was my first impression. It appears to be in the wood and doesnt look like a repair. I have no idea??

the black line looks like someone was going to reshape and shorten it, as the line is vertical too.

if it is bpe, 2500 would be my top dollar, if nitro, 4500 .. but i would have to see the proof marks

I think that for a deer gun the 450/400 BPE would be just about perfect.

One thing one must be careful about is that the gun has not been re-chambered in an attempt to make more easily available cases usable. This was done quite a bit years back before bell and others made brass for obsolete guns.

Also Wipe the barrels carefully. A good coat of grease can cover up a lot of pitting.

Just looking at the gun I do not think that it a Nitro Gun. I would be very surprised if it was. On the other hand the 450400 BPE is a wonderful Cart.

Personally I think this gun would be steal at $2500, a real bargain at 3k a bargain @ $3500 and $4000 is not unreasonable. If it is as mechanically sound as it looks you can shoot and hunt with it for the rest of you life.

If the black lines are just magic marker and the wood checks out, bores are nice (have it checked out by a pro), 4K would be a five finger discount, and possibly twice that could be market, depending. Nice hammer BPE aren't cheap anymore.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

I would definitely agree with 400 Nitro Express ....... I haven't seen any $4000. ones lately.

Googled this up for comparison sake...

http://www.soldusa.com/detail.asp?id=1672

My friend caught up with the owner and got his phone #. He is about 80 miles south of me so when I slow down at work I will take a trip and gather more info and pictures. I also recommended sending it to JJ or whom ever you experts recommend for a pre buy/chamber casting etc. I would love to own this rifle if it checked out but I am planning a trip to RSA to hunt with Katte Nov 08 so I am not in the market. Thank you all for your interest and comments!

The value of these black powder hammer guns has increased greatly as of late, I don't know if it will hold, but with a recession coming and the economy like it is I wouldn't want to get too much into a double right now..I would wait a little and see what happens, they could get really cheap again..I am ready if they do, thats when I will go to buying them.

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Numbe...4237394f1#Post101733

I finally got some pictures of the proof marks on the Egg. Posted them on Nitro Express first, AR has been slow to load on my computer lately.

What a wonderful gun! You will have fun with it!!!!!