What's a completely Turnbull restored Winchester Delux Mod. 1876 short rifle in .50-95 Express worth? A bloke wants to make a partial trade on a Holland double rifle that I'm selling.

It has the following:

22 1/4" round barrel (uncut)
Good Bore
Full Magazine
Winchester express sights
English proofs
Extra fancy reconditioned original stock with fancy checkering
Not engraved
All parts matching & nothing missing
Restored as per Winchester records

Thanks for the help!

The '76's all fetch high price tags. If it came through DT then probably in the 7-10k range is what the other fellow paid. Value is very subjective. I assume you have a Winchester factory ( Cody Yellow sheet ) to verify that it was origionally restored by Winchester. For years theese guns were scoffed at by serious collectors. In recent years as so many parts guns have hit the market due to the big price tags they bring the few that actually have Winchester DOCUMENTATION that they were refinshed by the factory have begun to pull premium prices. If its just restored by Turnbull to the origional configuration then value is subject to interpretation at best. There are a few negatives for the American market on this one. It was a export that was re-imported. That looses a lot of intrinsic value to many plus the condition of the bore doesn't sound very promiseing. IMHO the value of '76's has already peaked so there is very little investment value in them. Depending on the price your getting for your double I'd venture 5-6k on trade. Make certain you have the Cody yellow sheet to verify that it was restored to the origional condition. If the SN does not match the current configuration or does not mention the extras such as express sights and upgraded wood the value is less. The letter must state it was origionally a Deluxe model and the barrel length. Otherwise I'd pass at any price.

Thanks,

I've only taken a quick glance at the un touched Indian gun, I'll be sure to take a good look at it again when the time presents it self. I'm sure that it did have the checked pistol grip stock and crescent butt plate, along with the proper front and rear express sights. I think that he wants 3k to 3.5k trade value for this one.

I may even get a yellow letter before I make up my mind to accept it as trade or not as you suggested.

The letters are fast and easy to get. I would say that as long as your under $3,500 for the trade your in the safe zone for a '76 as the prices have risen to that level even for parts guns. My belief is that you are ALWAYS better off with a letter. I no longer add anything to my collection with out one. You will need the SN# for the letter. There were some express rifles with a full mag and crescent butt but they would be standard variants and not nearly as desireable as those with button mags and shotgun buttplates. I would not even touch it if the barrel is under 22" with out a factory letter indicateing barrel length. A cut barrel will really kill the value especially on a export.You also mentioned express sights. Those are often not mentioned in factory letters but should be on a special order gun. There are several different express sights. 3 leaf, 5 leaf, 7 leaf and platnum lined. The 3 leaf platnum lined is most "common". Make sure the third leaf is not broken. The seven leaf sight is in itself very valuable. Even though many of theese went to london and some even have Bond street addresses most went on to India or Africa. Best of Luck.

Rich, Here are a few more intersting stats on the '76.
of the roughly 63,000 made;
1 of each;
800 rifles had a shorter than standard barrel
400 guns had special wood
420 had a pistol grip
540 had a special butt plate
630 had checkering

7 of each 8 guns was a standard rifle
2 of each 3 rifles had a octagon barrel

the '76 was once the official weapon of the RCMP and was in use there from 1876. Initially this was to stop the liquer trade by Crazy Horse and years later they were put to use in the Yukon Gold Rush by the Mounties. Many saw service in England, India and Africa. Some even were exported to and marked by Holland and Holland.
This info is from "The Winchester Book" by George Maddis. It's around $60 and is a MUST have for any one even remotely interested in collecting Winchesters.