Capt Gus McCrae, SASS Life #4987 Posted May 31, 2017 Posted May 31, 2017 Folks, A good friend of mine and long time SASS member has passed away. His widow is trying to find some history and value on his prized rifle. My buddy went to the first SASS Convention in Las Vegas in 2002. He won the grand prize drawing. It is a heavily embellished SASS End of Trail Winchester 92, in .45 Colt, with 24-inch barrel. The receiver is supposedly gold plated, as are the barrel rings, butt cap, and barrel lettering. The receiver, barrel, and stock are heavily laser engraved. The hammer and bolt are jeweled. It has a certificate of authenticity from Investment Arms, Inc. The certificate says "Single Action Shooters Society Special Edition Shooters Grade". This company is no longer in business. But, they specialized in commissioning special edition and commemorative firearms. The rifle is an EMF and is stamped "Hartford". This was new in 2002, so it was made by Rossi. The certificate also says, "Proof of 100". I've never seen that phrase before. Does it mean that 100 were made, and it's "1 of 100"? Or, was there some kind of proofing process?. I'm guessing that a number of these rifles were made up to commemorate End of Trail, and that they had one donated as a raffle prize for the SASS Convention. There are no dates on the rifle. This rifle has been a collector's display piece, and has never been fired, and was handled very little. My friend's widow is trying to see if he had the box. I don't have the rifle in hand, but I have a ton of photos. Does this ring any bells? My friend's widow has called EMF and the SASS office, and no one could provide any info on this rifle. The 2002 SASS Convention was only 15 years ago. I can't believe that there's no info. I will be happy to post some pictures, when I can figure out how. Thanks for your attention. Capt. Gus McCrae
Cat Brules Posted May 31, 2017 Posted May 31, 2017 It doesn't surprise me that there is no data available, especially since the company that embellished it is no longer in existence. As a "commorative" piece, I have some doubts that it holds a great deal of value outside the SASS community. Even then, probably not much more, because commorative pieces do not hold much value ( in my view) beyond that of any other undecorated piece of the same "make and model". As I see it, this rifle, as a "proof," is likely the proof of concept used as an example to review a finished product, and if there was indeed a "one-of" run, however many, this rifle was not part of that "one-of-a-hundred," or however many. That's how I see it. Cat Brules
John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 Posted May 31, 2017 Posted May 31, 2017 Check the going price of similar rifles on Gunbroker. You won't find that exact one but you'll get an idea. Search what they sold for not asking price. Keep in mind it's still a Rossi 92 if it was his personal treasure might be best just to keep it in the family. I'm guessing it's worth less than $1000
Pat Riot Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 There is n't a whole lot of info out there on these. I found 2 that were made by Investment Arms. Here's a Win 94 done by the same company. http://www.armslist.com/posts/1432448/greenville-georgia-rifles-for-sale--reduced--winchester-94-investment-arms-greenville-county-sc-commemorative-rifle-45lc- Here's a Marlin done by them that was sold at an auction. http://www.icollector.com/Cased-Investment-Arms-Winchester-6-of-10-Martin-County-Florida-Commemorative-Model-94-AE-Lever-Actio_i17062149 I hate to say it but I believe that phrase "Proof of 100" is just fluff and doesn't mean a thing.
CodyMaverick Posted June 1, 2017 Posted June 1, 2017 2 hours ago, Capt Gus McCrae, SASS Life #4987 said: Does this ring any bells? My friend's widow has called EMF and the SASS office, and no one could provide any info on this rifle. The 2002 SASS Convention was only 15 years ago. I can't believe that there's no info. I will be happy to post some pictures, when I can figure out how. Thanks for your attention. Capt. Gus McCrae I recommend that you contact Nate Kiowa Jones for an opinion. You can reach him via his website: https://store.stevesgunz.com/
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