There is an old adage that if you have one rifle you are a shooter, but if you have more than one rifle, you are a collector. It is a fairly safe bet that most readers of this magazine have more than one rifle. And for both collectors and shooters, one of the most popular rifles--if not the most popular--is Winchester.

There are three reasons for this. First, Winchester is an American icon, associated with the most romantic and dramatic episodes in our country's history, from the winning of the West to the winning of wars. Second, there is a vast variety of Winchester rifles to tempt both shooters and collectors, ranging from lever actions, bolt actions, single-shots, semiautomatics and pumps. And finally, ever since the January 16, 2006, announcement that the company would be closing its New Haven factory, the interest in Winchester rifles--new and old--has heightened.

This has resulted in more gun enthusiasts looking at Winchester rifles as collectibles, which adds to the pressure of someone just getting into--or even considering--collecting Winchesters. The question is, where do you start?

First, in spite of what you may be hearing, not all Winchesters are collectible, especially the newer models. A good example is the Model 1300 Speed Pump, one the three U.S.-made guns discontinued with the factory's closing. Nobody cares about the Model 1300.

CLICK HERE TO DATE YOUR MODEL 70 OR 94

All the clamoring has been for the other two discontinued models, the Model 94 lever action and the Model 70 bolt action (the latter was recently resurrected--see the May/June issue). Even before the discontinuance of these Winchester flagships, they were the most popularly collected firearms. They had history, romance and countless articles written about them--the backbone of any collectible Winchester. Thus their legacy was assured.

There is another facet unique to Winchester collecting. While most guns are categorized as "pre-war" or "post-war" (meaning they were made either before or after World War II), Winchester collectors also speak of "pre-64" and "post-64."

They are referring to guns made before or after 1964, when one of the worst cost-cutting decisions in firearms history resulted in a dramatic drop in quality for Winchesters made after 1964. The company subsequently realized the error of its ways and ever since the 1980s has gradually restored the image it once had, but the stigma remains as far as collectors are concerned. Post-64 Winchesters, no matter what the model, do not command the price of pre-64 guns.

Commemoratives are another Winchester category to be wary of. In most cases, too many were produced. Keep in mind that value is based upon desirability, not rarity. That explains why the Model 94, the most popular deer rifle in America, leads as a top-rated Winchester, even though 2.5 million were made prior to 1964--and an estimated 6 million carbines have been produced since then.

Model 94 prices range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, yet many pre-64 saddle ring carbines (one of the more desirable configurations) are potentially obtainable by almost anyone wanting a classic Winchester.

Likewise, the Model 70 was the rifle that the late, legendary gun writer Jack O'Connor dubbed the "Rifleman's Rifle," which subsequently added to its desirability. Introduced in 1936, this classic hunting rifle has become eminently collectible--especially in larger calibers such as the .375 H&H and .458 Winchester Magnum. But even though every Model 70 was snatched from inventory within 24 hours of that fateful January 2006 announcement, these guns have value only as shooters; it is the pre-64 versions that collectors want.

There are no safe bets when collecting Winchesters, but most interest focuses on the earliest--and, consequently, the most desirable--lever actions, which range from the Henry rifle of 1860 (Oliver Winchester's first foray into the firearms world) to the integral box magazine design of the Model 1895, which owes much of its fame to Theodore Roosevelt's proclamation of it as his "big medicine" in Africa.