1942 A Marciante rifle

[Discus420]

1945 Al Marciante 219 Donaldson

I am new here so please excuse my ignorance. I have a rifle and need to get a grip on the value. I am a K98 ww2 rifle collector so this is way out of my experience. I do know it is a beautiful gun. I know some folks don't like talking about dollar value and you always get the "well it's worth what someone else will pay for it" I have seen nice older win 70 rifles go for 700-800$ and the scope is 500$ but that dose not take into consideration who built it !!
I am from N.Y where Al Marciante is a legend but you sure dont see many of his guns for sale these days.... Anyway what do you think this would sell for ballpark???

as seen in the pics its a 219 donaldson
And Thanks for your time and knowledge !!!

 

[Discus420]

 

[GerryM]

1942 Merchante rifle

Pre 64 winchester rifle $700 to $1200
Scope Unertl $600 to 1200 depending on condition and power.
Mr Merchante,s work Priceless

 

[John S]

So we are to assume the rifle has a custom chambered barrel?

What cartridge is it cambered for?

Single shot or not?

Standard Winchester trigger?

Shooters and collectors can be two different breed of cats.

Nice looking rifle in the pictures.

Best wishes

Price $500 to lots of money.

 

[tim]

It is a fine rifle chambered by one of the all time greats. It appears to be little used.
Looking at the bolt and muzzle, you need to carefully remove surface oxidation and have the bore checked for same.
Without bore damage it is likely $800-$1200 without scope, but centerfire 22's of vintage calibers can be slow sells.
You have a Unertl 1 1/2" target scope, if over 10 power is worth $700-$750 minimum and on a good day $1000-$1200. It appears better than average but check to see if it is clear without reticle damage.
Nice rifle.

 

[Discus420]

It is a fine rifle chambered by one of the all time greats. It appears to be little used.
Looking at the bolt and muzzle, you need to carefully remove surface oxidation and have the bore checked for same.
Without bore damage it is likely $800-$1200 without scope, but centerfire 22's of vintage calibers can be slow sells.
You have a Unertl 1 1/2" target scope, if over 10 power is worth $700-$750 minimum and on a good day $1000-$1200. It appears better than average but check to see if it is clear without reticle damage.
Nice rifle.

Thanks Tim great info

 

[GerryM]

1942 Merchante rifle

john s
the barrel is marked 219 donelson all time great br case The barrel is chrome molly and likely gregory or pheiffer of that era'
they were the most popular brands

 

[dickw]

It is a fine rifle chambered by one of the all time greats. It appears to be little used.
Looking at the bolt and muzzle, you need to carefully remove surface oxidation and have the bore checked for same.
Without bore damage it is likely $800-$1200 without scope, but centerfire 22's of vintage calibers can be slow sells.
You have a Unertl 1 1/2" target scope, if over 10 power is worth $700-$750 minimum and on a good day $1000-$1200. It appears better than average but check to see if it is clear without reticle damage.
Nice rifle.

Tim knows what he is talking about. Nice gun but hard selll... not many old guys left who know what these are. I've had several over the years and, if you get $1000.00 (gun only) you will be lucky. The Unertl should sell quickly on eBay.

 

[jackie schmidt]

Tim knows what he is talking about. Nice gun but hard selll... not many old guys left who know what these are. I've had several over the years and, if you get $1000.00 (gun only) you will be lucky. The Unertl should sell quickly on eBay.

I agree. Benchrest Rifles have always been a singular purpose piece of equipment. In a way, they are like old race cars. While they might have been competitive in years past, they no longer are, hence there is very small market for finding a buyer who would appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the creation.

 

[glp]

Not to mention

the fact that you have to form cases from 25-35 and it makes it a very esoteric rifle, but beautiful nonetheless. Very do-able for someone with the interest.

 

[tim]

I agree. Benchrest Rifles have always been a singular purpose piece of equipment. In a way, they are like old race cars. While they might have been competitive in years past, they no longer are, hence there is very small market for finding a buyer who would appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the creation.

Not a BR gun Jackie, a woodchuck gun chambered in a vintage BR caliber, he was known to do several that way.
That said....same principles apply.
Unfortunately more old guys with these great guys that are dying and less old guys left that know what really great guns they represent.

 

[tim]

the fact that you have to form cases from 25-35 and it makes it a very esoteric rifle, but beautiful nonetheless. Very do-able for someone with the interest.

You can but most of that brass sucks.
You'll have better luck starting with 30-30 brass, and if you're really lucky some of the Winchester 219 Zipper brass... I still have a few sealed boxes of that stuff.
With this, you should do a chamber cast, I believe over the years there were a few variations of the Wasp, mostly neck lenghts.

 

[glp]

Good info..

You can but most of that brass sucks.
You'll have better luck starting with 30-30 brass, and if you're really lucky some of the Winchester 219 Zipper brass... I still have a few sealed boxes of that stuff.
With this, you should do a chamber cast, I believe over the years there were a few variations of the Wasp, mostly neck lenghts.

thanks

 

[GerryM]

1942 Merchante rifle

Pheiffer barrel,s California in the 50's
Very popular in Benchrest even Douglas in those times.

That rifle could have been used in Benchrest also. Most had barrels that were pretty long 26 to 28 inches were common and the stocks of the day were very much varmint style stocks.

That,s a very pretty rifle and a real collector piece I've seen some very similar in that style but not in that good condition. 219 was a Benchrest cartridge and very popular in the late forty and early 50,s until the 222 came on the scene.

via the Remington 722. By the way Merchante was a very very close friend of Warren Page. He mentions him in his book the accurate rifle.