doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Model 21 Factory Rejuvenation

I wouldn’t discount a factory rejuvenation one iota if quality factory work. I have such a gun knowing it had gone back to the factory before I made the purchase. A factory rejuvenation would be worth more than a non-factory rejuvenation imho.

Factory or non factory wouldn't make a damn bit of difference to me. It's the quality, not the source as far as I'm concerned. I'm always amused at folks that would pay more for a gun with factory engraving than one with better 3rd party work. Ditto for any other feature. I guess I buy the gun, not the originality.

Factory records have value….no matter what you think.

I suppose they do in some way. But why? Certainly factory records are interesting in their own right, but I'm not sure how they add value to a gun, realistically.


If a gun is restocked by the maker, is that somehow better than if it was restocked by a quality craftsman? Not to me. I'll buy the better gun, not the factory gun. I realize not everyone feels the same way, but I just don't know why.

It is the same way with cars. Some people like to take a 57 Chevy and restore it to be original. Some people like to build up the engine with 1000 HP. Put on air shocks and all kinds of stuff. Both can be great. A Rudolph Kornbrath engraved gun or an Angelo Bee gun looks fantastic. Then again, maybe someone wants another specific engraver to do their gun because they worked at the factory. ......The eye of the beholder.

Never married a female with fake boobs, but know many are very happy with them. I would rather have original, to tarts up, and factory to non factory refinished. And this from a person who re-case colored many guns in my youth. It is funny the British think nothing of having guns re-blacked and metal refinish but we cry fowl when it is done by either the factory or “expert”. Buy the gun you like and all the rest is garbage.

The 57 Chevy isn't quite what I was getting at. I understand what you are saying, but imagine I took my 57 Apache out of the back shed and sent it off to be restored to showroom original condition. Is there something intrinsically better about it, if I sent it to Chevrolet instead of the best restoration shop in the country? Something that would increase its value? To me, all that would matter is the quality of the work, not who did it.

But one cannot go wrong with "buy what you like". I don't buy guns to make money.

I agree 100%. What I am saying is that if something makes someone happy, then that is all that should matter. Right? But now, I feel sorry for Bob Cash. He took the time to show us a sweet two barrel set Model 21 and we hijack his thread all to pieces. So, let me tell you, Bob. Your gun is awesome and I envy you all to pieces, buddy. Enjoy your gun, pardner!! And thanks for sharing..

To add to the conversation.....

I know of a Winchester Model 21 that was passed around to several well-known gunsmiths (who do wonderful work) over a period of several years to fix what was thought to be a basic repair issue. But after each of the well-known gunsmiths worked on it, there were continuing issues with the M21 that didn't get "fixed" to the owner's complete satisfaction, so the owner sent the M21 to the "factory" to have the factory work on it. Certainly the factory would resolve all issues and problems. But the factory wasn't able to do any better to straighten things out than the prior individual gunsmiths that had worked on it. Then the owner was told, "If you want the M21 fixed correctly and stop the aggravation once and for all, you need to take it to Gunter Pfrommer....he will fix it, and you will not have any more problems." I was told Gunter identified the issues with the M21 as soon as he inspected the shotgun....and Gunter did the repairs. The owner has never had another issue with that M21's performance.

Frankly, when it comes to repairs...especially complex repairs...I want Gunter Pfrommer or someone with similar training and skills working on my firearms. The factory may make them, but it doesn't mean they're the best to fix them when there is a problem...or restore them.

You mean like buying a ticket on the submersible Titan to view the Titanic?