Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > archeologists find 132-year-old Winchester rifle on tree
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Badger
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 9:57 am 
Interesting find. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/132-year-old-rifle-found-tree-nevada-national-park-article-1.2079147 Officials at the Great Basin National Park in Baker are now trying to solve the mystery of how long the gun, which was made in 1882, has been in the remote section of the park. The weapon appears to be severely corroded from the weather over the years and blended in very well against the dark tree it was placed against....follow link for entire article

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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 1:19 pm 
of course the real controversy here... Should this be in the gun thread?.... naughty.gif

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tigermn
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 2:32 pm 
Did they find any empty moonshine bottles around? Maybe Billy Bob and Bobby Joe were out getting liquored up and he just forgot it, then forgot he forgot it until it was so long since he forgot it, that he forgot it.

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Ranger Smith
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 3:33 pm 
I really think it ended up there fairly recently as the tree did not grow into the "Thing". It also would have sank into the soil partly if it was there for very long. Staged.

I'm a man, I can change, if I have to, I guess.
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Malachai Constant
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 3:43 pm 
There were lots of 1876 rifles in the west it could have been left there from 5 to 100 years ago. People tend to take care of guns and $25 was a lot of money in 1882 probably equivalent to a grand in today's money, at least a $20 gold piece has an ounce of gold in it. Probably caried from someone's attic and put there.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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HitTheTrail
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 6:53 pm 
They never say what caliber it is. My grandfather left us some old guns including a couple similar to this. One of them is a .45-70. Last summer my wife and I were in that large western museum in Cody Wyoming where they basically have every gun ever produced in the 1800's, but no .45-70. When I ask about that they said it must have been an uncommon bore. Anyone know much about them?

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Malachai Constant
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 7:29 pm 
45-70 was the common military load later in the 1800s. The 1876 was a bit weak for it and was eventually superceeded by the 1886 which was usually chambered for the 45-70. You can tell the difference because the 86 has a locking bolt rather than the toggle bolt of the 76. 45-70 was one of the most popular black powder cartridges. Model 76 were often chambered for the 44-40 which was common in th Colt SAA "Peacemaker" so you could use the same cartridge in your pistol and rifle. Later it was replaced by the model 92 which is still made as the familiar "cowboy rifle" in westerns even though it came out after the closing of the west. Hope this is not becoming "gun talk". doh.gif

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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HitTheTrail
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 7:48 pm 
Thanks for the info. The last thing I want to do is start a political thread and spoil one of my favorite activities of hiking so I will shut up after one more interesting tidbit. When my brothers and I were teenagers we would use that old .45-70 to fire .410 shotgun shells. They fit the chamber ok but were definitely not black powder, so it is a wonder we are still alive!

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GrnXnham
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 9:07 pm 
Maybe it was meant as a memorial--kind of like putting flowers on a grave. Maybe it was Dad's old gun and something significant happened in that place in the park years before. So they took Dad's old gun and leaned against the tree for Dad or in honor of Dad or something like that?

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wolffie
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 9:52 pm 
"...I'll just leave it here by this tree, where it'll be easy to find..." One doesn't simply lose or forget an important weapon, so perhaps the owner met with some sudden misfortune. Shall we have a contest? What do you think happened? Caught with his pants down by an indignant rattlesnake?

Some people have better things to do with their lives than walking the dog. Some don't.
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jinx'sboy
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 10:02 pm 
On another source I read, it was reported as a .44-40.... I doubt it was staged. I had a angry hunter - who'd climb a ridge in the dark, got sweaty, built a fire and had a snack and fell asleep, then woke up - walk off without his rifle. He wondered why 'you rangers' didn't have his gun. He was too lazy to climb the ridge a second time!

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Backpacker Joe
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PostFri Jan 16, 2015 11:02 pm 
That's an 1873 rifle. They were only chambered in "Pistol" calibers. 44WCF was very popular at the time. Later that became the 44.40. 44 caliber 40 grains of black powder. The gun was chambered in many smaller calibers as well. It was not chambered in any rifle calibers. The first big bore lever was the 1876 rifle. It was not chambered in 45-70.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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RichP
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PostSat Jan 17, 2015 6:27 am 
Seems like a take on that old Twilight Zone episode "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hundred_Yards_Over_the_Rim

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Backpacker Joe
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PostSat Jan 17, 2015 7:46 am 
Ya that was a good one.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Frosty
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PostSat Jan 17, 2015 7:47 am 
Yes, I'm sure forgetfulness has only afflicted us humans in the the last twenty years... wink.gif

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