Oldest gun owned?

[OD*]

This Winchester Model 1886 .45-90 was manufactured in 1887.

Oh lordy, that is sweet!

Has the barrel been shorten? Doesn't look like a 26" in the pic.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[bmcgilvray]

I was given this rifle by a friend of mine Cres Lawson who acquired it in 1937. He ran an ice plant and was sitting in the office one summer day when a carpenter came walking up toting this rifle. He'd done a job for a widow lady who lived on South Anglin Street here in Cleburne. While in the attic he'd found this rifle stuffed in among the ceiling joists. The lady asked that he take the rifle in lieu of cash for the work.

The carpenter heard that Cres was a gun nut so came by to offer the rifle to him as he needed money more than he needed the gun. The rlfle was in great shape except for having a split for end. Cres gave him $13.00 for the Winchester. He thought it'd be fun to have a big bore deer rifle. As he was of small stature he had the Knight Bro's gun shop in Fort Worth lop 4 inches off the barrel. He sent to Winchester for a new for end. They replied that the only ones they had left in stock were high grade pieces so that's what he installed to replace the broken for end.

He never got around to shooting deer with the gun and years later offered it to me most apologetically, saying that..." if he'd known what the things were going to be worth he'd left that barrel alone. In the '30's they were just old guns not worth hardly anything at all."

I promptly acquired some Bertram .45-90 cases and handloaded a black powder load that duplicated the original 300 grain loading and took it to the deer woods, thumping a fat fork horn at 15 yards in a heavy mist. The cloud of smoke was huge and hung in the damp air. I was ducking down trying to peer under it to see the results of the shot. The buck was facing me and the lead bullet went from stem to stern, exiting through the left hindquarter which was not blood shot at all. You could "eat right up to the hole".

Like shooting .38 Specials in a .357 Magnum revolver, the rifle may be used with with .45-70 ammunition with perfect satisfaction.

That house is still standing on South Anglin Street and I wonder what other treasures it may hold in its attic whenever I pass it.

[OD*]

Very neat story, thank you!

Have you ever thought of having the rifle lettered?

[P95Carry]

This Winchester Model 1886 .45-90

Now (Adam Savage quote) ... "That's what I'm talkin about" !!! What a classic - wonderful piece and thx for adding that to the thread.

[edr9x23super]

Is a Mitchells' Mauser I got for christmas 3 years ago. My dad, a Left winger bought it for me in exchange for me not making him an NRA member again for the 5th straight year. Instead, I now get him to order stuff from the Dillon or Midway catalogs, and they donate to the NRA with every order...........

I'll get em coming or going.

[bmcgilvray]

I've wanted to obtain letters on several old Winchester rifles around here but apparently one has to pay for a Cody museum membership which is pricey. It's one of those "round tuit" things

I'm a sucker for the old ones. I admire the designs that predate World War II. Most of what I have and use was made or at least designed prior to 1940.

Chris's Webley Mk VI is a nice looking example of a really cool design. Webley revolvers are great!

Here's a crummy photo of a raggy old Webley Mk IV made about the time of the Boer War and marked London C.S.L. The London Cooperative Society sold many British officers their kit back in the day.

The rat was a victim of a lucky running snap shot I made with the Webley .455 while mowing tall grass at our old lake cabin. He waited until I was nearly finished then made a break for it across the mown ground. I drew, led, and fired, trimming a half-moon shaped groove out of the left side of his head, removing the ear and eye.

The old Webley fits a 4-inch S&W N-Frame holster like it was made for it.

[OD*]

Factory letters are also availabe to non-Cody Firearms Museum members for $55.

http://www.bbhc.org/firearms/records.cfm

[bmcgilvray]

Thanks OD! That's great! Didn't know that.

I liked the write-up and photos on the M1871-88 Beaumont-Vitali. Amazing workmanship is exhibited there.

There's a lot of world history tied up in firearms mentioned in this thread. If they only could talk. There's a good possibility that the Smith&Wesson .32 rimfire revolver actually heard the crash of massed infantry fire and the thunder of artillery of one or more battles of the Civil War. This could still be true if it was a civilian piece secured beneath a mattress or in a desk drawer in a house near a battlefield.

[bmcgilvray]

A few more oldies from the trash and treasures. My wife and I are in the middle of a protracted move and I took some basic shots to record individual guns. The photos aren't that hot.

Model 1884 Springfield made in 1889



Winchester Model 1895 .405 WCF made in 1904


Winchester Model 1892 .32-20 SRC made in 1896 with its favorite bud, a Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector .32-20 made in the 1930's.

[bmcgilvray]

A scan of a photo from pre-digital days of a tiny Colt New Pocket .32 Colt made in 1905.

The little New Pocket show with the giant Colt New Service, this one is a Model 1909 in .45 Colt.

[bmcgilvray]

This Colt Single Action Army .38-40 may have shared warehouse space with the New Pocket.

[OD*]

You have some very nice classics there, bmcgilvray.

[Huzar]

1927 Mauser that was made in Poland under license. Thing that's really nice about it is that all the serial numbers on all the components match!

[BAC]

Man, mine feels young compared to these.

Turkish Mauser in 8mm Mauser, 1942.




I'd die for some of those old lever-actions. Can't explain why, but they're the only weapons I like shooting more than bolt-actions. They just feel right. The moment I get three more modern weapons (handgun, battle rifle, and precision rifle), it's all oldies for me.


-B

[ExSoldier]

I think my oldest gun is a tie between my Garand (DCM special) and my Remington Rand 1911 which is 1943 for sure. Not certain about the Garand. I think it's about the same.