132 year old mystery........what's leaning against that tree?

POSTON WIDEHEAD · January 15, 2015, 07:02:47 PM

This is really interesting.

http://www.wspa.com/story/27853238/132-year-old-mystery-surrounds-what-archaeologists-found-leaning-against-a-tree

red oaks lumber · January 15, 2015, 07:44:21 PM

years ago when i was younger i was squirrel hunting when i had to pee so, i leaned my gun against a tree .i some how got side tracked and must have left it behind :D

WmFritz · January 15, 2015, 08:34:17 PM

I saw Jimmy Stewert win that rifle at a Turkey Shoot.

submarinesailor · January 15, 2015, 08:40:13 PM

Quote from: red oaks lumber on January 15, 2015, 07:44:21 PM
years ago when i was younger i was squirrel hunting when i had to pee so, i leaned my gun against a tree .i some how got side tracked and must have left it behind :D

Were you using the .375 Magnum rounds or .38 Spl?????????? :D :D :D :D ;D ;D

From the Winchester Website: ROUND 20" BARREL WITH FULL-LENGTH MAGAZINE TUBE holds 10 rounds of 357 Magnum or 11 rounds of 38 Special ammunition.

Bruce

Chuck White · January 15, 2015, 09:45:30 PM

When I was stationed in South Dakota I found a Browning A-Bolt 270 leaning against a tree, up in the Black Hills.

Put notice in a couple of local gunshops and about 4-5 months later got a call and the guy identified the rifle, then came to the house and got it!

It hadn't been there all that long and a little wiping down cleaned up most of the blemishes!

Peter Drouin · January 15, 2015, 09:56:16 PM

How can one leave a gun on a tree :

??? ??? ???

Corley5 · January 15, 2015, 10:17:45 PM

Last thing I'd forget

I'd leave the deer before I left the rifle. Some Hoppe's, Blue Creeper, a good bore brushing and that old Winchester will be good as new

POSTON WIDEHEAD · January 15, 2015, 10:18:13 PM

I guess he leaned it up against that tree to take a break and was shot with an arrow. Just guessing. :

sandhills · January 15, 2015, 10:18:43 PM

Quote from: Peter Drouin on January 15, 2015, 09:56:16 PM
How can one leave a gun on a tree : ??? ??? ???

The bear won :D :D
My cousin and late uncle tore down an old garage that had been bought and moved decades earlier by my grandpa to the place, they found one tucked under the floor but in very poor condition, would be nice to know the story behind these things.

Corley5 · January 15, 2015, 10:22:18 PM

The rifle is 132 years old but how long was it really there? Maybe it's only been there 50 years ???

beenthere · January 15, 2015, 10:42:12 PM

Didn't catch in the story.. but was it loaded? cocked? None of the articles want to say..
I think they want to believe it was there for a very long time, when maybe it wasn't.

Corley5 · January 15, 2015, 10:47:13 PM

Didn't say in this article

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/15/132-year-old-winchester-rifle-found-propped-under-desert-tree/

Brucer · January 16, 2015, 12:09:25 AM

Left there by a bear to lure more prey :D. The bear's descendants probably continued the tradition :D.

Peter Drouin · January 16, 2015, 06:35:07 AM

Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on January 15, 2015, 10:18:13 PM
I guess he leaned it up against that tree to take a break and was shot with an arrow. Just guessing. :

Maybe if they go back they will find the person's bones somewhere there :D :D :D

thecfarm · January 16, 2015, 06:40:10 AM

That gun stock,made out of wood, was touching the ground,for 132 years and looked like that??

??? I might be able to understand if it was up in a tree,but on the ground.

Just Me · January 16, 2015, 07:03:13 AM

Quote from: thecfarm on January 16, 2015, 06:40:10 AM
That gun stock,made out of wood, was touching the ground,for 132 years and looked like that?? ??? I might be able to understand if it was up in a tree,but on the ground.

Its drier than a popcorn out in that area. Petrified wood kind of dry. Here, two three years and it would not be recognizable, about the same as Maine.

thecfarm · January 16, 2015, 07:07:36 AM

Ayup,now I can understand.

Chuck White · January 16, 2015, 07:24:14 AM

Quote from: Peter Drouin on January 15, 2015, 09:56:16 PM
How can one leave a gun on a tree : ??? ??? ???

A lot of things can go through a persons mind when they shoot a deer.

The guy told me that he leaned the rifle on the tree and gutted out his deer, then dragged the deer to his truck (maybe 1/4 mile) and then went back to get the rifle and couldn't find it, or the gut pile and after several hours, gave up!

WmFritz · January 16, 2015, 08:10:50 AM

Good on you Chuck for taking the time to find the owner.
Not many people would've bothered.

I saw this on Wiki that I thought interesting...

Winchester established a One of One Thousand grade in 1875. All barrels were test-fired for accuracy during the manufacturing process. Barrels producing unusually small groups were fitted to rifles with set triggers and special finish and marked One of One Thousand to be sold at a price of $100. A second grade of barrels producing above average accuracy were fitted to rifles marked One of One Hundred and sold for a price $20 higher than list. Approximately 136 One of One Thousand Model 1873 rifles were sold with only eight Model 1873s of the One of One Hundred grade.

Corley5 · January 16, 2015, 08:15:55 AM

Maybe he shot at a big buck, the old gun failed to fire and in disgust the left the old piece of junk there.

WmFritz · January 16, 2015, 08:28:17 AM

Kind of reminds me of Hatchet Jack frozen to a tree with his .50 cal Hawken in Jeremiah Johnson. If Johnson hadn't found him, the Coyotes or Wolves would've picked over Jacks bones and the rifle would still be there.

sandhills · January 16, 2015, 10:28:24 AM

Bill, my cousin found that information somehow too (this was before the www, but he collects all sorts of guns and books) that was the first thing we checked for :D. Unfortunately it didn't pan out for him, and there was no wood left on his gun whatsoever after being under the floor of the shed for ? years.

beenthere · January 16, 2015, 11:40:27 AM

Corely5
That's entirely possible, or could be any one of a gazillion scenarios, and any number of years ago.

Maybe the guy was lost and thirsty and tired, and decided he wasn't going to carry the additional weight of the gun. But also couldn't retrace his steps to find it again.

Only he and his maker knows.. but there is a now a bunch of Parks people working hard to make up a good story around somebody back in the late 1800's or early 1900's, whereas it could have been just 40-50 yrs ago give or take.

Would be very helpful to know if there was ammo in the chamber and the tube.
Maybe he was out of ammo (lost and fired all his ammo to shout out his location) and being out, no reason to lug the gun any further.

Peter Drouin · January 16, 2015, 01:04:19 PM

Quote from: Chuck White on January 16, 2015, 07:24:14 AM
Quote from: Peter Drouin on January 15, 2015, 09:56:16 PM
How can one leave a gun on a tree : ??? ??? ???

A lot of things can go through a persons mind when they shoot a deer.

The guy told me that he leaned the rifle on the tree and gutted out his deer, then dragged the deer to his truck (maybe 1/4 mile) and then went back to get the rifle and couldn't find it, or the gut pile and after several hours, gave up!

You put the gun in the deer if you have to and drag it all out.
You can clean the gun when you get home. :D ;)

AnthonyW · January 16, 2015, 02:39:57 PM

For how ever long it had been there, it had been there long enough for the barrel to have rust through. Note the holes in the last picture near the left edge of the photo. The barrels back them were of virgin steel (recycling hadn't been invented yet) and were thicker than today's barrels. So it has been in the elements (there or elsewhere) for a while.