132 Year Old Rifle Found Leaning Against A Tree

[tankcommander]

One can only wonder....

Rusted, 132-year-old Winchester rifle found against tree in Nevada national park.

The story of how it got there may never be known, but a rusting 132-year-old Winchester rifle -- known in U.S. lore as "the gun that won the West" -- was recently found resting against a juniper tree in a Nevada national park.

The gun, its stock split, gray and faded like driftwood, and its steel barrel rusted brown, blended in perfectly against the tree in a remote part of the Great Basin National Park until a National Parks Service employee spotted it.

An engraving on the gun marks it as a "Model 1873," and research showed the serial number on the lower tang, or portion of the grip, matched up with records held at the Center for the West at the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyo. with a manufacture and shipping date of 1882,

"Perhaps it belonged to a lone cowboy riding the high range," wrote Winchester publicist Scott Engen. "Perhaps it was set aside by a sourdough prospector in his search for a vein of rich ore. Whatever the actual story, it has the makings of a great campfire tale.

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

[Sailor]

Not really a valuable piece, especially as deteriorated as it is. As the writer noted though it's probably good for more than a few campfire stories, all that would take is a little imagination.

Thanks TC.

[101ABN]

Gotta wonder what became of the owner?

[Sailor]

Et by a bar? Torn to shreds by wolves, or sporting girls in town?