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Joined: Aug 2009
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I recently aquired this neat little rifle. The rifle was built by "C.R. Hiatt. Albuquerque NM". It was built on a Mexican Mauser action, chambered in .300 Savage and wears a vintage Zeiss scope with post/cross-hair reticle. I would like to learn more about this gunsmith.

This rifle would be a great rifle for a young hunter and needs to get back into the field and be used.

I am proposing a Campfire Kids Research Biography and Essay Contest. The winning biography will be judged on accuracy and content, along with originality of the essay. The winner of the contest will win this rifle. Rifle will be transferred to the parent of the winner via FFL.

Contest: Research "C.R. Hiatt, gunsmith Albuquerque NM" and write a biography on him based on your research. Biograpy must include verifiable sources. Conclude your biography with a short essay on the hunt you would take this rife on.

Eligible contestants: Kids of current 24 Hour Campfire members as of the posting of this contest, ages 10 - 16. Parents, (current 24 Hour Campfire Members) must confirm your kids eligibility(age)and signify your permission for your kids participation via PM. Contestant verification and parent permission must be received by end of day Feb. 8, 2014.

Biography and Essay's are due by end of day April 1, 2014.

Winner will be chosen and announced on April 8, 2014. Biography/Essay's will be judged a panel of esteemed 24 Hour Campfire members who will be named soon.




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Need some participants.

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The research has been completed, and the essays are complete. I am asking for your help in determining who is the winner of this contest. Please vote for your favorite writer. I appreciate the efforts that each of these young hunters put into this contest. They are both 10 years old.

______________________________________________________________________________


Essay 1 by E.S.

Essay 2 by G.E.S.


______________________________________________________________________________

Essay 1


Claude Raymond Hiatt, Gunsmith

By E. S.


Gunsmith Claude Raymond Hiatt was born on December 24, 1904 and died July 31, 1992 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He grew up in Arizona and in the 1930s but moved to Hot Springs, New Mexico. After that he moved to Albuquerque where he had a gun and machine shop. He probably made parts for guns out of raw metal. He moved from there to Los Angeles where he worked at an aircraft company as a machinist and inspector and he also did gun work while he was there. He moved back to Albuquerque in 1945 and ran the Albuquerque Tool and Die shop. He also did gun work there too.

Mr. Hiatt was married to Mrs. Georgia Rickett Hiatt. She was born on July 10, 1914 in Missouri and died January, 1955 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. An article in the Albuquerque Journal on January 23, 1955 said that she died at age 40 in her home. She died from a .32 caliber revolver gunshot above her right ear. Mr. Hiatt was home when she shot herself. She is buried at the Fairview Memorial Park Cemetery in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Mr. Hiatt is buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Douglas, Arizona. Most of Mr. Hiatt�s life, he was a gunsmith and made custom rifles.

Custom rifle building allows a person to build their own rifle, choosing a barrel, trigger, action, sites, a stock, and caliber. Mr. Hiatt used machining equipment to customize rifles in different ways. He also could have changed the caliber of weapons and changed out gun barrels. Stocks can be made to fit a person�s shoulder and to fit the action. Triggers can be made to have a lighter trigger pull. The winner of this contest will receive a .300 Savage, customized by C.R. Hiatt. Usually Mausers are 7 or 8 millimeter, so this rifle was probably re-barreled into a .300 Savage by Mr. Hiatt. When I saw the picture, I thought it was beautiful! If I won, I would be excited to shoot it.

I would take this rifle on a hunt for elk with my Dad, Papaw, and Pappy. We would travel to Montana and set up camp out in the woods. In the morning, we would wake up before the sun comes up, make sure our gear is ready, load our rifles and hike to a nice, open field. The weather would be cool but not too cold. At the field, there would be a stream through the green grass and a large rock. We would lay down on the rock and quietly wait. Then there would be a rustling of brush and a large bull elk with a 7 x 7 rack would walk out into the field to get a cool drink of water. Then, more elk would follow him. I would silently wait to get the perfect shot. I would look through my Zeiss scope and aim at the shoulder blade of the large elk. I take a breath in and then let it out as I slowly squeeze the trigger. Boom! It would drop in one shot! Then, I would take the shell out of the rifle and make sure it is unloaded.

My Dad, Papaw, Pappy, and I would slowly walk over to the elk to make sure it was dead and then check out his rack. Everyone would be so excited that I killed my first elk! Then, I would gut the elk (with my Dad�s help of course) and we would all carry the elk out together. Later that day, we would all have an elk dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn. I love to hunt and can�t wait to go again.

Last year, I killed my first Whitetail Deer in Cool Ridge, West Virginia at the age of 10 with my Dad. The buck was a spike and I dropped it with one shot from my .223 Savage. I like to hunt because you never know what you will find in the woods and I can spend time with my Dad. I also like to cook and eat deer and bear with my family. My dream hunt might come true someday and I would love to take the .300 Savage with me. If I win the treasured rifle it will always be treated with the respect and care it deserves. Thank you.


Works Cited:

"Gunshot Wound Fatal to Woman." Albuquerque Journal 23 January 1955, English ed.: 2. Print.

Petrov, Michael (2012, January 1). Another LA Gunsmith! [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=258841.

�Claude Raymond Hiatt� Find A Grave. 21 December 2012. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi...102448120&.
�Georgia Rickett Hiatt� Find A Grave. 1 November 2013. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=119647609 .



______________________________________________________________________________

Essay 2


Looking Down The Barrel
By: G. E. S.

Webster�s 1913 Dictionary defines the word rifle as:
�Ri�fle�-
Noun- A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fire; a shoulder fired weapon with a grooved barrel, appropriate action (bolt, single, or semi-automatic).
This definition while accurate misses the point.
Thousands of rifles are produced each day. Lever action, bolt action, semi-automatic single shot in a staggering array of finishes, styles, designs, and barrel lengths. Factories like Remington, Thompson/Center, Mossberg and Henry produce carbon copies of their most popular models.
Sure, there are some subtle differences in wood and materials (on the models without a synthetic stock), but by and large they are copies. The AR platform boasts ergonomic and parts interchangeability on a colossal scale. While efficient and even economical (when done in astronomical numbers), mass produced rifles and synthetic �cookie cutter� stocks and utility finishes betray the true soul of a rifle.
A rifle with a well formed, straight grain wood stock topped with a hand rubbed finish nestling a richly blued action and barrel is a thing of beauty. The polishing and �tweaking� of the action, bolt and trigger, as well as the fitting of the barrel and the loving attention to the stock speaks not of mass production, but of individual pride and craftsmanship. Holding a true �old school cool� rifle one can�t help, but form the image in their mind�s eye of a gunsmithing shop and its maker.
Working with skillful hands on the rifle, the �smith carefully searches his work for any blemish in the bluing or finish of the wood or the checkering. As the rifle passes his inspection, a broad smile of satisfaction crosses his face. The uncounted hours of work are present in the smooth slide of the bolt in the receiver. This scene took place numerous times in the gun shop of C.R. Hiatt.
Claude R. Hiatt was born on December 24, 1904 in Kansas as indicated by the 1930 United States Federal Census. The Census gives his home as the State of Missouri. His wife�s name was Mildred Hiatt. They had one child by the name of Roy Hiatt, who was 3 years old at the time. The Census also indicates that Mr. Hiatt lived in California prior to moving to New Mexico.
Once in New Mexico, he was active in the shooting sports as evidenced by an article dated June 26, 1939 in the The Gallop Independent. The Gallop reported that �C.R. Hiatt of Albuquerque retained his individual high score/title in the State Civilian Rifle Tournament.�
Claude was a gifted and experienced machinist securing employment in L.A., California for the war effort. He worked at an aircraft company as a machinist and inspector. It is possible that he was employed by the Lockheed Aircraft Company, which was one of the nation�s largest air craft manufacturers. Upon returning to Albuquerque, New Mexico, he ran the Albuquerque Tool and Die Shop and continued to pursue his love of the shooting sports and rifles through gunsmithing.
Mr. Hiatt�s expertise was not limited to the Mauser rifle. Other examples of his work were noted on the �Shooting Sportsman� web page. There Jim Ulrich referenced on July 25, 2011 his 1905 Mannlicher Schoenauer customized to 7 x 57. This rifle has custom wood, with a �rather unique circular front bead that has a hollow center, forming a double peep.� This certainly is not a �factory feature,� but one born in the fruitful mind of a gifted gunsmith. Another example of his work was found on the DoubleGun Shop website forum. Michael Petrov posted references to a Krag-Jorgensen sporter which was sporterized by Mr. Hiatt.
Claude died on July 31, 1992 at the age of 87. Even today, twenty plus years after his death, his attention to detail and craftsmanship are truly impressive. Quality workmanship never dies.
One of my dream hunts with this rifle would be to go to on an antelope hunt with my Dad to either Wyoming or Montana. This would be a drastic change from the mountains of Western North Carolina where we hunt now. I would like to see a different part of our Nation, and see the antelope and other animals. I would really like to shoot one and see what they taste like. My Dad says that if it is like everything else, my antelope will be bigger than his. Hunting is an adrenaline rush. I have hunted squirrel, coyote, turkey and deer. No matter the game, hunting is fun!
Of course, I would have to practice a lot with the rifle and get familiar with how it feels and shoots. Since it is chambered in .300 Savage (and factory ammunition is limited at best), we would have to handload ammunition for this rifle. My dad and I could handload our ammunition, testing different loads/recipes to find that perfect load for our exciting trip.
In looking at pictures of the rifle, I think Mr. Hiatt was a true artist�instead of paint and paper he used wood and steel. I would be proud to carry this rifle now, and later when I have kids of my own, pass it on to another generation of hunters.


REFERENCES CITED

1913 Webster�s Dictionary
1930 United States Federal Census
�Another LA Gunsmith� The DoubleGunn BBS @ doublegunshop.com. Web.
ShootingSportsman.com. Web.
�The Gallop Independent, June 26, 1939, Page 3.� Newspapers.com. Web.

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I vote for Essay No. 1. Thank you.

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Essay #2 has my vote.......


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I vote for essay #1.
Thank you!

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I vote for Essay No. 1 by E. S.

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Any announcement about the winner of the rifle? Thanks...

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Whitebird,

What happened to the essay contest Sir? I have a very disappointed ten year old granddaughter today. She keeps asking me what happened. I told her that nothing else has been posted.

Thank you...Bill.

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Congratulations to Ethan. My granddaughter worked very long and hard on this herself but life goes on. I hope he gets lots of use out of it. Bill.

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Dear Whitebird,
Which members formed the panel that finally decided the votes Sir? You stated in your original contest announcement that the judges would be named but I've never seen anything posted other than the statements "I am asking for your help in determining who is the winner of this contest. Please vote for your favorite writer."

What were the final totals for each child? I'm only curious because it appears that few of the guidelines that you set have been adhered to. For example, your contest announcement stated that you would announce the winner on April 8. Its April 20 and you still haven't announced the winner.

Thank you in advance for replying publicly.

Regards,
M. Smith

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My Granddaughter came in second in this essay contest. I did not expect anything for her but out of the blue Whitebird awarded her a consolation prize...a pre-64 Model 70 Featherweight in .308! Now how good does that get? Whitebird is a generous and true gentleman. Thank you Sir!


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