Jessica Bennet/Records Specialist lettered a Winchester for me about 10 years ago. Had some email chatter thereafter. The record specialists at Cody have been very knowledgeable and helpful. They seemed like historians interested in what they do. They just need training. Probably a series of training sessions. No one could explain or comprehend Savage Arms or the ledgers in one sitting.
David, I hope you are meeting with Records Specialist when you do get to Cody.
They seem like good students of the game.
Who knows? Maybe in 5-10 years they'll be up to snuff.
Good luck!
Did I miss something where they are obviously not up to snuff? Just curious. They are quite clear that they are only going to report what's recorded in the ledger, they will not fill in blanks or try to interpret anything not recorded.
I can reverse engineer what this line looks like.
Line 1: "Type: Rifle"
It's in the Savage 1895/1899/99 ledgers, thus it's a rifle
Line 2: "Barrel Type: Round"
There's an R on the line
Line 3: "Barrel length: 24 inches"
There's a 24" on the line
Line 4: “Pistol grip stock”
There’s a “P/G” or “Pistol Grip” on the line.
Line 5: "Fancy American Walnut"
There's a "Fan. Amer. Wal." or something very close written on the line
Line 6:"Engraved B"
There's a "Eng. B" or something very close written on the line
Line 7: "Checkered B"
There's a "Ckd. B" or something very close written on the line
Line 8-10: Date accepted/shipped/sold to is pretty clear.
Based on this one, I'd say they are as up to snuff as Savage Arms ever got. Truthfully, probably better than Savage Arms ever got.
