Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors OT my local gunshop 75 years ago !

Great thread!

I can certainly see the similarities in fashion choices. Don, is the snappy dresser Ned Roberts? And one more if you don't mind, is the shed Elmer's gun shop do ya think? I can't imagine why Ned Roberts would shoot a picture of it unless it was. Again, thanks for posting these treasures!

Steve, The shed was Elmers workshop, in the picture Elmer is standing beside a Major Jerome Clark from Purcelville Va. In the background you can see his barrel rifling machine outdoors. i guss it didn't take much of a building to turn out a pennsylvania style muzzle loading rifle.

This post is rad as hell, its got me wondering if this store is where my 99 came from.

I'm going back to "WALNUT HILL" for a moment,lots of milling around here,no date,no names,maybe some of our older experts will recognize some !!



some of these rifles might have been there.They are all in 32-40,far right one Weber of Cincinnati,Ohio,next is by Geo.Schoyen of Denver Co. the next one is by Zisching of Syracuse N.Y. I really like savage rifles,but i surely wouldn't turn one of these beautys away !!!!!!



I think they are Sharps-Borchart actions,but i'm not sure.

That wood is incredible on those, even in B&W! Thanks for sharing all these photos Don!

Don they are borchardt’s

I sure like mine it is one that will stay with me to the end, 25 Krag Ackley long Unfortunetly it has a slow twist like the 250 originally had. I always figured on adding another.

Please keep the photo’s comming

Sharpe's Borchardt's you say?

I have a few more that my wife has scanned, were headed back to Shiff's gunshop,his shop was pretty rustic also,had a bunch of outbuildings,and local barnyard critters and a small garden. The bigger building was his,home,shop!



Heres a few pictures of him in his shop,notice the up to code electrical wiring!






this last picture has shiff outside his shop with a large punt gun ,and a giant powder horn,no telling what he was gunning for !

That rifle/shotgun may have been hanging from the ceiling in one of your first pictures. Would love to see some of actual shooting at Walnut Hill.

Those were most all of the walnut hill pictures,there are 2 more, but no pictures of shooting there.

Thanks again, Don. This stuff is priceless. (To we loonies anyway!)

:urge to organize NH savage fest intensifies:

Thanks so much for the old photos, the Lucien Cary stories, and the memories that came back. I used to go to Kansas City and visit a store in the 70's and early 80's called C.R. Specialty Co. Made some good friendships with some great personalities there. Didn't have much money then so I missed out on several Savages in those days. Keep the photos coming. Thanks again. Rusty

Is there anything of the old place left standing?

Awesome. Thanks for posting this!

There might be a few outbuildings, The rumors were Shiff had money stashed here and there on the property,the person who bought the property destroyed most of the buildings and used a backhoe to dig all over the place looking for the cash.My belief is he had most of his money tied up in guns !!!!!!!

Heres a couple more pictures from the album,not sure if Shiff owned the Patterson or not,and this Colt collection from the 1940's was owned by a friend of his here in N.H,Im withholding his name ,so his decendents wont be bombard with questions, offers

Ye gods and little fishes! A cased Colt Patterson is bad (good) enough, but that collection of Colts....

I am surely enjoying this thread. Thank you for posting!!!