Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors O/T Maybe

I was sitting on the front porch smoking a while back when my wife came outside and informed me I was the new owner of a .256 Newton !!! She had WON the bid !! When she gets started on the bidding, its hard to stop her. Something about "winning" Ha Ha Ha

So, I am quite proud to own this fine little rifle. It is an early Newton, serial #18X, in all original condition, 85% on the blue, and the stock still retains 100% of its original finish. The bolt peep is original Newton, and I have found out reading on these rifles, the barrel is rifled by POPE !!! How exciting to discover. Also read in one article that "most of the Newton Arms employees came down the Grand canal from Savage Arms." So maybe this makes my topic Savage related :):):):)

Due to the damn heat here in Texas I am not able to really get into shooting it yet. Have formed and loaded a few and she shoots exceptionally well. Can't wait for cooler weather to really enjoy this little beauty. Oh, one more thing that surprised me ....... the stock is cast-off for a right handed shooter. I don't know if it was ordered this way or if it was standard. I'm sure that some of you already own a Newton, and probably know much more about it than I. I would appreciate any more info that you could share.

Have wanted one of these since I was in my early 20's. So at 76, thanks to this computer age, I finally got to have one !!

(I am having a time with the photos, my files are too big, so I will send one, and the rest in a bit)

another

the cartridges are .256 Newton and 250-3000 both of which I love

Very cool! The Newton rounds look a lot like the 6.5x55 Swede. I like the 25-3000 too. I have a Savage 99 250-3000 and a Savage Axis with a 250 Savage barrel. I like 'em both.

Very nice!
The original stock on mine was cast off also.
Wonder if that was an early # thing??
Got all stupid and let it go......
Wished I could have found that peep sight!!

Enjoy!

Christmas in July! Here is a link I found while trying to get educated on the subject... http://www.newtonrifles.com/newton-models.html

OGS

I din't know much about the Newton rifles but i know what I like. That is a beauty. Reminds me of the Savage Model 20 from your pictures.

Yep, they're classy rifles. Congrats! Love that peep sight.

WOW!!!

I'm green with envy

Now you're cookin', John! That's one itch I never scratched too. I too am envious.

Are you sure those barrels were made by Harry Pope? By the teen's he had sworn off any factory/production work, after his fiasco with Stevens, and was way behind on orders for custom barrels which never got caught up for the next 30 years. The closest he came to factory work ever again was when he contracted with Springfield Armory to make a batch of heavy target barrels for U.S. team use. Pope barrels were always so marked and will sport his manufacturing date code on the underside.

Both Lawrence Wales and Bruce Jennings have books on Newton rifles. I have signed copies of both.
Newton was a rifle/bullistic visionary. Timing and history (WWI) were not kind to his rifle company which did not succeed.
Not many Newton rifles exist at all. Most already reside with Newton collectors and many have been buggered.

Very cool. Its nice to fill a personal ambition that's been kept at bay for so long. And that thing is just loaded with history!

My understanding is that Harry Pope designed the rifling, "Newton-Pope Segmental Rifling" used in the First Model 1916 rifles.
Could be wrong but.....
that is the rifling style my rifle had. It looked a little strange but sure worked well.

Mine is #146 but in the .256 Newton, ....still great shooter and every bit as good as a "modern" rifle!

Thanks to all for showing interest in my new rifle and the information ya'll have shared. When I get onto something like this, I am bad about grinding it down. One of the most interesting things I have found so far is how many men came from Savage to work for Newton in that short 16 month period. Especially the stock maker. Makes me wonder if that's not why the 1920 Savage resembles the Newton Model 1916 ? There is an article in American Rifleman vol 61 No. 22 Feb 22, 1917 in which Newton is discussing the "Newton-Pope Rifling and the Oval Bore". Good bit of info in there. Can't tell you how much I have read in the last few weeks !!! My eyes are getting weak. First chance I get, I will pull the rifle down and see how its stamped on the bottom. Here is a bit more I found:

Most of Newton Arms employees
came down the Grand canal
from Savage Arms. Some were
from Ithaca Gun Co, Remington,
and Lefever. Many were local but
most were not. Perhaps the
most famous was engraver J J
Lankes, whose association with
artist Robert Frost, made him
more famous than Charles Newton, Harry Pope, Emil Flues
and Fred Adolph put together. JJ
Lankes worked as a draftsman and even drew up the patent drawings for Newton and possibly Flues. Emil Flues was Newtons "model maker/final inspector/ assembler. Flues brought great fame to Ithaca Gun Co. Within 5 years of Ithaca's "Flues model" production, the little gun company had captured so much of the American double marketshare that Parker Gun Co was facing economic ruin and was forced to introduce the far less expensive "Trojan" model. As was Hunter Arms, who responded with the Fulton boxlock, and A H Fox with the sterlingworth. Within a few years of the Ithaca Flues model, Remington completely dropped out of the double market and concentrated on the autoloading shotgun. Perhaps Newton thought Flues could bring some of that magic to his company.

Jesse Ashby of Buffalo was the tool room foreman.

Chet Bickers of Buffalo was the proof test foreman. I've been told that Bickers broke his shoulder twice test firing the big bore Newton Rifles.

Harry Pope, famous barrel maker played a role with the barrel making/rifling machine.

Ben Langdon (Savage) was a manager.

Harry Moran was the stock finisher.

Benjamin F. Langdon, superintendent of the Savage
cartridge department in Utica is recruited to work for Newton
Arms in 1916 where it is
assumed that he ran the cartridge
department there as Mr. Langdon was instrumental in the
development of manufacture of the 250.3000 cartridge production.

Lynn Hakes (Savage)
Percy Cummings (Savage)
Frank Lankes (Buffalo)
were checkerers.

John Spittler (Savage) was
foreman of the stock making
department. Spittler was also the principal engraver until his return to Savage. At that time Lynn Hakes took over as engraver. Mr. Spittler joined with Newton Arms in February 1916.

Bill Langley ran the tool crib.

Most everyone on the Machine floor was from Savage arms with the exception of the machineshop foreman Kegler who was a local worker.

Another known employee was
Anthony W. Moore of Buffalo
What department he worked
for is still unknown.

from an article about Newton Arms Co.

Good summary of the cross-over of talent during those halcyon days of gun manufacturing, Thanks for sharing about your new treasure!!.

Newton's are cool, and their cartridge designs must have really appealed to the early throttle-heads, and they were obviously builtt for Loooong distance shooters,

Now that's a long slide Lyman 48. You'd be surprised at how many guys try to pass off standard length 48s as long slide sights.

congrats to your wife, you have two keepers

John,

That gun is beautiful. Well deserved Sir.

Again, I live a few miles from Larry Wales in the event.you don’t find your info elsewhere. I recently gave him some of those long .226 bullets for his 22 Newton.

Is the rifling left hand twist? Pope made most, if not all, of his barrels with left hand twist rifling, It was his thought that with the larger calibers the torque the bullet made in left had twist would push the the stock against a right hand shooters cheek making for a slightly better hold on target. He evidently did not worry about left handed shooters...

I very recently acquired a 22 with a pope barrel. it has left hand twist. I also read that he used progressive twist, but I cannot tell if that's the case in my example.