Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors I hope we never see THIS one for sale.

I think I have its mate. It came to me as a action with barrel attached and a box of parts. It was found in a barn on a ranch in eastern MT. that some relatives bought.

I think it had the metal all together when found but one of the kids liked to take things apart. It was a 303 with the short barrel. I put it back together thinking I would find a butstock

at a gun show. The years passed quickly. The bore was not shootable and still no butstock. I started fooling with some mausers and putting new barrels on and restocking and

such. After getting a Lathe I found a Savage barrel with the square threads but not for that lever action. I recut the threads so the site was on top and rechambered it to 30-30.

I found a ratty old but stock to use on it to test fire it. I am in the process of making a new walnut stock for it but with the ratty stock it is a mate to this one.

It does shoot very well. I shoot mostly cast and the grand kids have a ball going thru 50 or a 100 rounds. I would post a picture but have not figured that out..

ipopum, love the fact you brought it back! Good job.

But nobody will beat my 1895.

Calhoun for the win!

I still wish I could have talked the gun store in Montana into selling me this one.

It would win any rat contest.

Rory, that's definitely the top rat. I wonder if the shooter survived to shoot another day?
I haven't shot my rat but there probably isn't any reason not to. Except so many guns, so little time.

No Mine would be pristine compared to those 2

I'll bet the shooter walked away with no more than a sore shoulder and seriously ringing ears, though a view at tthe bolt would tell if anything catastrophic happened there. Would love to know what caused it.. barrel obstruction, or seriously overloaded cartridge? If that's an 1895, smokeless powder was really new and it wasn't that uncommon for idiots to reload without measuring. Even if it's just an early 1899 (based off of lever shape, it's early), there were lots of bubba's.

Dang! Any backstory on that? I don't remember seeing it here before. I think I have the bolt for it!

Story I was told is that it was dredged out of a Texas river as they were building a bridge. Just a story?

Bolt and other internals missing, barrel partially unscrewed.

It’s a consecutive serial number to a really nice 1895 owned by cmhjohn. Doesn’t add much value as a set though.

I daresay a little oil and steel wool and you'll be shooting it, Rory.

Bead blast and a new high-tech finish would fix it right up.

I like the patina. Leave it alone. There is a museum in Cody dedicated to dug up firearms.

Guns weren't for looking at way back when. They were tools, just like a hammer and were treated appropriately

I like some of my older rifles that are in good shape, but also really like seeing beat up rifles with a history. Even the bubba'd rifles, assuming bubba did his work years ago, interest me.