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Joined: Mar 2006
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Campfire Ranger
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OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
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An acquaintance has been asking me if I could ID a family heirloom rifle for him. It has no markings anywhere that I can find, even after disassembly. It has an octagonal barrel with a small full length underlug and a peculiar lock up via an under lever/trigger guard that is held in the closed position with a thumb screw threaded into the bottom action tang. It's also a rimfire and appears to be a .32 caliber. It does not appear to have ever been blued and wears very small brass front and rear sights dovetailed into the barrel. The butt stock is made of 2 pieces of what appear to be walnut sandwiched together, I presume to make inletting easier. It's a pretty neat little unit that someone put a good deal of pretty fair work into, with the exception of the brass buttplate which seems to have been borrowed from another gun and made to fit this little rimfire. Please excuse the quality of the pics. I didn't have time to use my digital camera and upload the pics, so I ended up using my smartphone. [img] http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss238/bruinruin/2012-12-23_10-52-44_641.jpg[/img] The barrel measures 20 1/2". [img] http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss238/bruinruin/2012-12-23_10-52-44_641.jpg[/img] Overall length is right about 33 1/2". [img] http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss238/bruinruin/2012-12-23_10-55-05_956.jpg[/img] It's obviously a rim fire. [img] http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss238/bruinruin/2012-12-23_10-56-15_331.jpg[/img] Well, there you have it. Looks like a hand made firearm to me and probably not worth what a box of ammo for it would set you back, but I get a kick out of the uniqueness of it. It's a very slim and trim little gun and would have been perfect for a young boy to carry while prowling around the farm and fields for pests and pot meat. Anybody have any ideas on whether this is actually a one off? Maybe it resembles the style/type made by an actual gun maker versus a clever guy with a good shop at his disposal? What say the 'fire?
4 out of 5 Great Lakes prefer Michigan.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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I have to say, never have seen anything like it.
How is the bore condition?
"...the designer of the .270 Ingwe cartridge!..."
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Bore is pretty good. I tried to get a good picture to show the rifling, which is left hand twisted.
4 out of 5 Great Lakes prefer Michigan.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 13,065 |
Looks to me like something cobbled together out of parts of various guns. That lever/triggerguard looks homemade.
Mike
Always talk to the old guys , they know stuff.
Jerry Miculek
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Joined: Nov 2004
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,237 |
Similar to some of the Stevens and Stevens-Maynard Models pictured in "Single Shot Rifles and Actions" by Frank de Haas.
His books are the go tosource for this kind of research.
A lot of this type gun were made in small numbers, I have a Stevens Model 91 and have never seen another one. The sort of home made look is typical of their tip off models from the photos I have seen of them.
Stevens Early years are far from well documented or researched.
Last edited by siskiyous6; 12/23/12.
Ignorance is not confined to uneducated people.
WHO IS JOHN GALT? LIBERTY!
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I'd say there are enough screws in the butt plate
It is damm sure different, would be a nice heirloom
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Don't know what it is but can bet what it isn't....
"Made in China"
BAN THE RAINBOW FLAG! PERVERTS OFFEND ME!
"When is penguin season, daddy? I wanna go kill a penguin!" ---- 4 yr old Archerhuntress
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 59,219 Likes: 36 |
That there gun is very cool. Ya might wanna check with cross as it looks like that might be some of his early work....It certaintly is of the correct vintage for it anyways.
Paul
"I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon".... D.A.D.
Trump Won!, Sandmann Won!, Rittenhouse Won!, Suck it Liberal Fuuktards.
molɔ̀ːn labé skýla
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Cross made that in kindergarten shop class... Moses exclaimed it was a miracle! ... Cross prophesied... Oh, you'll see bigger ones Lord willing.
Kent
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Cross made that in kindergarten shop class... Moses exclaimed it was a miracle! ... Cross prophesied... Oh, you'll see bigger ones Lord willing.
Kent Maybe, but I'm betting Greg would have done a slicker, nicer job, even in kindergarten. That looks more like something I'd cobble together.
You can roll a turd in peanuts, dip it in chocolate, and it still ain't no damn Baby Ruth.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Not overly refined and almost looks like something that was cobbled together. A neat find though, and some effort should go toward its preservation. Good luck,
1Minute
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Never seen one like it, but I think the original owner worked at a Wood screw factory...
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Never seen one like it, but I think the original owner worked at a Wood screw factory... Thanks for looking, gang. I didn't really think anyone would be able to offer anything definitive on it. I posted it mostly because I told my friend I would (always try my best to keep my word) and partly just to share an unusual little piece of shade tree gunsmithing.
4 out of 5 Great Lakes prefer Michigan.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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made by slow Joe over in the hollor down by the grist mill in somewhere Tennessee
norm
There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle----Robert Alden . If it wern't entertaining, I wouldn't keep coming back.------the BigSky
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
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I would check under the buttplate, since they sure didn't want it to accidentally fall off.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I would check under the buttplate, since they sure didn't want it to accidentally fall off. If there WAS anything under the buttplate, it's swiss-cheesed into eternity now.
You can roll a turd in peanuts, dip it in chocolate, and it still ain't no damn Baby Ruth.
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Isn't left hand rifling a European technique,like British or France,,I think so?
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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4 out of 5 Great Lakes prefer Michigan.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Needs an AI chamber and McMillan. Very cool otherwise.
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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When John M Browning had a dispute with Oliver Winchester,Browning went to Belgium FN to have his designs manufactured,hence Belgium Browning's had LEFT HAND RIFLING,left hand buttons was all they had for rifling.OH yes Browning died in Belgium of a Heart Attack. Say was bump the most intelligent comeback you had in mind,but then you are a gunman??
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