Well its snowing ,and was a bit bored so i had Cheryl take a few pictures of the center of the vault room. Some of you might recognize some of the rifles ,there not all Savages !!!

I didn't know there were other brands of rifles???

Kinda like the Ford-Chevy thing !!!!

That leaves me breathless. Saw some these pictures up stairs in the gunwriters forum. Simply amazing, there are museums with smaller collections. Would love to wander around and just look. Awesome collection.

I'm a big "form follows function" guy. I think that's what makes me a Savage 99 guy. With that said, how awesome are the green patio chairs with carpet remnants for cushion? Love it.

I like your style!
What a great room!
Nice display. Thanks for sharing,
Ed

Wow

Ya, i didn't have room for recliners !!

It looks more crowded than when I was there in 2014.

David, Theres a few more, still got a bunch upstairs and in the house. I cant belive how time flies,6 years all ready !!

I would love to come visit. Nice layout!

Such a great display with so many quality items and what do I wonder about?
What is the lever gun hanging at the top pretty much cut out of the picture?
I swear, I go to a big gun show stare at thousands of great guns, but I have to know what is in the case in a guys hand in the parking lot or walking around!!

First thoughts were how much it reminded me of the used gun floor at Kittery Trading Post up in Maine. Like bein' a kid in a candy store.

Its a 1876 Winchester carbine in 45-75, has a special order barrel 1 1/2" longer for the winchester bayonet, they made 219 of them.

🤤 Wow!!

NIce!
I have one 1876 SRC, very cool guns!!
Thanks!

Yep, 6 years. The book has been out almost 4. Sales have really slowed down.

I sure would like to spend an afternoon in there. Beautiful

Don . doesn't look like your slimming down the collection any ..

I've been over to Don's place. he's got quite a collection of some nice stuff
and that's the downstairs of his vault .. his lombard stuff is upstairs
there's a lot of knowledge in that guy's head .

Thanks again for the trade Don
Paul

for those of you who don't know what lombards are maybe Don would post up a few pictures
I think it would interest a lot of you guys

Plab

Paul, That would open up a whole new can of worms ! Bad enough i said "WINCHESTER" on the savage forum !!! You guys kill anything with those 303's? Don

no we didn't the week of moose season I had ? it was over 80 degrees the first day and in 70's most of the week it was bust, I hadn't hunted that hard since I was in my 20's
we never saw a bull .. very disappointing

you should post at least one photo of a Lombard. I'm sure their curiosity is sparked now

plab

Well here is a working picture,of one of the 2 lombard tractors i own,this is in the 1920's in northern maine. I got my machines out of the Maine woods on the allagash river in the late 70's from where they were abandoned. and here is a picture from one of he local tractor shows several years ago.



at the show. had wheels on them for summer use.

Invented in Waterville Maine my home town around the turn of the century. Alvin Lombard gave us the lag tracks we see today on bulldozer and such .
the old timers that knew these old machines are gone .now , Don knows a lot about the history of these things..

thanks Don

We have to find You a better way to dry Your gloves Don...

Very nice, as always!!

That's amazing, thank you for posting. My wife thought it was awesome too, which I take as the green light to start buying a lot more guns

What would you say is the rarest gun in the collection, or is that even possible?

Seems to me, I remember that place

WOW!!

I simply can not get over these pictures!
I'm a collector, and have always been one. A little bit of everything gun, cowboy, and hunting related!
My Father was a gun collector first, then the other cool stuff! knives, art, decoys, accessories came along naturally. Displayed tastefully in multiple rooms of the house. And packed up and hoarded in basement, garage, and attic!
My Uncle was a decoy and sporting art collector. Of course powder cans, guns, ammo boxes, calls, bamboo fishing rods, antique reels, outboard motors, and restored punts and duck boats, etc naturally came along. He had an entire house dedicated to his collection and passion. Truly like an art gallery or museum. Magnificent!
Quality guns, art, ammo boxes, decoys, posters, accessories, etc need to be curated and displayed.
Hats off to you! What a great Vault room!
I just dont see much of true collectors, truly collecting.
Thanks again,
Ed

I remember watching the progress pics as it was being built.

Finished off in first class style!!

Its hard to tell,rarity doesn't always mean more valuable, The one that is most unique is a revolver that once belonged to Al Capone. I guess the most valueable money wise is a Deluxe model 1873 Winchester in 95+ % condition. Got to keep on showing Winchester 73 on tv to keep the value up, Then there is a couple of "1 of" that are obviously rare ! There are 2 more floors in the building that are full of "Collectables" local history,logging antique construction equipment,JUNK!!!

Don, somebody in New Hampshire has a 1928 Model A Ford snow mobile. It has two rear axles with treads like the Lombards and skis instead of front wheels. It would be great to have here but a little pricey for me. I saw it on a Hemmings Motor news email they send me. It shows up if you search for 1928 Ford Model A.

David, I just saw that a few days ago, looks like fun.

David,Thats Brian Moriarity he lives about 6 miles from me! Its pretty nice i've seen it at a couple of our antique snowgroomer,snowmobile show. He builds them from scratch. new hampshire snow car is his company.

Yeah, but why do you call it "The Vault"??

I guess its because of 60 cubic yards of concrete, and a ton of rebar !

I'm thinking it would be easier to get through that door than past the guy standing at it.

Don

After looking at your vault I can see where I went very wrong.

Awesome!!!!

WOWZA!!!! I thought I was looking at a gun shop at first. Very nice Loggah. Would love to have an afternoon of just lookin around. Called my wife over to see the pics and advised never say I have to many guns. She's pretty good at it though allowing me to collect and shoot-Bless her heart.

Wow, just wow. I have vault envy. A fine collection and display.
Thank you for sharing.

Eric

I always enjoy seeing pics of the vault. What a fantastic collection! I have one question, which rifle is your favorite?

Lee

Thanks for sharing both the guns and the Lombards.

Dale

Incredible collection

Don, you set the bar very high! I understand the gov't is considering moving the gold reserves there. In my opinion the gold reserves are already there!

Don, had 3 weeks of pure hell down here with the fires came very close to loosing our mountain hideaway it gives me a lot of pleasure to look at that wonderful collection, love the tractors

Johno

Nice! It looks better every time I see it! I've never been there but I've watched the process with envy.

Is that cloth machine gun belt hooked to a gun? And what is the manifold looking gizmo on the floor? Burner for a boiler?

Thanks for the update! You set a high standard.

Morning, Don. I didn't know you had the Lombards. I have 2 Lombards also. But mine are only 77 and 95CC's. What floor do you keep the chainsaws on. Please don't say under the front porch.

Fug !!! your collection makes mine look like a closeout sale at a 5 and 10 !!! Joe the chainsaws are on the porch !

Doug, The machine gun belt is by itself. A good friend of mine Ed Clark,now deceased gave it to me. He was in the merchant marine in the D-day invasion and picked it up off Omaha beach the day after the invasion. The candalabra thing is a investment casting from ruger arms it is 12 revolver frames that were no good so it got sent to the scrapyard where i got it.

"The Vault" is......................beyond comprehension. Does my heart good to view your collection. Wish someday could do it in person. You have your own personal Savage fest daily. Thank you for sharing.

Wow, that's an impressive collection of saws! What do the two big saws in the third picture weigh? Are they used by one man? They had to be a handful.

50 to75 lbs, mercury diston 2 mansaw in o.d. green ww2, the other blue one is aTitan 2 man saw.I always said anyone on the forum is more then welcome to come visit.

It's extremely memorable to see, and Loggah knows a whole lot of stuff. It's as much fun learning from Don as seeing the vault!

Thanks, Don. I had to add the chainsaws for Gary. He always enjoys rearranging a half dozen to get his gear in the back of my truck. I have a lot of those. I had a weak moment when I wanted to go to a big Savage collectors auction. I sold my Dad's Disston DA211.

Don-

That has to be the best museum EVER. It's great that everything is out where you can enjoy it rather than stuffed in a safe.

Tom

Managed a couple of photos while there...

Wow what a collection, i have firearm envy. Love the chainsaw collection, we have some of those old chainsaws like those scattered around the farm.

Very Impressive!!!

Couple more from the vault...

Does it smell like Hoppes in there??

Hoppes and old west snake oil !! they should make a hoppes smelling deodorant !

Hoppes #9 Air Freshener, 3pk/$9.99, Amazon. Shove one in your shirt pocket.

Hoppes Air Freshner

Thats pretty funny! i suppose i could just dump some onmy hat!!!!

Have never seen or heard of a chain saw collection before. Closest to it would be guys who use them a lot and have a number of worn out CS's tossed in the back of a building in various levels of disassembly (robbed of parts). Interesting collection of saws.

Hoppes-Love the smell of the stuff. One of my foreman's on my heavy equipment crew always had a Hoppes Air Freshener in his pickup. Told him that's the only reason I got in his PU. My wife can always tell when I've been cleaning guns due to the 'Colleterial Damage' of Hoppes getting on my clothes and fingers. The 'old stuff' back when I was a kid in the 60's even smelled better than the current stuff. Called Hoppe's once and asked them why the change, they denied any change in formula or intentional smell, but there was. Have had a number of gun owners tell me a different smell from 'back in the day'. I came across an old Hoppe's kit several years ago complete with a unopened bottle of the 'old smell'. Treat myself to using it once in a while, sort of like a rare expensive bottle of whiskey, just metering it out once in a while. The Mrs likes the smell of Hoppe's.

I like the smell Ballistol too, an excellent bore cleaner. Use it all of the time with my black powder guns. A lot of the time I'll mix it with water in certain ratio's, but if ya let it set to long, the oil and water will separate and can be a PITA to remix. One time I had the brilliant idea to heat up the Ballistol/water mix that I had in a old small glass Hoppe's bottle, the type with the small neck (funnel style) opening. Stuck it in the microwave (in kitchen), set it for several minutes, but didn't intend to leave it that long. A phone call came and I lost track of what I "should be attending to" and all of a sudden heard a loud pop. Went over to the microwave and the solution had became over heated and the small funnel style top of the bottle acted sort like a jet engine rear restrictor likeness and the water/Ballistol shot out of there like a volcano eruption. Entire interior of the microwave was coated, not to mention the whole house smelling like a Ballistol factory. Before I could get things cleaned up, the Mrs walked in the door. I'll just say I was ordered never to do that again. Thread hijack, but had to say.

Show / tell about the boiler door again. I think that's cool!

Lot of fun enjoying the vault pics on cold snowy evening. Thanks!

I see you are the proud owner of a "Brush King"! What an awesome tool! I use mine every year. My Dad got it from a little old lady who was his dog groomer. She used it like a string trimmer. I was pumped 'cause I was looking for a tool just like that. Fired it up and went to work. I was very disappointed. It wouldn't do much of anything. Then I realized someone had put the blade on backwards!

I had a lot of respect for the woman who carried that thing around, even if she wasn't using it as designed.

Heres a picture of the front of my vault,mini-museum building. The boiler door is a DM DILLON that came from a local sawmill. The sawmill was built in 1917 and had a logging railroad that ran behind my house.

I have a Brush King in the corner of my shed. Got it from a highway dept. auction back in the 70’s. Used it in my younger days before they invented lighter tools. Are they worth anything ?

Not really worth very much,The one i have was given to me,just a early brush cutter. Most of the newer ones are a lot safer with a different style blade. Don

That building is just cool. What a great place to hang around. Probably could spend the morning just walking around the outside, looking at stuff. What does that boiler door weigh?

The door weighs about 600 lbs. heres a few pictures inside, lots of odds and ends!


!

whole new meaning to words "man cave"

Don has some really nice historic stuff , about the early years of logging in the northeast

plab

What a great place to hang around. Walk carefully around that boiler door, if it ever falls, well......

Few more pics. logging history stuff

I was at an auction and they had a scale like the one hanging over the ice tongs. The sale was in a field at the bottom of a hill. I wanted it to hang from our skinning tree in WV, just to get a rough weight of our deer. I noticed there were several pieces of cedar furniture that had been burnt on one side. Then I heard someone say, "it's a shame the way the little girl died". I looked up on the hill and saw the burnt out remains of a brick house just over the tree tops. The husband divorced his wife on the grounds she was crazy. The courts agreed and gave him custody of the baby. He remarried and was living in the house. The crazy wife remarried. She got the idea if she couldn't have the baby, he wouldn't either. So, she got her new husband and 14 year old step daughter, and broke into the house, killed the three people in it, then set it on fire. I got so creeped out, I just left. Sorry for the side track, it's the scale's fault.

Joe, That a terrible story, there are some nuts in this world !!!! I wouldn't worry about side tracking, i've sidetracked my whole thread !!! . few more pics.

Been away a couple of days Great to see the Vault again! Ill bet iv handled about 80 % of those rifles! and have gotten to shoot a few also! Did you Post the Caddy Lumber Calander for me? I think of it alot! Have to Bribe Cheryl to Copy it for me some day! Don and Cheryl are 2 of the best folks that you will ever meet! I plan to Visit again some day!

I'm about half tempted to drive to New Hampshire to soak in the aura of The Vault.

It's on the way to the UP isn't it?

If I went to NH I wouldn't go to the UP also.

After noon gents, WOW didy WOW!!!!!!!!$$$$$$ exceelenta. Ya on the smell of hoppes in the air, women could catch a lot of men with a bit of hoppes behind there ears. Or for luring a mechanical man maybe som wd40. Course we are at a disadvantage as it is so let's not give that away. Bill out. 🐾👣🇨🇦

WOW! Simply incredible!

Great pics Don! Awesome collection

Thanks Blair! glad to see your on here once in a while,your catalogs are happy here.

Takes a lifetime to build a collection like that.

Congratulations Don

Beautiful....

All this stuff is just being cared for,for the next owner. Some of the rifles have local history and belonged to people i knew when i was a youngster. Don

I been looking at fugs pictures and see some beautiful marlins,and winchesters and decided i could put a few winchester pictures up. maybe i wont get chastised.





theres some 71,s some 1895,s and a bunch of 1886,s

Nice collection.

Nice! my favorite Winchesters. 71's,95's, and of course 86's!
I think the 64 and 71 are just beautiful looking classic sporting arms with classy and very sexy lines.......
I really like the Hills Bros can too!

Very nice!

WOWZA!!!! I can't believe this collection either! Very nice-love looking at the pictures!

Very cool - I have to think you and this guy would get along very well! https://www.kingofobsolete.ca

Yup, Joey is quite a charactor!!! a number of years back he had a bunch of lombard sled castings i was looking for. He said he would fill a crate full and sell them to me after he hauled them 500 miles south to Winnipeg for $75 !!!!! I told him Joey no way was i going to abuse him that bad. Good guy!!! one of my friends sunk one of his cats on him,took a bit to get it out !

I followed his salvage of the Beech-18 from the lake where after he got it ashore realized it was a different one than he thought . "That's OK I know two more" A few in lakes up there I guess!

Thanks for sharing. My wife thinks I have a disease and I enjoy showing her photos of what advanced stages of this disease look like😀

Looking at that collection, all I can think is how tragic so many men bought beautiful rifles and then passed away before the next deer season! When the widows sold them, I hope they got top dollar.

I loved this thread when it appeared last winter, fascinated over all the 'eye candy'. Went back this evening and viewed and read the thread again. Reposting it to page 1 in case any new forum members haven't seen it and can enjoy it as much as I. Gotta go, need to check my pants just in case of any over excitement problems.

Loggah, as much as you have added since I was there I would advise you to spend the winter designing Vault #2 &#3 (non-Savage guns & non-guns) with connecting tunnels including one to the house. Then when the ice clears you will be ready to start the summers project.

...and maybe you could get Cheryl to take multi digital photos of each item and upload to the Cloud for our viewing pleasure?

Rick, My septic system is between the vault and the house, could make for a schitty tunnel !!!! I haven't been getting to many guns lately been busy on other projects! I had to get these 1944 Sterling all wheel drive trucks home, the navy had 100 of them made in 1944 to haul torpedos. Since i have 2 of them i have the worlds largest collection !!!!!

Gonna get some torpedoes to go with those trucks? Those things are certainly a couple of beasts!

Okay Don... now you need a couple Halpin-Savage torpedoes for those trucks.

I don't know which I would enjoy more- an afternoon in The Vault or a hell-bent-for-election romp through New Hampshire in one of those beasts with Don at the wheel with a maniacal grin on his face.😀😎

If it were me I'd say storm the Siegfried Line with a formation of Sterlings! There is a Siegfried Line in New Hampshire, isn't there? Damn the torpedoes, four speed ahead! Or would that be 10-speed?

Id bet theres still a few of my Finger Prints in the Vault! looks like your starting to get the back yard filled up again!

LOL!!! Would be fun to get behind the wheel of one of those Sterlings. For alot of the 19 years I spent as a heavy equipment operator I operated one of those 40 ton off road 6 wheel drive articulated haul trucks with tires a bit over 6' in height. Even with 30-40 ton of dirt on them they could crawl through about anything. When ya got one of those stuck in what we called a "shxt hole", you were stuck, sometimes took a dozer pullin and a back hoe pushin to get ya out. One of my co-workers once said he had envisions of taking one of those Cat or Volvo trucks and just start driving across country eluding the police and see how far he could get. I agreed with him, but my law enforcement background said it would be a stupid thing to do, maybe a fun ride, but one of those things you'd get locked up for and they'd lose the key. You could though make it a chase across 'hill and dale' that would make the local evening news.

Are they for restoration or just yard art? Any idea how many of the 100 are still out there?

That remark reminds me of this (remember ?) : click on me

It kind of got lost in the national news because of President Reagan dying the same day .

I remember that. Wonder what kind of sentence he would have gotten if he hadn't taken himself out. That dozer looks like a D8 Cat. We had one of those with a ripper like the one in the picture. Alot of power in that dozer, wouldn't have had any problems going into what buildings he damaged.

We were in Granby a few months later and some of the buildings looked like WWII ruins in Germany.

We went through Granby a week or so afterwards. The damage was horrible.

That dozer was a armored 155 komatsu! i had a couple of them at that time,between d8-d9 cat size 50 tons with ripper. I sold mine to a guy in Pennsylvania to reclaim a 80 acre strip mine. Rick im going to get one running out of the pair, maybe I think there might be a dozen or so still in existence,from the Sterling collectors group.

Don, I think you could put three Weasels on the back of each. Then when Gary, Jerry, John, Randy, and I come to visit there would be one for each of us to play with.

Joe there is plenty of "JUNK" here to keep you guys amused !

WOW!! What an amazing collection!!

Don, what kind of engine are in these "original"

Ken,They have a waukesha 6 cylinder flathead model 6srkr 519 c.i. 125 h.p. thats not a lot of horsepower in todays world but enough for 1944. The top speed on these was probably 45 mph. Don

those are cool. antique cars seem to be pretty popular around here. Some of us are caravaning to Rock Springs for a car show next Saturday.

I for sure recognize the pine box with the 10 gauge Winchester Signal Cannon on the floor .
Great for Independence Day !!!!!
Soup