132 Year Old Winchester Found in National Park

wsj ^ | 1/22/2015 | E Izadi

[w1n1]

Archaeologists conducting surveys in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park came upon a gun frozen in time: a .44-40 Winchester rifle manufactured in 1882. It was propped up against a juniper tree.

“They just happened to notice the rifle under the tree,” said Nichole Andler, Basin National Park’s chief of interpretation. The public will get a chance to view the rifle over the weekend.

Read the rest of this amazing Winchester story here.

[WayneS]

Hoax?

[The Great RJ]

Strange that someone would just leave their rifle behind when in this wilderness. While the article mentions that this was not a particularly expensive rifle, I doubt that someone would just prop it against a tree and forget it when they left regardless of how inexpensive it was to purchase. Who ever left this rifle was carrying it into this wilderness for a purpose either hunting protection or both. To me it would be strange if not inconceivable that they would just leave without taking the rifle with them. Too bad we may never know why the rifle was left, but the story is intriguing.

[Uncle Miltie]

Unsecured weapon!

Call the SWAT Team!

[Lurker]

There are human remains somewhere nearby. I’ll bet a buck on that.

[Brother Cracker]

[molson209]

Can you check the serial number like you can with Colt ?

[meadsjn]

There are human remains somewhere nearby. I’ll bet a buck on that.

I'd guess a mountain lion got him. Whatever was left, the coyotes and crows finished off. The bones could be scattered across fifty square miles.

[afraidfortherepublic]

It was unloaded. I say that its owner was on foot, carried more than one weapon, and left it behind as useless since he had no more ammo.

Or, maybe it didn’t shoot straight and he got frustrated, much as a golfer is purported to break his club around a tree after missing a shot.

[Chainmail]

Absolutely . The Cody Museum in Wyoming have all of the existing Winchester records. They will be able to tell you when the rifle was made, who it was shipped to as well as caliber, special order features and more.

[HiJinx]

Repeat story from earlier this week. They traced the serial markings on the tang to a manufacture date of 1882-83. That doesn’t mean the rifle has been sitting there since then; but it has been there for awhile.

[Tanniker Smith]

Don't tree grow over 132 years? Wouldn't the rifle have fallen over in all that time? Isn't it more likely that it was left there more recently?

[Nea Wood]

So it’s been sitting there for 132 years and didn’t kill anybody?!

[JimRed]

ANOTHER ONE???

[DickBrannigan]

Reminds me of the end of the Twilight Zone episode “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim”.

[lacrew]

Step 1. Prop rifle against tree
Step 2. Go numero deuce behind a cactus
Step 3. Get attacked by a wild animal and die
Step 4. Rifle sits untouched for 100 years

[freedomson]

Step 1. Prop rifle against tree
Step 2. Uncork and consume mucho firewater
Step 3. Stumble around with jug,screaming incoherently
Step 4. Wake up with headache and little memory.