Camp Gun of the Buffalo Runner

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 7/29/2019 | M Nesbitt

[w1n1]

The Texas Brush Popper - Now and then, maybe usually, I seem to get a glimpse of myself as a buffalo runner somewhere in the late 1870s. So, in following that glimpse and hoping for a better view of it, I add things to my outfit that might be appropriate for those times.
One of the things I wanted was a camp gun, something in addition to the Sharps rifle that certainly will be there. The little Texas Brush Popper from Cimarron Repeating Arms fills that bill nicely, in .44/40 caliber. Good impressions about this short rifle began building before it was completely out of the box.

The wood in figure, fit and finish highly impressed me. This rifle is stocked very nicely and the fit to the tang is so good that it simply isn’t a coincidence. The forearm is not fitted quite as nicely, but the fine figure of the grain and the finish of the wood are there to appreciate as well.

As the gun came farther out of the box, more impressive characteristics were noted. Next compliments go to the sights on this rifle. What I’m referring to is the fit of those sights to the barrel. On too many of today’s copies of the old Western guns, the sights are ill fitted, with air space between the sights and the gun’s barrel.
That isn’t so with this gun, those sights are resting right on the barrel as they should be, and no extra light can be seen in or above the dovetails. Little things like the fitting of the sights are certainly tokens of good craftsmanship.
Both the front and rear sights are equipped with set screws which need to be loosened a bit before any windage adjustments are made, then tightened again once the windage is set. The rear sight, of course, is adjustable for elevation as well.

THE ORIGINAL WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 had an evolution with small but noticeable changes during its 50-year span of manufacturing. This gun from Cimarron represents one of the last versions, or third model, because it has hidden hammer and trigger pivot screws, and the dust cover slides on an integral "ramp" on the top of the receiver.
This rifle has a trigger-block safety which doesn’t allow the trigger to be pulled unless the lever is held tightly against the lower tang. In other words, the trigger block doesn’t allow the gun to be fired unless the action is completely closed. That trigger block became a standard feature on originals in 1879. Read the rest of this Texas Brush Popper.