132 Year Old Winchester Rifle Found in Nevada Desert
50 replies, posted
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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.
Although staff have no idea how the rifle ended up there, “it looked like someone propped it up there, sat down to have their lunch and got up to walk off without it,” Andler said.
It’s remarkable that anyone was able to spot the gun back in November, as it had blended in so well with its surroundings. The unloaded gun appears to have been left undisturbed for more than 100 years; its wooden base had turned gray and was partially buried, and the barrel had rusted.
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Though not in very good shape, the rifle is certainly salvageable, Andler said, and it will be preserved so it remains in its current state.
While the rifle’s back story remains a mystery, the history of the place offers some clues: Great Basin was primarily a mining site at the time, but could have also been home to grazing cattle and sheep. The gun may have also been the relic of game hunting in the area.
This particular model of Winchester rifle was quite popular at the time, so it wasn’t necessarily a rare and precious item for a person to leave behind. The year this particular rifle was made, 25,000 others were also manufactured. In fact, the prevalence of the gun may have contributed to a massive price drop, from costing $50 in 1873 to $25 in 1882. Here is a close-up of the rifle:
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[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/14/the-mystery-of-the-132-year-old-winchester-rifle-found-propped-against-a-national-park-tree/]Washington Post[/url]
A testament to a fantastic rifle! Hopefully they find out who the owner was, and see if they have any descendants, and ask them about it. Would make an amazing museum piece.
It stayed propped up like that for over a hundred years? That's so awesome.
I just noticed that all the first letters in the title spell out "YOWR FIND" god why did I do that?
Bet the guy who left it back then was pissed "Where's my gun!"
They better hurry up and get it to a gun buyback.
I wonder if the action moves at all. I've seen and considered buying and shooting guns that looked worse than that.
Oh neat, they found verynicelady's gun
The fact that it was propped up is so awesome. It adds humanity to it; it wasn't just buried somewhere and got tumbled around by the weather. Someone put it there; someone like 100 years ago.
[img_thumb]http://sarahbethonline.com/danduryea/images/fullsize/Winchester%2073%20Poster%20(1).jpg[/img_thumb]
Obviously left there by Jimmy Stewart :v:
[QUOTE=Grenadiac;46940634]I wonder if the action moves at all. I've seen and considered buying and shooting guns that looked worse than that.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't be suprised if it works, corrosion would be pretty mild in a dry climate like that and so all the internal parts would be pretty much intact since there aren't any springs or delicate-looking parts. Feeding tube is probably fucked though
[img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Winchester_73_open.JPG[/img_thumb]
What if he left the gun flat on the ground and a tree sprouted at the barrel end of it and over time pushed it vertically giving the illusion of it being left propped up?
You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!
[QUOTE=Justin Case;46941421]What if he left the gun flat on the ground and a tree sprouted at the barrel end of it and over time pushed it vertically giving the illusion of it being left propped up?
You're not thinking fourth dimensionally![/QUOTE]
That's still thinking three dimensionally.
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;46941517]That's still thinking three dimensionally.[/QUOTE]
Are you implying that something I learned from a movie was wrong?
I find it hard to believe that rifle has been there all this time. I think what really happened is some guy decided a hundred years ago to play a prank, and he's let the rifle age in his backyard all this time. Finally, his grandson decided it was the right moment to put the rifle out there and freak everyone out.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;46941858]I find it hard to believe that rifle has been there all this time. I think what really happened is some guy decided a hundred years ago to play a prank, and he's let the rifle age in his backyard all this time. Finally, his grandson decided it was the right moment to put the rifle out there and freak everyone out.[/QUOTE]
That honestly sounds more plausible to you?
For future reference:
It's Nev-ah-duh
NOT
Nev-aw-duh
[QUOTE=KommradKommisar;46942058]For future reference:
It's Nev-ah-duh
NOT
Nev-aw-duh[/QUOTE]
Re-jun-ull diff-err-ence-es
[QUOTE=gk99;46942163]Re-jun-ull diff-err-ence-es[/QUOTE]
That's just how people in state say it, that all.
[QUOTE=KommradKommisar;46942058]For future reference:
It's Nev-ah-duh
NOT
Nev-aw-duh[/QUOTE]
What the fuck
I speak Spanish, so how do you pronounce Nev-AW-duh?
[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;46942405]What the fuck
I speak Spanish, so how do you pronounce Nev-AW-duh?[/QUOTE]
Like you're from Texas.
[QUOTE=KommradKommisar;46942058]For future reference:
It's Nev-ah-duh
NOT
Nev-aw-duh[/QUOTE]
I say Nahv-AA-duh [sp]AA as in apple.[/sp]
[QUOTE=proch;46940765]Oh neat, they found verynicelady's gun[/QUOTE]
They would have to find a musket or something for it to be mikfoz's gun
[QUOTE=ThePanther;46940223]It stayed propped up like that for over a hundred years? That's so awesome.[/QUOTE] well it's a desert so it surviving is not impassably but it's still great and cool that it did.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;46941858]I find it hard to believe that rifle has been there all this time. I think what really happened is some guy decided a hundred years ago to play a prank, and he's let the rifle age in his backyard all this time. Finally, his grandson decided it was the right moment to put the rifle out there and freak everyone out.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Stella_Lake_Great_Basin.jpg[/img]
Yeah...just someones back yard prank...
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;46941858]I find it hard to believe that rifle has been there all this time. I think what really happened is some guy decided a hundred years ago to play a prank, and he's let the rifle age in his backyard all this time. Finally, his grandson decided it was the right moment to put the rifle out there and freak everyone out.[/QUOTE]
Yea, a prank 4 generations in the making that absolutely fucking nobody laughed at.
They should consider sending some CRM/archaeologists out to check in case there might be associated artifacts nearby. I'm assuming they've probably thought about it but still. Seems a tiny bit fishy.
[QUOTE=JCDentonUNATCO;46942852][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Stella_Lake_Great_Basin.jpg[/img]
Yeah...just someones back yard prank...[/QUOTE]
that would be an awesome place to live. ( with like a nice big house very relaxing. )
What if it was placed there to mark someone's grave?
[QUOTE=IceWarrior98;46943107]What if it was placed there to mark someone's grave?[/QUOTE]
Oh shit. That's entirely possible.
[QUOTE=itak365;46943061]They should consider sending some CRM/archaeologists out to check in case there might be associated artifacts nearby. I'm assuming they've probably thought about it but still. Seems a tiny bit fishy.[/QUOTE]
Literally the first word of the article
[quote][B]Archaeologists conducting surveys in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park came upon a gun frozen in time[/B]: a .44-40 Winchester rifle manufactured in 1882. It was propped up against a juniper tree.[/quote]
[QUOTE=bdd458;46943300]Literally the first word of the article[/QUOTE]
Yes, but I'm talking about directly around the rifle itself. Maybe they were looking for other things, sure, but if we found that we'd definitely be doing another ground survey and a couple of test pits just to see if anything's down there.
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