The Gun Counter

From the Great Basin National Park page:

Numerous questions surround the small piece of American heritage found and recovered by Great Basin National Park archaeologists in November. The 132 year-old rifle, exposed to sun, wind, snow, and rain was found leaning against a tree in the park. The cracked wood stock, weathered to grey, and the brown rusted barrel blended into the colors of the old juniper tree in a remote rocky outcrop, keeping the rifle hidden for many years.

“Model 1873” distinctively engraved on the mechanism identify the rifle as the Winchester Model 1873 repeating rifle. The serial number on the lower tang corresponds in Winchester records held at the Center for the West, Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming, with a manufacture and shipping date of 1882. Currently, the detailed history of this rifle is unknown. Winchester records do not indicate who purchased the rifle from the warehouse or where it was shipped.

Darrell wrote:This one was found leaning against a tree in Great Basin National Park. It had been there ~132 years.

From the Great Basin National Park page:

Numerous questions surround the small piece of American heritage found and recovered by Great Basin National Park archaeologists in November. The 132 year-old rifle, exposed to sun, wind, snow, and rain was found leaning against a tree in the park. The cracked wood stock, weathered to grey, and the brown rusted barrel blended into the colors of the old juniper tree in a remote rocky outcrop, keeping the rifle hidden for many years.

“Model 1873” distinctively engraved on the mechanism identify the rifle as the Winchester Model 1873 repeating rifle. The serial number on the lower tang corresponds in Winchester records held at the Center for the West, Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming, with a manufacture and shipping date of 1882. Currently, the detailed history of this rifle is unknown. Winchester records do not indicate who purchased the rifle from the warehouse or where it was shipped.

For something that's been sitting out that long, I'm surprised at how good a shape it's in.

Pics:

http://imgur.com/a/L76CD

Reddit thread:

http://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/2 ... _in_great/

I wonder what kind of stories it could tell?

Darrel wrote:I wonder what kind of stories it could tell?

Netpackrat wrote:Shit. Yeah, it more than likely is/was still loaded. How would you deal with that without trying to work the action, which is most likely frozen solid, and would destroy the "as-found" value of the piece? Maybe braze a drill bit on an extension, and drill down through the front of the bullet to get the powder out? Which in itself does not seem really safe.