An old battle rifle and an afternoon of memories.

[greensideout]

I spent the afternoon cleaning my grandfather's rifle. What a joy! It brought back memories of me being knee high and trailing along with him on a hunt. I remember the rough ground and tall brush. I remember him looking down at me and giving me a smile.
As I cleaned the rifle I noticed the intricate design and machining that was given to the battle rifle of the time. The fit and polish that is seldom seen today even in nice hunting rifles. I looked at the craftmanship and thought, "Gone with the wind".

[mrbsox]

GSO....

Is that a 'SHARPS' Carbine ?? :thumbup:
I noticed the round barrel, so would make it a later version if it is, but the side hammer, lift open breech ????

Are you gonna make us guess ?? What's your longest shot ??

[10thzodiac]

Looks like my grandfathers .45-70 Springfield trap-door !

My adopted 1st cousin got my grandfathers rifle by default, my father passed before his. Maybe it's for the better, he's the gun nut.

[greensideout]

GSO....

Is that a 'SHARPS' Carbine ?? :thumbup:
I noticed the round barrel, so would make it a later version if it is, but the side hammer, lift open breech ????

Are you gonna make us guess ?? What's your longest shot ??


It's a U.S. Model 1873 Springfield 45-70.

[10thzodiac]

It's a U.S. Model 1873 Springfield 45-70.

I873 Springfield, if that's a carbine, it the same one that Custer troopers carried at The Little Big Horn Battle.

Custer's lasts words, "WTF did all the Indians come from?" Or was it, "Take no prisoners men?"

[yellowwing]

It's a U.S. Model 1873 Springfield 45-70.
She's a real beaut, worth every hour of TLC.

[FistFu68]

:evilgrin: THAT RIFLE IS TIGHT,MARINE;TRUE CRAFTMANSHIP THERE:evilgrin:

[drumcorpssnare]

10thz- Don't you remember....? I told you Custer's last known words. (No joke) "They won't get away this time."
and BTW Greenside, that is a beautiful 45-70. If I had it, and you had a feather in your butt...we'd both be tickled! LOL:D
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

[YLDNDN6]

But, do you know the last thing to go through Custer's mind??? An arrow! My buddy's dad was a Korean War Marine, and he had a Garand mounted on his wall along with the rest of his Marine display, and when he passed I asked them what they were going to do with the rifle. They said they weren't sure, so I begged them to sell it to me. They wouldn't sell to me because it was their dad's, so I gave up on it. Turns out that they later sold it for beer money...I could kill them both (buddy and his brother). They said they got $100.00 for it. They both now know exactly how stupid they are, as I held nothing back.

[drumcorpssnare]

My dad had a small gun collection which included a "Tanker's model M-1 Garand" and two Colt revolvers .22 cal. serial numbers 00001 and 00002...finely etched w/ ivory grips. Also, a 1911 .45 He sold them to get money to buy a copier, as he was very active in the Marine Corps League.
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

[capmarine]

i had a Sharps 45-70,believe an 1874? 30" barrel.shot paperpatch bullets.shot it one year in matches,then sold it.great firearm
there is a verifiable shot that was made back in the 1800's,believe it was a 1 mile shot,hit some Indian,knocked him off his horse.

[cball]

My dad had a small gun collection which included a "Tanker's model M-1 Garand" and two Colt revolvers .22 cal. serial numbers 00001 and 00002...finely etched w/ ivory grips. Also, a 1911 .45 He sold them to get money to buy a copier, as he was very active in the Marine Corps League.
drumcorpssnare:usmc:We carried two of those short style Tanker MI's on our Transport planes..I seen one of in years..sgt.C Ball

[drumcorpssnare]

capmarine- I'm familiar with the lore of the "shot" you mentioned. Story I heard was something like this:
A Sioux warrior was taunting some US soldiers in the 1870's. Estimates varied, but he was somewhere around 1200 to 1500 yds. away. The brave got off his horse, bent over, raised his loincloth, thus presenting an inviting long-range target. He did this repeatedly.
The soldier aimed carefully, squeezed the trigger on his trusty 45-70, and sure enough...hit his target right in the butt!
Don't remember anymore details, except the shot was witnessed and varified by a handful of other soldiers.
He coulda been a Marine PMI !:banana:
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

[cball]

Drumcorpssnare,Let me try again,we carried two of the short Tanker M1's on our planes ,back in the 50's..

[yellowwing]

The brave got off his horse, bent over, raised his loincloth, thus presenting an inviting long-range target. He did this repeatedly.
The soldier aimed carefully, squeezed the trigger on his trusty 45-70, and sure enough...hit his target right in the butt!
...and later the Sioux Warrior asked his Bros, "Was I stupid?..." :banana:

[10thzodiac]

But, do you know the last thing to go through Custer's mind??? An arrow! My buddy's dad was a Korean War Marine, and he had a Garand mounted on his wall along with the rest of his Marine display, and when he passed I asked them what they were going to do with the rifle. They said they weren't sure, so I begged them to sell it to me. They wouldn't sell to me because it was their dad's, so I gave up on it. Turns out that they later sold it for beer money...I could kill them both (buddy and his brother). They said they got $100.00 for it. They both now know exactly how stupid they are, as I held nothing back.

My uncle had whole sh1t pot full of WW II war trophies, Jap flags, rifle, pistol, samurai swords, knives, kraut helmet and officers garrison cap. I tried to buy the swords from one son, but the disappointed expression on my uncle's face was a deal breaker for me, not his son. Most of the stuff is in a pawn shop somewhere. My uncle gave the helmet to his other boy who married a Jewish girl who told him to get rid of it and he gave it to my boy. My son sold the helmet to pay a lawyer to keep him out of you know what.

As a kid I use to run around the neighborhood with both the German helmet and officers cap on. My brother ran one of the Japanese flags up at school as a practical joke (gone).

I have a buddy that goes to garage estate sales and asks if there is any guns and war memorabilia and every so often he gets lucky. Once he gave me some old ammo http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/34.gif I won't do that again...

[Subic76]

Nice rifle pictures.
I took pictures of an old gun once.
"The devils paint brush"

http://www.msdsite.com/photopost/data/542/gun_4.jpg

[Subic76]

http://www.msdsite.com/photopost/data/542/gun_2.jpg

http://www.glennhyatt.com/usmcguns/max_08st.htm

[capmarine]

my friend has 45-120-34" barrel-quigley,except a 120,not a 110.my friend won his class one year at Raton,NRA Whittington.almost won the entire thing,and he wasnt in the top class.mike callaghan is his name.(former U.S.Capitol police officer)