Fondled a historic 95 Winchester today

[Bill in Oregon]

My step-brother showed me a well-worn Winchester Model 95 in .405 that he inherited from an old family friend who spent many years in Alaska. I t was made in 1911, and had very fancy wood in the butt, though cracked and tired. The exterior metal is worn to a soft silver finish, but the rifling is crisp. It was a take down model, but at some point the old fur trapper who owned it soldered the take-down seam closed. The elderly gentleman who left it to my step-brother had taped a note on the butt stock, saying "A hermit who lived on Bradfield Canal (south of Wrangell, AK), Ham Island Slim, killed 7 charging grizzles with this rifle." Ham Island is also know as Blake Island; I found it on Google Earth.
Googled the hermit's name and he comes up in a memoir by Will Troyer, a wildlife biologist for 30 years in Alaska, titled "Bear Wrangler." Ordered the book.
Pretty cool to see and handle an old Winchester with authentic Alaska bona fides.

[Sixgun]

That's pretty neat, especially finding a note under the buttplate. I must have removed the buttplates of 200 rifles over the years and never did find anything. A buddy of mine found an old $20 bill.

Some takedown rifles won't shoot decent, especially in small calibers in hotshot numbers like the 22 Hi-Power and the cure was to "make it all solid". I've seen a few 99 Savages welded up.----------------------6

[TedH]

Very cool!

[Ysabel Kid]

Very cool!

[*]

+1

[earlmck]

Now there's a rifle with CHARACTER!

[gamekeeper]

Wow! if only it could talk...

[1894c]

Wow! if only it could talk...

actually I think that rifle did speak...i like the story and it's history...that's beyond cool.... :)

[Blaine]

Wow! if only it could talk...

actually I think that rifle did speak...i like the story and it's history...that's beyond cool....

+1 <{:-)~