The abandoned 1873 Winchester and where it is displayed now

[w30wcf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvUE0g_Dado

Finding the abandoned Winchester ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkboM5FBAd0

w30wcf

[M. M. Wright]

Thanks John. I had wondered what happened to that rifle.

[marlinman93]

Great info, and like others I also wondered where it went? There was one being displayed at local gun shows around here back in the 1980's. Another Winchester 1873 that had been found in rural Oregon grown into the "Y" of a tree. Someone had the foresight to not cut it out, but instead cut the "Y" with the gun out. It had maybe 12" of trunk and two limbs with the gun, and was a great display piece! I still wonder where it ended up at?

[GunnyMack]

One guy I was at Gunsmith school with had a '92 in 38/40. He claimed his grandfather found it somewhere in northern Colorado. The gun was in decent shape. He decided to refinish it!! All of us just shook our heads in disbelief!

[earlmck]

Thanks for the update, Jack. The wife was looking over my shoulder while watching the video. "We've been there ... why didn't you find that rifle?" she asks.

Yes, we have been in Great Basin Park several times back when we lived in Nevada. Nevada is kind of a big place with looots of nifty stuff still lying around in seldom-visited spots and not a lot of rainfall to accelerate the deterioration. One of my favorite states, for sure (if they could just dis-attach Las Vegas from the state). When Oregon becomes untenable (can we be far behind California?) I may move back.

[jeepnik]

Well, a really cool old rifle. But ruined by the folks that preserved it by hanging a strap on it to prevent the hammer from moving. For smart folks you'd thing they'd realize that pretty much ruins for most of us.

[vancelw]

Arrrgh. You gotta be kidding me! I was just there.

I spent 4 days in Garrison UT just 7 miles from Baker NV and was hunting mule deer right up against the Great Basin Park boundary when season opened October 5th. My lovely bride came with me and I had to get her home in time to work the following Monday. So we drove up to the visitor center but were too late for a guided cave tour. Ugh. I had no idea that rifle was in there or I would have gone in to see it. As it was, we got to Great Arches national park just in time to see a few arches before dark. I'll have to take a more leisurely trip out that way again sometime.

[Shasta]

Thanks for this post. I too had wondered what became of the rifle. I gotta get over there sometime.

jeepnik's comment regarding a strap to prevent the hammer from cocking made me take a close look. It looks to me like the strap is merely the bottom end of the mount that supports the rifle in an upright position, not intended to keep the hammer from cocking. I do think the support for the cartridge is pretty lame though.

Shasta

[1894cfan]

Well, a really cool old rifle. But ruined by the folks that preserved it by hanging a strap on it to prevent the hammer from moving. For smart folks you'd thing they'd realize that pretty much ruins for most of us.

Nope, that's just where it was leaning against to hold it upright. However, they could have done a better job of mounting it, and the cartridge that was found in the buttstock, maybe replicating how it was found?

[Griff]

I'm going to be headed to Olympia, WA either tomorrow or Sunday... maybe I'll have to figure out how get by there... Thanks for the heads up.

[marlinman93]

By coincidence I was at our monthly "Historical Arms Collectors" meeting last night, and asked if anyone there knew where the other 1873 found grown in a tree was. As usual the knowledgeable crowd there had someone who not only knew who owned it back in the 1980's, but also where it is today! I knew the past owner, who is deceased, but didn't know him back then. The present owner happens to be a friend and I never knew he had this gun in his collection. He's got one of the finest collections of original Colt SAA pistols in the USA, so having the Winchester 1873 was a surprise to me. I need to ask to see it next time I'm at his place!

[w30wcf]

vancelw,
Sorry I did not find the update sooner.

mm93,
Interesting story! Thank you.

w30wcf