# The mystery of the 132-year-old Winchester rifle found propped against a national park tree



## Meanderer

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.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...e-found-propped-against-a-national-park-tree/


The Winchester rifle was spotted leaning against a tree in Great Basin National Park. (Courtesy of National Park Service)


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## Denise1952

Wow, what an amazing find, something for a museum or other just to hang on a wall, wow!  Seems odd something would forget their gun.  Do you think a bear might of got him/them?  Maybe the gun was no good and they couldn't fix it or whatever.  Or maybe, one shot the other to eat them, and then he didn't have any bullets left, so he walked out and became one of the Presidents of the US.  I can go on, does anyone want to hear more? LOL!! denise

PS one more thought, abducted by aliens who have no need of our ancient weapons, to them


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## Meanderer

"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".

Here's a picture of the rifle after the stabilized it with surveyors orange tape.


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## SifuPhil

I vote for the bear. Dumb guy was sitting there whistling some boring 19th century tune, totally oblivious to his surroundings, when Smokey came up behind and whispered in his ear, 

"Only YOU can prevent my tummy growling"


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## Meanderer

View attachment 13690


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## SifuPhil

The last thing The Whistler saw as he reached for his Winchester ...


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## Meanderer

*Cold Casing: The Mystery Of The Long-Lost Winchester Rifle*

For archaeologist Eva Jensen, a happenstance find in Nevada has turned into an in-depth quest. Since stumbling across a Winchester rifle manufactured in 1882, she and other researchers have been seeking to unravel the mysteries behind it.http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nevada-winchester-20150116-story.html

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/19/378409703/cold-casing-the-mystery-of-the-long-lost-winchester-rifle (AUDIO INTERVIEW)





"There was more conjecture. Maybe a cowboy or shepherd had been out looking for a lost steer or sheep. Or some prospector got flustered when he thought he'd struck the mother lode.
The gun's location — on a wooded, craggy hillside with a commanding view of the valley to the east — suggested a good strategic spot for a gun battle. Maybe the gun jammed and was abandoned. The .44-caliber rifle wasn't loaded".


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## Meanderer




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## Denise1952

SifuPhil said:


> I vote for the bear. Dumb guy was sitting there whistling some boring 19th century tune, totally oblivious to his surroundings, when Smokey came up behind and whispered in his ear,
> 
> "Only YOU can prevent my tummy growling"



LOL, yeah, that reminds me how we like eating animals, the feeling is "mutual I'm sure".  What about aliens though, we haven't considered that have we?  They may have beamed him up without his accessories?


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## Denise1952

Wow, so interesting, I liked the link too Jim.  I wonder, they must be, looking for human remains in the area??


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## Denise1952

That had to be a "time-travelin" Smokie


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## Meanderer

nwlady said:


> LOL, yeah, that reminds me how we like eating animals, the feeling is "mutual I'm sure".  What about aliens though, we haven't considered that have we?  They may have beamed him up without his accessories?


You could be on to something Denise!  Nevada....Area 51.....Extraterrestrial Highway....could be.


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## Denise1952

LOL, is that for real?  Must be, typical bullet holes


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## Don M.

One thing about this rifle....whoever winds up in possession of it is sitting on a Gold Mine.  If they leave it in the same condition it was found, in the right collectors auction, this thing could easily fetch well into the 5 figures, perhaps even 6, to an avid collector.  With all the publicity this "Find" has received, the "authenticity" is assured.


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## Meanderer

*Ye Swahbucklin' Edition  Ye Los Angeles Times*

http://www.yelosangelestimes.com/20...-rifle-sparks-archaeological-quest-in-nevada/
*Abandoned 1882 rifle sparks archaeological quest in Ne'ada*


Thar Tale be told on January 15, 2015 | By Yer Cap'n
Thar it was, abandoned fer t'ages, propped up against a juniper tree in far-eastern Ne'ada’s Snake Mountains, a Winchester Model 1873 repeatin' rifle: yonder gun, as legend goes, that won thar American West.Fer archaeologist Eva Jensen, it’s somethin' much more — a mystery that continues t'baffle yonder staff at Great Basin National Park: Who owned it? A luckless hunter or miner? Maybe an outlaw on t'run?An' how on earth did it get thar?Thar search fer answers has taken ye 57-year-old veteran scientist out o't' field an' into tiny research libraries — scoutin' out old newspapers, 130-year-old bills o'sale, family histories an' yellowed letters in se'eral Western states. E'eryone, Jensen said, has a different theory about wha' happened. “That’s t'lure o'this find,” she said.Her quest began in early No'ember when Jensen an' a team o'archaeologists were walkin' a remote hillside in t'massi'e park four hours northeast o'Las Vegas. Yonder group was on unexplored terrain searchin' fer Nati'e American artifacts or petroglyphs prior t'a scheduled burnin' o'vegetation.Suddenly, somethin' caught Jensen’s eye.It was yonder rifle — its wooden butt jammed into yonder ground an' supported by a few rocks, so weathered an' gnarled it looked like part o'thar terrain. Yonder barrel was propped against thar tree an', chameleon-like, blended in, co'ered wi' juniper debris.....






–So Jensen consulted newspapers o'yonder day — t'Ward Reflex an' White Pine County Record — that chronicled yonder then-thri'in' minin' industry in northern Ne'ada. She found tantalizin' tidbits, includin' ads from dry goods stores sellin' Winchester rifles, even ye name o'a gunsmith in ye area.But thar were no stories o'any gun battle or outlaw search that might have put a history t'ye gun. She found a picture o'a member o'a prominent family holdin' a Winchester, but it was thar wrong model.In 1873, t'Winchester originally sold fer $50, but thar price dropped in half durin' a subsequent recession, Jensen said. Sales remained brisk because yonder weapon was a Western trendsetter: t'le'er action meant it could fire 15 shots without reloadin'. Think o'actor Chuck Connors, wi' that steely-eyed glare, quickly pumpin' his Winchester in thar openin' o'ye old TV series “T' Rifleman.”Thar gun will be on display this weekend in rural Baker, Nev., before becomin' part o'thar park’s public collection. Fer now, Jensen said, it’s bein' kept in climate-controlled storage. Park officials be keepin' thar location o'thar gun’s disco'ery a secret.”It would have been wonderful t'jus' lea'e it as we found it,” Jensen said. “But once people hear about this thin', they will go lookin' fer ye spot.”Even if thar mystery be ne'er sol'ed, Jensen feels lucky t'be on ye case.”In archaeology, thin's happen when ye have t'right light,” she said. “We found thar gun right after lunch, in thar early afternoon. If t'sun had been in a different spot, it might have been shaded an' we would have ne'er seen it.”


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## Meanderer

Winchester Model 1873


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## Denise1952

That's neat Jim, to see right where it was on the map.  Area 51 anywhere near that?layful:


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## Meanderer

nwlady said:


> That's neat Jim, to see right where it was on the map.  Area 51 anywhere near that?layful:



It's South of Rachel.


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## Denise1952

No, long way from there, but they might have had a lay-over and picked the guy up there, LOL!


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## Meanderer

...not that far, as the UFO flies!


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## Denise1952

LOL, true, even easier then for crows I'll bet


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## Ken N Tx

An interesting question has been brought up (on another Forum). Is the tree over 100 years old ??


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## Meanderer

Ken N Tx said:


> An interesting question has been brought up (on another Forum). Is the tree over 100 years old ??


The tree, a juniper looks like it could be as alive as the rifle stock.  They are known to live 1000 years in Nevada desert.  http://www.nevadasurveyor.com/bearing_trees/22.htm

The link is from an article on surveyers marking original trees as corner markers, and how the tree and marks hold up over a hundred years. 
http://www.nevadasurveyor.com/bearing_trees/

A painting of a Juniper, that might resemble the tree on the edge of a rocky overlook a century ago?


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## Meanderer




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## RadishRose

I'm with Denise. The aliens plucked that guy right off the ground, the minute he placed his rifle against the tree when he stopped to rest. Now he's a Space Cowboy.


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## Meanderer

...it were them dad-blasted, four-legged. music-critics that dun him in!

View attachment 13772


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## RadishRose

Perfect! LOL


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## Denise1952

RadishRose said:


> I'm with Denise. The aliens plucked that guy right off the ground, the minute he placed his rifle against the tree when he stopped to rest. Now he's a Space Cowboy.



LOLLLLLLLLL!!  For sure Rose, Love it!!


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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer

Man?....What man?


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## Denise1952




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## Meanderer

This is what’s left of a Spanish 1810 flintlock musket stashed in the
crotch of a tree, which grew around it for well over 100 years.

http://americanhandgunner.com/codys-dug-up-gun-museum/


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## Pappy

These trees do not stop growing for anything in their way.


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## Ken N Tx

A gun that's been living in a tree...
'
.


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## Meanderer

Wow Ken...he said it was LOADED?? Thanks!


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