Old classic hunting rifles.

H4831 said:
It's time we had a real oldie on here!
1884 Springfield Trapdoor, 45-70. I think we can call it classic, because I hunted with it when I was a teenager. My best hunting story with it was I trailed a couple elk all day in half a foot of snow, caught up to them just before dark in the afternoon. I was so tired I could barely hold the rifle up, the elk was moving and I missed her.
My brother, however, shot an elk with it, a near 45 degree angling shot and it went clear through.
This rifle has been in the family since the mid 1930s and is in pristine condition, with a shiny bore and sharp rifling. Two older brothers were having a mid day lunch in a bachelors cabin, a man they had never seen before. One brother admired this rifle, which was hanging on a wall. The fellow told my brother that he could have the rifle, if he wanted it.
When I was hunting with it, in late war time, there was was no ammuition available, as 45-70 ammo hadn't been made for several years. Another bachelor friend said he had some shells for it and if I walked to his cabin, I could have them. I lost no time in getting there and he gave me most of two boxes full of Winchester, 405 grain jacketed bullets. One of the boxes he gave me is in this picture!
I now have access to a chronograph and I intend to chrono ONE cartridge, to see what they were loaded at. Don't worry, the old rifle has already shot some from the box.
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:)Good post Bruce and one I never tire of seeing & hearing:).
:cheers:
Johnn
 
I had a post about shooting it over a chronograph. Here is what I posted, showing the results of the test.

I've told the story on these threads of the old Springfield 45-70 Tapdoor rifle which has been in the family since the 1930s and which I hunted with as a kid during WW2.
I have also told of how ammunition for it was non existant at that time, and how a neighbor gave me nearly two boxes of factory Winchester, 405 grain jacketed bullets with smokless powder. The ammunition had mixed Winchester head stamps of three different types. I still have about half of the shells and this morning I went to the range with the old Springfield Trapdoor, some of the ammunition the neighbor gave me 70 years ago and a chronograph.
I don't know when the ammunition was made, or which head stamps are the oldest. I am posting a picture and hope someone may know the approximate ages of the head stamps.
I am guessing that the cartridge shown on the left, with the Winchester symbol on the primer, would be the oldest. This was the type I shot first, then one of the third type from the left, which may be the newest of them.
Cartridges of the World shows the original black powder loading of a 405 grain cast bullet, as having a velocity of 1330.
My first one shot showed a speed of 1339 fps and the second one of 1385.
And to think I have often read on these CGN threads of people having "old" ammunition cartridges from the 1970s or 80s and wondering if they are still safe to shoot!
 
Great thread. It is rifles like these that keep me involved with hunting and shooting. I've hunted for years but I'm not an avid hunter, I've shot, reloaded and collected for years however those really are not passions in and of themselves either. I enjoy older things of quality whether they be firearms, motorcycles, or people. The Savage 99A that I bought from Ted in about 1996 is a special to me for the trips it accompanied me on in northern Labrador and because it has helped me teach my girls to shoot. Just this fall I loaned it to a friend who needed a deer rifle and it helped him bag his first white tail. What a great rifle. I love some of my old Winchesters better than others. Why do I like a .33 better than a. 45-70? Why do I absolutely love a. 44-40 model 92 rifle and prefer them to an 86? (I'm always looking for an even nicer one.). Why does a well cared for rifle with a nice patina and a shiney bore interest me more than a pristine example? Why do I prefer a 6.5 Swede to a .270? I only love one 1917 Enfield sporter because it was my grandfathers and the every time I pick it up I think of that gentleman and all of the time he spent with me.

Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a modern rifle for what it is and I have put quite a few rounds down range with an m14 or ar15 but my love of "using" classic rifles is what motivates me to hunt, shoot, reload and collect. Much like a ride on my old Triumph down a shoreline road is what motivates me to have a motorcycle. Much of my effort these days is to share these experiences with family and friends. God bless and I hope that each of you continue to enjoy your classics for years to come.

Thanks for sharing your classics with all of us.
 
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I would like to see this thread stay active, so with that in mind here is a Wundhammer. This was a restoration project, took five years and as many people.

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outdoors said:
Great thread. It is rifles like these that keep me involved with hunting and shooting. I've hunted for years but I'm not an avid hunter, I've shot, reloaded and collected for years however those really are not passions in and of themselves either. I enjoy older things of quality whether they be firearms, motorcycles, or people. The Savage 99A that I bought from Ted in about 1996 is a special to me for the trips it accompanied me on in northern Labrador and because it has helped me teach my girls to shoot. Just this fall I loaned it to a friend who needed a deer rifle and it helped him bag his first white tail. What a great rifle. I love some of my old Winchesters better than others. Why do I like a .33 better than a. 45-70? Why do I absolutely love a. 44-40 model 92 rifle and prefer them to an 86? (I'm always looking for an even nicer one.). Why does a well cared for rifle with a nice patina and a shiney bore interest me more than a pristine example? Why do I prefer a 6.5 Swede to a .270? I only love one 1917 Enfield sporter because it was my grandfathers and the every time I pick it up I think of that gentleman and all of the time he spent with me.

Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a modern rifle for what it is and I have put quite a few rounds down range with an m14 or ar15 but my love of "using" classic rifles is what motivates me to hunt, shoot, reload and collect. Much like a ride on my old Triumph down a shoreline road is what motivates me to have a motorcycle. Much of my effort these days is to share these experiences with family and friends. God bless and I hope that each of you continue to enjoy your classics for years to come.

Thanks for sharing your classics with all of us.
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When I started this thread, I really wasn't thinking about that 99A, a 250-3000, but of course it is a classic! Certainly remember how well it shot, but you really don't expect us to believe one can actually kill big game animals with such a "little" cartridge do you? ;)

God's blessings to you, as well. PM coming your way,

Ted
 
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BigUglyMan said:
Need more info for this one. Normally not a stackbarrel fan in rifles but I'm coming around to them.
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It's a 1961 Merkel 210/250E combination gun. Top bbl is 16 gauge FULL and the bottom barrel is 7x57R. The second set is 16F/16M. Scope is a Hensoldt 1.5-6 in claw mounts.
 
Claven2 said:
It's a 1961 Merkel 210/250E combination gun. Top bbl is 16 gauge FULL and the bottom barrel is 7x57R. The second set is 16F/16M. Scope is a Hensoldt 1.5-6 in claw mounts.
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I have an item very similar, a Brno ZH-304 with two sets of barrels. One, Top 7x57R, Bottem 12ga. The other set of barrels are OU, both 12ga.

ModelZH-300BrnoCombo7x5712gaSkeetba.jpg

:redface:Not really old or classic though.
 
Pretty sweet.

That wouldn't happen to be a representation of Artemis: the greek god of the hunt? It would be quite fitting for a take-down... And what calibre? Cheers!

~ Thomas



Michael Petrov said:
Thanks for all the nice comments. I don't hunt anymore but do shoot most of my rifles.

Ted: Good to hear from you and hope all is well with you and yours.

I found this a very interesting thread and enjoyed reading about and seeing some nice rifles.


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Ted: You bet, I retired and built a place to "play Guns", you would be very welcome.


Thomas: Well I have always called her Diana the Roman equivalent of the Greek Artemis but then I really have no idea. I have tried to find the work that the engraving was copied from but there are thousands of Artemis & Diana renditions. Everything I post will be a 30-06 unless noted otherwise ;-).
 
OK, One more then I have to go. The Kirkwoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Yes it's a 30-06, rear sight is a Rigby style made by Niedner with a later G&H mount with a Lyman Alaska scope.

kirkwood-1.jpg
 
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