"Notches" on Canadian Peabody??

cantom

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Today at my gun club me and 3 other people got to fire my Canadian Peabody rifle.
While having a good look at it, we all noted what may be some kind of intentional marks in two rows on the top of the stock behind the lock on the right side.

Does anyone have an opinion on what these marks signify?
Deer slain?

It was unlikely to have been Fenians...and these rifles were purchased for the Fenian scare in 1866.


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hey dont ferget too wash martini brass hot shoapy water . those marks ! thats how maney times we shot it today . some kind of lucky # . i will be out till weds night . let me know how you made out with dixie . cheers FRANK
 
I'm afriad you'll have to dig out a Ouijia board to figure that one out. Could be any one of the following in my unprofessional opinion

1. Seven enemy combatants killed using that rifle.
2. Seven deer or other big game (highly unlikely, but not unheard of)
3. Careless handling resulting in the same protruding nail banging the rifle on the way in or out of a door.

I've handled a '73 Winchester once thusly marked with four notches on the forend that signified an incident where four cattle thieves lost their lives at the hands of the owners great-grandfather in the late 1880's.

Seen a Marlin 1893 in 32-40 (I think) where the great hunter who owned it took it upon himself the carve out notches for every deer taken. Uhhh... yeah. That was bad.

that's what makes these rifles so mysterious
 
I've handled a '73 Winchester once thusly marked with four notches on the forend that signified an incident where four cattle thieves lost their lives at the hands of the owners great-grandfather in the late 1880's.



that's what makes these rifles so mysterious

My old Colt has three neatly filed notches along the trigger guard frame. One can only guess...
 
My 1878 Colt, made 1883, (die stamped on frame JP Lower) has notches on the grip.
Lower was a firearms dealer/gunsmith in Denver, Colorado.
 
J.P. Lower and Sons were like the Cabelas of the day. From what I understand, anything with that stamp has much higher collestor interest. He was a major distributor of Sharps rifles. I know a guy who has one such example. A .40-90 SBN that looks as if it was drug here from the wagon all the way from Colorado, but the bore and inner workings are pristine. The same also goes for guns stamped "Walter Cooper, Bozeman Montana." Some people claim that someone marking their "kills" on the firearm is a myth. I think it happened, just not as often as you would like to think.
 
My old Colt has three neatly filed notches along the trigger guard frame. One can only guess...


I've got, among other things, tools and knives, that came from the estate of a fellow that was a firm believer in the concept of being able to identify ones own kit.

He filed three notches into all of it, along with his initials, when practical. I got my doubts that he'd go to the trouble of marking "kills" on his camping cookware, but maybe.....:D

Tell any story you want about the dots. Who's gonna prove otherwise?

Cheers
Trev
 
Well the '73 I just got off of the EE here has "DC" very nicely carved into the top corner of the butt near the buttplate on the left hand side. The patina indicates to me "DC" as the original owner. I'm going to get a letter from the Cody Museum, and hopefully "DC" will have ordered the rifle from the factory. If not, I'm taking suggestions for names.
 
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I've got, among other things, tools and knives, that came from the estate of a fellow that was a firm believer in the concept of being able to identify ones own kit.

He filed three notches into all of it, along with his initials, when practical. I got my doubts that he'd go to the trouble of marking "kills" on his camping cookware, but maybe.....:D

Tell any story you want about the dots. Who's gonna prove otherwise?

Cheers
Trev

Maybe he beat some rustlers to death with a frying pan???:D
 
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Well the '73 I just got off of the EE here has "DC" very nicely carved into the top corner of the butt near the buttplate on the left hand side. The patina indicates to me "DC" as the original owner. I'm going to get a letter from the Cody Museum, and hopefully "DC" will have ordered the rifle from the factory. If not, I'm taking sugestions for names.

I'd be interested in seeing pics of the "DC".
You know that was on Snider Enfields as "Dominion of Canada" right?

It's not in a diamond is it?
 
No, it's cut by hand. Not a Dominon of Canada stamp. I'll see if the for sale pics are still up, but I doubt it. Whomever did it, did a nice job.

OK, found 'em. I'll just put two up.

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Short knife, that is a nice '73. That 'DC' is nicely done and part of what makes the history of that rifle so interesting. DC will not appear on the Cody info, so we might as well make up some names. In that era, a common anglo saxon name was 'Dave'. Now we just have to make one up for the 'C'. It could have been Campbell. There. I've run out of ideas. I'm sure the rest of the list can come up with a truly impressive number of candidates for the 'C' or the 'D'. When it comes time to sell that '73. PM me.
 
I don't think it is anything. Probablly handling marks from over the years. Banged up against a nail or something.
I'm more interested it what you are using for ammunition? If your using rim fire, where did you get it? Did you change the block out to shoot centre fire ammo. I've had a Peabody for years and it's the only weapon I own I've never fired.
 
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