Original Winchester Model 1873 brings home the venison

I guess at the speed the doe was moving, 150 yards translates into 12 seconds tops. I shot a nice buck right through both lungs with a 30-30 a few years ago and he made it 100 yards blowing blood like Old Faithful. Both deer were moving way faster than an Olympic 100 meter sprinter, so I guess we are looking at 8 to 12 seconds to drop with a double lung shot. A fellow I was hunting with blasted a medium sized buck in the heart with a 7 mm Rem Mag at 20 yards and it made it 85 yards before dropping. When we were cleaning it, the heart was so badly disintegrated that we wondered what it was at first.

Part of the reason I'm retiring this old '73 (apart from the fact that I want to keep it from getting accidentally marked up) is that I have a couple other vintage Winchesters waiting their turn. It's too early to tell yet, but I will likely hunt with one of these two next fall.

The first one is an original Winchester Model 1894 Takedown chambered in 30 W.C.F. (aka 30-30). It was shipped from the Winchester Warehouse in 1903 and is still in beautiful condition. Here is a photo ....


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The other option is an original Winchester Model 1886 45-70, shipped from the Winchester Warehouse in 1890. Here is a photo of that one ...


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Very nice old Winchesters !

I too started my deer hunting "career" some 45 years ago with a 44-40 ...Model '92 rifle.
Small buck only went a couple of jumps, about 20 yards, before piling up from a frontal heart shot.

Since then, another Model '92 converted to 44 Magnum, a 30-30 (octagon) rifle with tang peep,
an '86 in 45-70 and a converted ( 450 Alaskan) Model 71 have all taken deer for me.

This year was a big-bodied four pointer ( " bang/flop " ) with a Model 700 Mountain in 257 Roberts.
 
The photo of the rifle leaning up against the logs would look great framed, or done as a painting if you knew an artist that could do it.

Nice work, gorgeous rifles.
 
Great work, Win 38-55!! Nice pics, lovely rifle, and beautiful doe.

There is a special gratification that comes from taking a game animal with a vintage rifle/chambering.

My 38-55 has the distinction of taking my largest Whitetail Buck. [255 grain Barnes original, 31.5 grains of H322.]
Within ½ hour, I had a doe on the ground with the same combo.

Very productive evening, and very vivid in my memory, even though it was 4 years ago.

Regards, Dave.
 
Those guns are beauties... keepers. So many guns these days are plastic/potmetal "throw-aways"...
 
Admire what you're doing Kirk, having the old girls do what they were originally intended for makes 'em all real happy I have no doubt. My first deer was with an '86 like yours, although 3 years younger (and not in as nice shape) but it was darned rewarding to take some dinner with it. Always wanted to take my 73 out (I have a high condition 73 not unlike yours) but I don't think I have the guts to do it. Anyhow, good on ya and good pics and story as always.
 
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