fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
I know a collection that has three of them in it and will be part of an estate sale in the near future, depending on what the family keeps for themselves.
Whitney Kennedy Rifle
- Thread starter triggerman42
- Start date
Not for lack of interest - just not a common animal; always been interested in these but have never seen one in person. Been following the thread though, also hoping to see more
To tell the truth , I'd never even heard of them , till I stumbled across this one. But then again , I'm not a big lever gun expert by any means. I just like the oldies , and bolt action milsups . I'm not a plastic/composite kinda guy. I always thought bullpups were some kind of terrier dog. LOL , I bought a 3 gun lot to get the guns I wanted. The Whitney was the 3rd gun in the lot, and it grew on me once I got it home. Heck , I still think shoot'n the snider is fun . I just should have got into the older stuff earlier in life when my eyes were better. Trifocals and open sights don't mix well . Trust me . There's a scope on my deer rifle ! LOL
NorthCoastBigBore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Northwest BC (Rural) 103-I-##
Oh I understand. I'm only 40 (although my kids think I'm ancient) but can't shoot open sights past 25 yards anymore (big gongs are OK), maybe 50 with the glasses on. Takes a LOT of the fun out of shooting the bigger stuff. I have way more scopes on things now then I ever did before. It happened sort of all of a sudden too 'bout 6-7 years ago, just couldn't focus on certain things anymore. I'm told it doesn't get any better
When I was a kid I used to read all the books I could get my hands on about antique rifles and lever guns and buffalo guns in particular, the Whitney (and a couple others) caught my eye because it "wasn't a Winchester" and still looked classy. So I've always been aware of them, but ain't seen one in person.
Well , it was beautiful , warm , spring day , so I made a trip to the range. I shot the Whitney Kennedy rifle for the first time.
I had some 44/40 ammo made from new star-line brass , with a mild black powder load and cast lead bullets. I wanted to take it easy on the antique rifle. Who knows when the last time this thing was shot ? LOL . I know it had a very thick layer of dust on it when it came into my possession. It functioned flawlessly ! I was amazed at the smoothness of the action in actual operation with loaded ammo. Mild loads , so , no kick whatsoever . A fun little puff of smoke. I am happy to say that after the first few shots , and a sight adjustment or two it shot very well ! After I got it sited in I put up a new target , and managed to put all 10 out of 10 into a 8 inch black circle at 50 yards. The clean up afterwards took quite a while because of the black powder , but I was still smiling so it didn't matter ! LOL I'd run a water soaked patch through the barrel , then a dry one , till the patches came out clean. Then a gave it a good scrubbing with a brass brush and solvent. More patches till it came out clean again. Then lightly oiled patch for the last pass to leave a film of oil inside. I don't plan on shooting this old girl a lot , but I had to try it for a functionality test. Oh....who am I kidding ? I can hear it right now , upstairs , in the locker , calling me. Come back ! Come back !
I had some 44/40 ammo made from new star-line brass , with a mild black powder load and cast lead bullets. I wanted to take it easy on the antique rifle. Who knows when the last time this thing was shot ? LOL . I know it had a very thick layer of dust on it when it came into my possession. It functioned flawlessly ! I was amazed at the smoothness of the action in actual operation with loaded ammo. Mild loads , so , no kick whatsoever . A fun little puff of smoke. I am happy to say that after the first few shots , and a sight adjustment or two it shot very well ! After I got it sited in I put up a new target , and managed to put all 10 out of 10 into a 8 inch black circle at 50 yards. The clean up afterwards took quite a while because of the black powder , but I was still smiling so it didn't matter ! LOL I'd run a water soaked patch through the barrel , then a dry one , till the patches came out clean. Then a gave it a good scrubbing with a brass brush and solvent. More patches till it came out clean again. Then lightly oiled patch for the last pass to leave a film of oil inside. I don't plan on shooting this old girl a lot , but I had to try it for a functionality test. Oh....who am I kidding ? I can hear it right now , upstairs , in the locker , calling me. Come back ! Come back !
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Well , I watched the tail-end of an online auction last night (Monday, March , 20th , 2017) . "GunBroker auctions " had a Whitney Kennedy rifle in 44/40. This one had a round barrel , and "s" shaped lever. It sold for $1827.oo US . (about $2438.oo Canadian).
Although I do like mine , and appreciate the history , it does not really fit into my area of collecting. It is the only lever gun I own !
There may be an "EE" ad up soon , and instead of dickering a price I may just offer it up for trade.
The only other solution I can see , is buy a couple more lever guns to keep it company , and broaden the range of my collecting interests.
I guess I need to meditate on it for a bit. There is a gun show , local to me , this weekend.
Maybe that will give me some inspiration , or direction ?
You ever go to a gun show and have a specific piece whisper to you? (sometimes in a foreign language ) LMAO , here we go again !
Although I do like mine , and appreciate the history , it does not really fit into my area of collecting. It is the only lever gun I own !
There may be an "EE" ad up soon , and instead of dickering a price I may just offer it up for trade.
The only other solution I can see , is buy a couple more lever guns to keep it company , and broaden the range of my collecting interests.
I guess I need to meditate on it for a bit. There is a gun show , local to me , this weekend.
Maybe that will give me some inspiration , or direction ?
You ever go to a gun show and have a specific piece whisper to you? (sometimes in a foreign language ) LMAO , here we go again !
