Lost Winchester '73 Rifle Found

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The Rip Van Winkle of firearms.

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Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 3-15-2026

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From:

Quiet Professionals, Noisy Machinery.

Did this Rifle Sleep for a Century?

How often have we held a gun, and thought, or even said aloud: “If it could only speak! What stories might it tell?” But our stories about these guns usually begin in a gun shop or auction listing, not quite the tales of romance and intrigue we imagine. Conversely, the gun in this picture certainly has a dramatic story to tell — if only it could.

That story is told in a press release from the National Park Service’s Great Basin National Park in Nevada (.pdf), And in photo captions on the Parks Facebook page. Here we elaborate on those captions photos a little, but the bottom line is that Nobody really knows the story of where this came from and how it got to its resting place next to the tree. Nobody knows what its owner’s story was, or why he never came back for the rifle. The gun looks like it was rested there deliberately, but whoever left it there didn’t expect it to next be touched by human hands in November, 2014.

Why didn’t he come back for his rifle? Did he get lost? Did the rough terrain, arid climate, or hostile natives and animals account for him? Nobody really knows. It’s a true Old West mystery.

It’s obviously a Winchester ’73, but that doesn’t narrow it down much. They were made from the original year until well within the 20th Century.

The Park Service:

With time, sun, wind, rain and snow aging the gun it blended almost perfectly with the tree it was leaning against.

The Park Service is hoping the publicity will bring forward more clues into this 19th-Century mystery. Now, there’s a lot of speculation about a hunter, or an Indian. (The video contains an outlaw story, and that just might be it, too). But we wonder if the gun was lost in the mid 20th Century in the making of a movie? An early Winchester was, then, just an old gun. But the remote location suggests that’s probably not it — movies are made near roads, by preference.

It would make a pretty good book, to give 10 writers this information and let each tell the story of the rifle and its last owner.

Recovery Process ~

The first thing is to unearth the butt of the rifle from its slowly rising entombment.

The dry Nevada air isn’t too tough on guns, so this one must have been here for a very long time indeed. The wood is brittle and crumbling.

It had sat here long enough for several inches of new humus to cover the butt end of the stock.

The wood is clearly in a bad way. To protect it, it’s wrapped with orange “flagging.” This isn’t sticky tape; it’s non-adhesive, and just provides a little support for the weakened stock until it can be removed and conserved.

It’s wrapped up in that, and then placed in a gun hard-case and transported back to the lab.

Back in the Lab ~

The first thing is to try to find the serial number. The technicians were successful, and were able to determine when the gun shipped (1882) thanks to records held at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming. But unfortunately, there are no surviving records of to whom it was shipped.

The lab also was able to confirm that the rifle was in caliber .44-40. It was unloaded.

The condition of the wood shows how nature’s forces are always a threat to man-made objects.

No rifling remains visible in the old gal’s muzzle.

The butt plate is suffering itself, from decades of interment. The wood it’s screwed in to is in even worse condition.

The hammer shows signs of hand-work, as was normal even among mass-produced guns in that era.

The opposite of the hammer is the trigger, and this one shows both great care in manufacturing, and the legacy of a lifetime spent leaning, loyally, but empty, against a weathered tree in the high mountains. Waiting for a hunting partner who never returned, or perhaps a prospector who was caught without the rifle’s protection.

There even seems to be minute vestiges of the case-hardening treatment still visible on these forged and machined parts. You wouldn’t look this good if we left you out in the weather this long, would you?

But, oh, the stories this rifle could tell, if only, if only….

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From:

Text of the Press Release.

Winchester Model 1873 Rifle Recovered in Great Basin National Park ~

BAKER, NV – On November 6, 2014 Cultural Resource Program Manager, Eva Jensen working with the park archaeology team, noticed an object beneath a Juniper tree. Getting a closer look she discovered that is was a rifle.

Numerous questions surround the small piece of American heritage in Great Basin National Park. The 132 year-old rifle, exposed to sun, wind, snow, and rain was found leaning against a tree in the park. The cracked wood stock, weathered to grey, and the brown rusted barrel blended into the colors of the old juniper tree in a remote rocky outcrop, keeping the rifle hidden for many years.

“Model 1873” distinctively engraved on the mechanism identify the rifle as the Winchester Model 1873 repeating rifle. The serial number on the lower tang corresponds in Winchester records held at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum in Cody, Wyoming, with a manufacture and shipping date of 1882. Currently, the detailed history of this rifle is unknown. Winchester records do not indicate who purchased the rifle from the warehouse or where it was shipped. The rifle was not loaded when it was found, but would have held .44-40 caliber ammunition when in use.

Winchester Model 1873 rifles hold a prominent place in Western history and lore. The rifles are referred to as “the gun that won the West”. 720,610 were manufactured between 1873 and 1916 when production ended. In 1882 alone, over 25,000 were made. Selling for about $50 when they first came out, the rifles reduced in price to $25 in 1882 and were accessible and popular as “everyman’s” rifle. The Winchester business plan included selling large lots of rifles to dealers or “jobbers” who would distribute the firearms to smaller sales outlets.

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA ~

The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

This rifle may provide its own bit of lore. Mysteries of the rifle’s journey through time spur creative and lively discussion. Who left the rifle? When and why it was leaned against the tree? And, why was it never retrieved? The Great Basin cultural resource staff is continuing research in old newspapers and family histories hoping to resolve some of the mystery and fill in details about the story of this rifle.

The park will provide a viewing opportunity for the community on Friday, January 16, 2015, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Great Basin Visitor Center classroom, and on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at the Border Inn from 2:30 until 5:00 p.m. during the annual Old Sheepherders Gathering. After the viewing, the rifle will be sent to conservators to stabilize the wood and apply museum conservation techniques. The treatment will keep the gun looking as it was found and prevent further deterioration. When the rifle is returned to the park it will be displayed as part of the Park’s 30th Birthday and the NPS Centennial celebration.