Discovery of Model 1873 Winchester rifle in Nevada

[Dannyboy53]

This is old news and at least some of you may know about this but I just stumbled across this article, I think it's pretty neat!

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jan/17/researchers-puzzled-discovery-winchester-rifle/

[Phosphorus32]

Yup, that's a cool story. It did blend in well against its background, but it's still amazing that it stood out there for possibly more than a century!

[Dannyboy53]

I agree, Phosphorus, it is unlikely to happen but I hope they never discover the reason this rifle was left there for so long.

[CARBINE]

Wow...I didn't hear about that one before what a neat story, thanks for sharing.

[Dannyboy53]

Apparently due to the low humidity & other factors this old rifle is in remarkable condition.

[Phosphorus32]

Cool! I hadn't seen the video close up. That's mildly weathered, but you may want to use less than 40 grains of black powder

[Loose}{Cannon]

Amazing

[Dannyboy53]

I just had a thought, I don't suppose Jimmy Stewart left his '73 leaning on that Juniper tree!

[Loose}{Cannon]

From the original pic... Its hard to understand what all went on here.  Is the tree 100+ years old?  What part of the tree is in contact with the rifle?  Why has the growth of the tree not consumed part of the rifle or caused it to fall over?

Something just dont seem right looking at other examples of weapons/trees left for decades.  Heck, maybe some 22 year old took granpas gun up there and lost it in 1999.

[Loose}{Cannon]

It does look like the butt was buried a good 4". 

[Donp236]

The low humidity and colder temps in that area keeps the trees from growing as fast and also kept the stock from degrading more than it did. 

[Dannyboy53]

The low humidity and colder temps in that area keeps the trees from growing as fast and also kept the stock from degrading more than it did. 

Yep, most anywhere else in the U.S. and very little might have been left of that rifle!