Just completed a deal and brought home a .38-55 single shot. Included were the pictured Ideal brand tools.
No plans to sell anything - just want to know what they could be worth.
At top is an Ideal Bullet Seater No.1 'Schuetzen' breech seating tool that seems to date to 1906.
Below is an Ideal No. 1 re and de-capper tool that is pre-1906, maybe 1890's?
"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."
Attached Files
A Whitney/Winchester or Winchester/Whitney rolling block. It's a custom that I believe could have been put together by Winchester using Whitney receivers after they bought them out in 1888. The silver plate on the right side of the butt stock is engraved with the name 'E. E. Stokes'.The receiver is Whitney Arms Co. and the barrel is definitely a Winchester #3. The bore is perfect. The rear sight looks like a Lyman #2, but I don't think that's the 'correct' tang sight. The front sight sure looks like those I've seen on Winchester hi walls. The receiver serial number is 80xxx which I think is in that 1888 ball park.
If any of you out there know about these please feel free to chime in.
"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."
Attached Files
Very nice!!!
David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .
Attached Files
The 'Target Bullets' are 255 gr paper patched factory projectiles made by Winchester for 'The Ballard Rifle'. Four boxes of 25 each - all of which are full and in perfect condition. There's a box of U.S. brand No. 8 primers too - which seems to be a full box of 200. The tin box contains a bunch of cardboard wads and a wad punch. The glass stoppered bottle contains some VERY vintage and crusty lube. The brass is UMC and the only one missing I'm guessing was maybe used on the breech seater. They are unfired balloon head that are still shiny inside. I'm leaving all of these components just as they are.
"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."
Attached Files
Lovely,
It will probably shoot as nice as it looks.
You ARE planning to shoot it?
Steve
Attached Files
I am absolutely going to shoot it. It has been fun these last couple of days just doing the research on everything. When I realized it was something of a hybrid (the Whitley/Winchester thing) I was afraid it was going to be revealed as some sort of weird parts gun cobbled together in somebody's garage in the evenings after high school in 1985 or something.
Now that I've looked into everything, the 'newest' component (other than that #2 Lyman tang sight) is the breech seater from 1906. All the various items go together relevant to the late 1880's-very-early-1900's time period.
"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."
Attached Files
With further research have found that this is a custom rifle built by an independent gunsmith. Based on the vintage of all the accessories the build seems to date from late 1880's to perhaps 1910. I had thought the Lyman #2 sight was more recent manufacture - but after checking it turns out this variation was available as early as 1905.
Looking at the perfect bore, tools in excellent condition, all brass still shiny on the inside, completely full and perfect boxes of bullets and primers - it's at least feasible that the owner never fired it.
Sometime this summer I plan on changing that..........
"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."
Attached Files
That's a VERY nice looking rifle. It looks like it may have been built as a light weight target rifle. I'd recommend grabbing some of the long Starline .38-55 brass to use instead of the brass that came with it. Brass that old is likely primed with mercuric (or at least corrosive) primers that are real bad news for cases and probably best kept as collector cases. That ought to be fun to play with...
Attached Files
Sometime this summer I plan on changing that..........
Machines where meant to be used, use them.
Attached Files
Hornet,
You're definitely right about that brass. I've been checking daily to see who has gotten some of that into stock.
Ric,
You're absolutely right. One of the reasons I've got this rifle now is that I decided to "convert" a couple of commemorative items I had into something I'd like to shoot. I went to a store loaded with trading stock ready to make a deal on an original 1850's M. Baader muzzleloading target rifle. After having it on hand for over ten years they had sold it a couple weeks before. They felt bad about it and instead we made a nice deal and I have this instead.
Apparently this was meant to happen!
"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."
Attached Files
Having been to war, spending a lifetime working on the "streets" and living to an old age, things are meant to happen. Go with the flow and enjoy your new rifle.
Attached Files
These were included, I'm not going to shoot them but want to know what they're worth. Been wearing out google without success. Anyone have a clue or a link?
Thx
"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."
Attached Files
