“If this rifle could talk.”

“If this rifle could talk.”

Abigail Rec, Sports Editor

Cnn.com pondered the possibilities. One would imagine that it would speak of its companion, their wild excursions and hunting expeditions. Perhaps it would reminisce about riding on horseback with its owner, wedged in a saddle holster. The imaginative possibilities are endless, but the humbled accounts of the 132 year-old Winchester rifle will perhaps never be proved–its voice failing to reveal its origin but finding the words to exploit its age. Found in Great Basin National Park in Nevada by park workers, the Winchester rifle’s tang still reads “Model 1873.” The firearm was said to have been manufactured and distributed in 1882.

 

Entitled “the gun that won the West,” the Winchester rifle was found in Great Basin National Park leaning against the trunk of a juniper tree. The compelling discovery aroused curiosity, though answers or logical solutions are ultimately unattainable.

 

“Winchester records do not indicate who purchased the rifle from the warehouse or where it was shipped,” the park said on its Facebook page.

 

The countless years spent susceptible to the wind, snow and sun of nature’s wrath adds to the rifle’s mysterious origins, as the rifle remains intact with a legible tang. Located far from civilization—essentially the middle of nowhere—the Winchester is an anomaly that researchers struggle to investigate.

 

According to CNN.com, researchers intend to “squeeze out a few more secrets about the gun’s history from old newspapers and family trees.”

 

Despite its mysterious origins, it was decided by conservationists and the Great Basin National park staff that the 132 year-old rifle will be conserved in its current condition and displayed at the park’s 30th anniversary in 2016.

 

The rifle, manufactured and shipped in 1882, was a widespread model and was sold until 1919 when it was discontinued. The park reported that between 1873 and 1916, 760,000 Winchester rifles were created.

 

The 1873 model was originally $50, but dropped to $25 in 1882 at a time when the “Indian Wars” drew to a close in the Southwest. Today, the same 1873 model could sell for over $10,000 online to zealous firearm collectors.

 

The mystery and historical significance behind this 132 year-old rifle adds intrigue to the already compelling discovery made in Nevada. Ultimately an example of tangible serendipity, the Winchester firearm is an important symbol of a lost era.