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Author
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Topic: New Year's Day Vintage Hunt
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booger
TOO BIG TO FAIL
Member # 3602
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posted January 04, 2016 11:57 AM
This past Friday, New Year’s Day, was the start of the 10 day whitetail antlerless-only season here in Kansas.
This was the first year since 2007 that I had purchased a deer license, and tried, (not really very hard), during the regular season to bag something with antlers, but an opportunity did not present itself. On January 1, the ‘Any Whitetail’ permit reverts to a ‘Whitetail Anterless Only’ tag in some management areas.
This particular hunt turned into a nostalgic trip, or vintage hunt, if you will, when I broke out the gun that my granddad had built in 1927. My grandfather had befriended an old German that ran a portrait studio in Russell, Kansas, in the late 1920’s.
I don’t know much of the details of how he got in touch with the factory in Germany, but an Oberndorf Mauser, chambered in 30.06 and built by J.P. Sauer and Sohn, of Suhl, Germany, arrived in Russell sometime during 1927. The gun has a really nice figured walnut stock and pretty ornate engraving on the receiver. It has a bugling European stag engraved on the hinged floor plate.
In looking at the history of the 160 acres of ground where I grew up, my grandpa borrowed $1,200 to pay for the gun and used that 160 acre parcel as collateral—quite a great deal of money in ’27. The gun was paid for over the next 18 months using his new found stream of income…they had just drilled 4 new oil wells on his land earlier that year.
The gun was ‘birthed’ with a rear peep sight, and a military surplus 2.5X Lyman Alaskan scope was added, near as I can figure, in the late 40’s, and the peep taken off. The gun still wears the Lyman scope today. There is some more history with that variety of scope, as there was an article in the National Rifleman a while back that focused on M1 Garand sniper rifles. The Lyman Alaskan was being used in WWII as the optic on top of those particular M1’s put in service for that purpose. I understand that variety of scope is still highly valued by collectors today.
The gun has been a safe queen since my dad passed away in 1977. The last round down the barrel was shot by my dad in December of 1976, that is until I broke it out last September to do some range work. I was hoping against hope it still shot good enough for me to take a deer, and boy was I surprised! During the 20’s and 30’s, almost all of the ammunition had corrosive primers. No matter how good one took care of the bore, guns of that era ended up with rifling damage due to pitting caused specifically by those primers. This gun is no different.
I scrubbed the bore well over the years and kept it oiled, but was apprehensive until I saw the group I shot. With off the shelf, Federal 150 grain soft points, I was able to shoot a 1 ½” group with that 2.5X scope…good enough for ‘minute of deer’!
Fast forward to 5:05 p.m. this past Friday afternoon…the sun was going down and I was overlooking a creek bank that I spent hours fishing with my best friend when we were kids. I was hunting land owned by that boyhood friend which is adjacent to my granddad’s ground and within a half a mile from where I was raised.
As if on cue, a line of about 8 does being trailed by a small whitetail buck appeared about 90 yards away moving from right to left. They picked up my scent, and were very confused, when one stopped through the trees broadside to me, trying to figure out what she was smelling. She looked small through the scope, and I justified her ‘smallness’ by thinking she was farther away and bigger due to the fact I was looking through a 2.5X scope!—Ha, ha—the joke ended up being on me!
At the shot, she bolted for 10 yards, somersaulted, white tail windmilling furiously, and then crashed to the ground!
If you have all heard of ‘ground shrinkage’ with bucks, I experienced that with this young doe…she only weighed about 90 pounds, but no deer I have ever harvested has meant so much as this one!
She was field dressed with my dad’s 1934 vintage hunting knife he received from my granddad for his 8th grade graduation. I actually would like to think that my grandpa and my dad were standing behind me, arms over each other’s shoulders, with huge smiles on their faces—sharing a laugh about the 3rd generation taking an animal with that gun, and chuckling about the size of the deer I happened to pick out!
I will try and get some pics up showing the gun and knife when I get some time!
[ January 04, 2016, 01:33 PM: Message edited by: booger ]
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If we ever forget we are one Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under--Ronald Reagan
Posts: 911 | From: Bob Dole Country | Registered: Apr 2010
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Kokopelli
SENIOR DISCOUNT & Dispenser of Sage Advice
Member # 633
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posted January 04, 2016 12:47 PM
Totally cool !!!!!!!
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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And lo, the Light of the Trump shown upon the Darkness and the Darkness could not comprehend it.
Posts: 7580 | From: Under a wandering star | Registered: Apr 2005
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Lonny
PANTS ON THE GROUND
Member # 19
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posted January 04, 2016 03:44 PM
Great story Booger. I enjoyed it.
I can really understand the special meaning of hunting on property that you literally grew up on.
Not to mention, using a rifle that has so much family history connected to it.
Just a wild-assed guess here, but a $1200 rifle in 1927, would have to be like a $15,000 rifle now?
Posts: 1209 | From: Lewiston, Idaho USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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DAA
Utah/Promoted WESTERN REGIONAL Hunt Director
Member # 11
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posted January 05, 2016 04:00 AM
Very neat!
- DAA
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"Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom, but they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." -- George Hanson, Easy Rider, 1969.
Rocky Mountain Varmint Hunter
Posts: 2676 | From: Salt Lake City, UT | Registered: Jan 2003
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knockemdown
Our staff photo editing Guru, par excellence
Member # 3588
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posted January 05, 2016 07:14 AM
That's cool as heck, Tim!
Love to hear about hunts where there's an element of nostalgia to them...
Bet that rifle is a honey, too!!! Spent a few hours in a gun shop in Cologne a few years back, and was basically awestruck at the detail & craftsmanship put into German hunting rifles. And the price tags would make a custom rifle here compare similarly to a Savage from Walmart!!!
Posts: 2202 | From: behind fascist lines | Registered: Mar 2010
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booger
TOO BIG TO FAIL
Member # 3602
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posted January 05, 2016 08:30 AM
Not sure on what the inflation factor would be in 89 years on that initial $1,200. About 18 months ago, we were in Denver and I visited the Bass Pro Shop store. Happened to wander in the gun room, and they had a 1975 Sauer and Sohn Mauser in a display case. I know they can ask whatever they want, but they had $35,000 on that particular gun. It had pretty wood, but not near the scroll work embellishment that mine shows.
I have never had the gun appraised, and probably will not. Up until now, only a close circle of friends and family knew about the gun. This is really the first time I have let anyone outside of those people know…probably should not have done it on the ‘net, but what the hell, it is a pretty neat part of our family history.
I have 4 male cousins that are seething because I ended up with the gun. My dad had 2 older brothers, and when my grandpa died in 1963, he willed the gun to my dad. I think my dad was the only one that ended up hunting with my grandpa, while the older 2 sons did not.
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If we ever forget we are one Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under--Ronald Reagan
Posts: 911 | From: Bob Dole Country | Registered: Apr 2010
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted January 06, 2016 07:28 PM
That is a great story, Tim. I have my grandpa's old Winchester as well. Not nearly as nice as yours, but he redid the safety for lefties because he was the only guy in the family that shot wrong-handed until I came along. Have never shot it and the bluing is all worn off, but I suspect if I tried, I can still get a whiff of Prince Albert pipe tobacco hiding under the Hoppes 9.
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Paul Melching
Radical Operator Forum "You won't get past the front gate"
Member # 885
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posted January 10, 2016 12:43 PM
Very cool Story Booger sounds like an incredible rifle and a great day hunting.
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Those who value security over liberty soon will have neither !
Posts: 4188 | From: The forest ! north of the dez. | Registered: Jul 2006
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