I'll just post the pictures and give the owner some time if he wants to comment before I do.

The caliber is .22-Hornet

Cool! A Springfield Model 1903 Kurz!

Somebody put in some serious time building that one.

Of course, inquiring minds will not rest until details are revealed...

Cheers,
Peconga in Boise, Idaho

Sedgely?

I seem to see something non-1903 about the trigger and guard bow, something almost Mauserish in a way. Maybe it's just the photo angle? What about the magazine if any?
Regards, Joe

This was handmade by an individual not a company.

EMIL KOSHOLLEK, STEVENS POINT WISCONSIN. JERRY

Single shot? (I suppose that would be too easy for a master....).

That would have been my guess but it was made in Georgia.

Michael: My second guess would be, it was made by a member of the "THE CUSTOM GUN GUILD" formerly of Norcross Georgia. This was a group of Custom gunmakers active in the early 80's through the early 90's in the Atlanta Area and supported by the local chapter of Safari Club. If not them, then either gunsmith Schley Howard or T.C. Kennon. If not any of these gents, then I'm stumped and I've grown up in Georgia and its' gunmaker's shops for 59 years! Whomever it is...Nice Work! Jerry

Hello Everyone,
That rifle was made by my Granfather, the Late-Great W.C. Slocum from Atlanta Georgia. He made this beauty from around 1935 to 1945. It took him 10 years to make it. He finished it in time for my Late Great father as a welcome home present from WW2.This rifle is entirely made by hand. The barrel use to be a Model T Ford in a previous life. My dad recently passed away, and I could not help but go semi public with it. Thanks for the kudos!

Dear Skydog,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing pictures of the rifle and the story behind it. It is a great rifle with a wonderful family history.

Skydog (Jim),

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing the pictures of the rifle your grandfather built. First let me say that one thing I have learned over the years of doing research is how verbal family history has a way of, well, lets just say....No matter how I might say this it's just not coming across as I want it.

I think I might be able to clear up a few things.

The Technique
"The South's Livest College Weekly"
Georgia School of Technology
VOL. XXIV
THE TECHNIQUE, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1934



W. C. Slocum Obtains
Recognition From
Winchester Arms
Recently Tech was given a little indirect publicity in which the student body might be interested.

Mr. W. C. Slocum, the master crafts­man in charge of the shop in the Aeronautical Department, is the man to whom we are indebted in no small way. Mr. Slocum has been spending most of his leisure time during the past six months in making by hand a .22 rifle of the Hornet type for his son. Winchester Arms Company of America heard about Mr. Slocum's work, and sent a special representative to Atlanta to look into the matter. The result was that Mr. Slocum was offered a position with the Winchester Company, which he declined to accept; a very fortunate thing for Tech.
In the construction of the bolt of this rifle Mr. Slocum incorporated his inventive ability to such an extent that it is like no other bolt made to fit the Hornet .22 rifle, a fact which may in time simplify the manufacture of rifles to a great extent. The bolt is much simpler and much more compact than any of the well known makes. The representative praised Mr. Slocum's work highly, and complimented Tech on having such a resourceful man in its employ. However, Mr. Slocum, a'modest man, stated that his sole purpose in making the rifle was to provide a little entertainment for his son. Anyway we appreciate the publicity. Many thanks, Mr. Slocum, and keep up the good work.

What a story. There are a few of those guys out there, still.

I sure would have liked to have known him and been a student.What a craftsman.

What more can anyone say.??? It's AWSUM

Thank you everyone....Especially you Michael! I know what your saying..."lost in the translation." To fill everyone in on what else Michael and I have been working on. My late father, late uncle and a late sports writer in the Atlanta Constitution named O.B. Keeler credit Granddaddy with being the
wildcatter who came up with the .218 Bee. Winchester gave him a U.S. Army presentation grade 1895 30-40 Krag for his efforts. This is somewhat confusing since this other fellow in Wisconcin is also credited. This was a beautiful rifle with a birdseye maple stock. Unfortunatly, It was stolen in the mid '70s.

"lost in the translation." much better said than I did. It's easy to offend folks and it seems like I do that on a regular bases. I need to pay attention to the Antique Roadshow when they tell people the same thing.

Many years ago I was down in the states interviewing several people, one was the son of a well known gunmaker. I spent several hours with him and had my tape recorder going, 90% or more of what he told me was wrong, even their nationality. I learned to be careful after that.

Is the rifle a repeater or a single-shot?

It appears to have a floor plate.

I've never shot it. But it does have a magazine

So this is a hand built small scale Springfield not just a shortened 03 Action?

Very impressive, thank you both for sharing.

John

Yes John, I was looking more than twice. The first clue I noticed was the diameter of the bolt...

Dear Skydog,

Did your grandfather make any sketches or notes as he was building this rifle that remain to this day? I am sure that
many members here would love to see any notes. It is a beautiful
rifle and I am glad it remains in your family and I hope that
it continues to do so for many more generations.

We have many old books on gun designs. Hatchers and several on single shot Sharps and Shilohs. I'll have to go find them. I remember seeing many pet loads as well. I don't recall any diagrams. He was a real big fan of Pope barrels. It wouldn't surprise me if he used Harry's design as a template. Ido have all his reamers. I do recall the name TC Kennon which one of our brothers in arms posted. BTW....Stay in the family? "My Cold,Dead Fingers!" (lol)

For Skydog,

Thanks Michael,
I'm having problems posting images on this here website. Granddaddy was a knife maker as well. Here are a couple of samples. His name is stamped at the base on one of the pics. This is what he use to “whittle.” He bought a boatload of
Sheffield steel long ago. This knick-knack bowl has at least a couple of hundred pieces of wood. The finish is beginning to delaminate on the bottom of the bowl. There was a matching lid for it,but it is MIA.

I have the text for this but will take me a little time to sort it out and clean it up.

skydog,, interesting name.nice stuff mc

Great story, great man. However, to be honest, these guys are out there right now, still working and designing. We run into them occasionally, and are amazed by their talents. I was at Krieghoff USA the other day and looked at a wonderful K-80 high grade gun in the showroom, fully engraved and gold inlaid. It is about eleven inches long. Bill Murphy

Yesterday I shot this rifle for the first time. I bought some Hornaday 35 grain V-Max for a benchmark. Great ammo, but this is one butt ugly bullet! I held my breath as I squeeze off that first round, praying thing thing would not break. The trigger pull was incredible.....just like a Timney. It's like snapping a thermometer in two. I instantly knew why my dad never would let me or my brother shoot it....because he would never get it back!!!! I got a surprise when I ejected that first round. This thing is a K-Hornet! Yep, form fired the case. It shot about 6 inches high at 50 yards.... with less than 1" MOA. I'll dig up Granddaddy's pet loads and try again....45 grain SMK's I think. Funny thing, the whole day I felt a very real connection with my father and grandfather. This was one of the most memorable days I've ever had on the range. More to come.....

Outstanding!

That's the BEST part! You are a lucky man.
Regards, Joe

Thank you Joe, I count my blessings every day

I hope I got them in order,

Are they right side up??? I edited them and they look OK at Photobucket but some of them are sideways here.

A wonderful rifle and the story behind it is heart warming.

The newspaper clipping brings home how different our time is than that when the rifle was made by Mr Slocum. Can you imagine taking a rifle into any news media office? And, even more unlikley today, finding an employee there who knew not only what he/she was looking at, but both recognized its uniqueness and could place it in a context including "bull guns"!

Thank you for sharing Skydog, what a great story.

John

Thanks for the kudos guys. I know my dad and grand dad would be very happy right now. Just remember there are a million stories like this out there. They just go unreported. I guess it's up to us to keep them alive.

Skydog,

your grandfather and my father were good friends, Pappy taught me to reload in the shop back of their home when I was 10 using a tong tool and dies he had made, I still have them and knives, sewing box he made my mother etc.

lots of time with Pappy growing up, hunting shooting, your dad is a little older than I but he and I did have some time together.

I would like to share some item's history and events with you

rbrowne34@cox.net

if any of the other posters know how I can contact Skydog let me know

Bob Browne