doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Mystery rifle

It is definitely not a Marlin.

I just googled up a RIA video of the Bullard, large-frame gun. I think that is what this is, but it's hard to be certain.

I'd like to find a huntable Bullard sometime.

Just guessing, but the shape of the action and hammer look all wrong for a Bullard.

Somethng is not right with all the proportions of the different things in the picture. When compared to the size of the pelts, that rifle and maybe other things in the picture could be smaller than seems on first appearances.

With the short magazine tube, non crescent appearing butt, maybe not a very large stature fellow for all sorts of reasons, I'd guess it's a special order Winchester '94 lineage rifle, and those shells might be 30-30's. Fun exercize, maybe his dad came in from the remote trapper cabin and told him, hey go stand on the horse and let's see if uncle Irv will take a picture.

I am not sure what it is, however I am looking at the forearm which does not appear to have a metal cap and also the barrel band. I am no lever gun expert at all but the forearm treatment may contain some clues as to the rifles identity.
In addition, there are no obvious indications of "photo-shopping", however in the age the photo was taken or indicated to be taken, photographic film was very slow requiring long exposure times. How did they get the horse with the man standing on his back, to stand still that long time? Just food for thought.

LA Huffman did it all the time. He captured buckin� broncs in action in the 1880�s.

I refuse to play the app game of uploading things to my phone to post a pic, but if anyone wants to see an action shot check this one out. Simply amazing:

https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B3%2F8%2F1%2F381026%5D%2Csizedata%5B850x600%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D

Or since I�m not even smart enough to post a link, google �L A Huffman Broncos�

whitney- whitney kennedy ???

Here is what I think happened.

This is a "staged picture"
The horse is not his, the pelts are not his
and the rifle is not his.
Often in the old times the photographer had
all the items, and I feed the lever is not on the
gun and the gun can not be made to fire.

Mike

p.s. sometimes EVEN the horses were stuffed props

Can't be a Whitney of any flavor. Their frame curves down to the root of the lever - semi Marlin like but different. That would be easily observable in this photo.

I'm convinced it is a Bullard. However, there is and interesting pin or bolt midway in side of the fore arm. That is pretty odd. The entire forearm looks odd and unlike anything that I know of. Perhaps it is a home-brew, Bubba half mag adaptation.

Whether the guy owns the horse, rifle, or pelts, it is still an interesting rifle and an interesting, if odd, photo.

There was another comment thinking it was a Bullard also, but it disappeared.

The reason I don't think it's a Bullard is because the Bullard action is lengthened because they fit in a sort of rolling breech block. That pushes the hammer way back on the tapering tang part of the receiver and the rolling block shows nearly as much as the hammer does. On this rifle, the hammer is down and is seated into receiver where it is full breech height. The trigger on this rifle is also in a common position just ahead of the main body of the hammer, on Bullards the trigger appears to be behind the hammer.

It could have been altered, but I think Bullard lever rifles usually have a steel forend cap, but not a barrel band which it looks like this rifle has. The hammer spur also has the look of how a Winchester one is shaped and angled. With the pistol grip stock, that looks checkered, likely a shotgun style buttplate, this rifle may be showing special order features and it wouldn't be out of the question that a short magazine was specified.

I don't know what it is, but it doesn't seem to have the typical Bullard lever rifle layout and proportions.

An additional mystery is what pistol butt is almost invisibly protruding from that holster.

Dan, I have stared at that holster and I can't even determine it is a pistol holster for sure. But what else could it be.

craigd, I spent some time flipping back and forth with bullard images and I think the trigger-hammer-lever orientation does fit with the Bullard. Plus the depth of the receiver relative to its apparent length looks right. I think the porportions are there.

As for the shotgun butt, they came lots of ways, including a double pronged Schuetzen, so that seems reasonable to me.

The forearm/barrel band, I agree, takes a lot of explaining.

The front sight looks right and it seems just a little too far back which is how I always think of Bullards.