An old hunting Buddy, 1894 38/55 that's a 'user':

[hfcable]

I got this rifle for $335.00 years ago, chip out of buttstock needed repair then light refinishing to blend it in, also has a stable crack near the tang...in a way it is a sort of beater i guess:



it is a semi-deluxe checkered,half octagon half round barrel, pistol grip 1894 rifle, caliber 38/55, serial #4362X, making its manufacture date in 1895:



it has a folding leaf rear sight, a lyman tang sight, and had been tapped for a receiver sight as well and has a marble's front sight that has a red dot over a sort of tunnel so that when using the tang sight and this front sight the game is not obscured by the sights.



this was probably for longer shots, but it sure works well on nearby sprinting caribou, letting me drop two with 2 shots as they ran past me on a gravel bar. your eye picks up the moving game easily with this setup.



so in a way it is a beater but it really is the kind of gun that i really enjoy, don't have to worry about using it, and it still does the job; this is one of my favorite guns.

[20cows]

Looks like a lot of fun to me! It's even in my favorite caliber.

[hfcable]

that front sight is hard to see in my picture with the red dot on the red blanket, so here a few more; they came in various sizes of white dots, red dots, and brass beads:

[El Mac]

Cool sight! Too bad they aren't made anymore...

[rjohns94]

that is very kewl. I wish you many more years of building memories and history with that one. That front sight is unique to me. I have never seen one. I gotta git out more.

[Tycer]

Very cool!

[clubkey]

Beater, I hardly say so... No, looks more like an experienced old friend to me. Great old rifle and I'm glad you took the time to share it with us.

[Ysabel Kid]

That sure is a nice gun!!! I've never seen a front sight like that! Now I'm going to have to try to find one!!!

Am I the only one that has found that this site has become a tremendous drain on the ol' wallet?!? Not that I would have it any other way...

[brucew44guns]

That old rifle is just aching to tell stories, of countless miles she was carried by some determind hunter trying to succeed at bringing home the prized deer or elk. You are fortunate that you got that rifle, for what you paid----- I would bet it was a big outlay for you "way back when", our paychecks were a lot smaller years ago so that price seemed like a ton. Glad you did it.

[airedaleman]

Wonderful old rifle! I'd say from the bluing wear on the left side of the receiver she once wore one of the "climbin' Lyman" sights. Wonder where it went...

[Pete44ru]

Now, that rifle's got character ! !

[kimwcook]

Very nice rifle. It takes a lot of companionship to make a rifle look like that and I wouldn't call it a beater by any means.

[Sixgun]

Harold,
When did you buy that rifle, in 1952? For a rifle with all those special order features, you could easily add a "0" after that $335, even with the d&t 'ed receiver. Funny thing, with most of us "older" guncranks, our favorite rifles have nothing to do with condition. My favorite is a fofmsb no finish '86 in 45-70 made in '89.--------------Sixgun

[hfcable]

Harold,
When did you buy that rifle, in 1952? For a rifle with all those special order features, you could easily add a "0" after that $335, even with the d&t 'ed receiver. Funny thing, with most of us "older" guncranks, our favorite rifles have nothing to do with condition. My favorite is a fofmsb no finish '86 in 45-70 made in '89.--------------Sixgun

thanks Sixgun, I bought it in 1983, I believe, and yes, it was a good buy even then; it likes the barnes old style .377 bullets, and shoots quite well with them. they also do a good job on large game.
yes, my favorites are like this generally, users that are comfortable to use.