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DONATIONS WANTED .22LR ammo & rifles for Elbert County 4H Contact:

Bill Howard (719 481 3587)

Colorado Gun Collectors

President John Kelley 12990 N 6Th St Parker, CO 80134 303 840 2372

Gun Show Chairman Les Palmer 3490 E. Orchard Road Littleton, CO 80121 720-482-0167 CGCAShow@MSN.com

Secretary/Treasurer Newsletter Editor Bill Pittman 8075 S. Harrison Way Littleton, CO 80122 303-773-0238 SecTreas@CGCA.com

Monthly Meeting Schedule

Monthly Meetings are on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, except for the December meeting. In December we have Christmas Dinner on the first Saturday. Meetings start promptly at 7:00 P.M. They are held in the American Legion Hall at I-25 and Yale Ave., Exit #202 from I-25, East on Yale and take the 1st right.

New Members

Brad Darling Keene, CA Larry Hester Fort Worth, TX

Gilbert J. Hoffman Jr. Lakeland, FL Sherman M. Kirkland III Windsor, OH

Jay C. Lyndes Billings ,MT Kevin J. O’Hanlon Salina, CO

Clarence D. Parks Roundup, MT J. Michael Peters Topeka, KS Scott A. Rathbun Aurora, CO Ronald T. Staver Easton, KS

Buying Guns online? $30 transfer Fee for CGCA Members

Call Dave 303-733-4200

Buying Guns online? $30 transfer Fee for CGCA Members

Call Don 303-877-4831

CGCA Henry Rifles are still available send a $600 check To: CGCA Henry Rifle

8075 S. Harrison Way Centennial, CO 80122

Colorado Gun Collectors Association 51st Annual Gun Show Denver, CO May 2016

Setup: Thursday May 19, 3:00 PM to 8;00 PM Friday May 20, 10:00 AM to 7:00PM Show open to the Public May 21st 9:am to 5:00 pm & 22nd 9:00m to 3:00 pm

Show Chairman: Les Palmer, 720-482-0167

June 16, 2015 July 21, 2015 August 18, 2015 September 15, 2015

October 20, 2015 November 17,2015 December 5, 2015 January 19, 2016

February 16, 2016 March 15, 2016 April 12, 2016 May 17, 2016

GUN SHOWS 2015 Dates change and Shows are cancelled, so check before you travel

Jun. 12-14, Cheyenne, WY Fairgrounds Wyoming Sportsman Gun Shows 307-742-5943 Jun. 12-14, Twin Bridges, MT Fairgrounds Weapons Collectors Society of Montana 406-633-9333 Jun. 13-14, Dallas, TX Dallas Market Hall Dallas Arms Collectors Association 972-369-6062 Jul. 11-12, Cody, WY Riley Arena WACA 605-430 0889 Jul. 11, Golden, CO, Jefferson County Fairgrounds Colorado Militaria Show 719-593-2171 Jul. 11-12, Colorado Springs, CO Event Center at Rustic Hills Prospectors Sertoma Gun Show 719-630-3976 Jul. 18-19, Denver, CO Merchandise Mart Tanner Gun Show 720-514-0114 Jul. 24-26, Kansas City, MO K.C.I. Expo Center MVACA 913-220 7383 Aug. 8-9, Colorado Springs, CO Event Center at Rustic Hills Prospectors Sertoma Gun Show 719-630-3976 Sep. 5-6, Loveland, CO Larimer County Fairgrounds Tanner Gun Show 720-514-0114 Sep. 12-13, Colorado Springs, CO Event Center at Rustic Hills Prospectors Sertoma Gun Show 719-630-3976 Oct. 24-25, Colorado Springs, CO Event Center at Rustic Hills Prospectors Sertoma Gun Show 719-630-3976 Nov. 14-15, Loveland, CO Larimer County Fairgrounds Tanner Gun Show 720-514-0114 Nov. 14-15, Tulsa, OK Expo Square Wanenmacher Gun Show 918-492 0401 Nov. 27-28, Colorado Springs, CO Event Center at Rustic Hills Prospectors Sertoma Gun Show 719-630-3976

In Memoriam

Charles Best

COLORADO GUN COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION Spokesman Volume 50

Number 6 June 2015

David Royal’s The Savage Lever Action Rifle continued on page 2 More 2015 Gun Show Photos will be in the July Newsletter

NRA 1st Prize Larry and Gil Jones Merwin & Hulbert Automatic Revolvers

CGCA 1st Prize Jim & Judy Fisher Target Models from 1906-1963 and the men who owned them

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Arthur Savage and the Development of the Savage Lever Action Rifle Continued from the May issue By David Royal

Two of these muskets were entered into the U.S. military rifle trials in 1892 but were beat out by the Krag-Jorgensen rifle. The Krag’s magazine was easier to load and its straight pull bolt was easier to operate in the prone position than the Savage(5). This rifle had a round counter on the left forward side of the receiver as specified in the Army’s require-ments. The Krag didn’t have a round counter. The round counter was continued on most Savage lever action rifles into the 1980’s. These two rifles were probably built for Arthur Savage by Colt. The caliber is unknown but may have been 30-40 Krag. Savage then refined his design to a much smaller five-shot rotary magazine rifle that was patented in 1893. See Figures 12 and 13. It had a closed-loop lever and was designed for a small pistol type cartridge (this rifle is believed to be chambered in 32-20). It had a checkered stock and sporting-type forearm and was obviously intended for the civilian market. The Savage factory rifle has no markings as is the case with the other prototypes in the factory display. See Figure 14.

Figure 12. Savage’s 1893 patent rifle. This view shows the lever closed.

Figure 13,The 1893 patent rifle with the lev-er open.

Figure 14. Savages 1893 patent rifle photographed at the Savage factory by Charlotte Royal.

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Arthur Savage further refined this design and felt that he had developed a viable production rifle. This latest design had a larger receiver (but smaller than the 1892) than the 1893 prototype and fired a modern smokeless powder cartridge designed by Arthur Savage. It was called the .303 Savage (not to be confused with the .303 British) and was similar to Winchester’s 30-30. In my opinion Savage should have also produced a smaller rifle based on the 1893 prototype to compete with Winchester’s Model 1892 and Marlin’s Model 1894. Savage lacked the facilities to produce this rifle and contracted with Marlin to produce the rifle. About 5000 were pro-duced. The serial numbers range from about 3000 to a little over 8000. See Figure 15 for Patent number 502,018, July 25, 1893. The 1895 was very successful and resulted in Savage being able to obtain funding to open his own factory in Utica in late 1898. This subject will be covered in more detail in Chapter One of my upcoming book “A collector’s Guide to The Savage 99 Rifle and It’s Predecessors the Model 1895 and Model 1899”. David Royal

Figure 16. The author’s late production Model 1895 round barrel rifle.

Figure 15, This shows Arthur Savage’s patent drawing for the Model 1895 Savage.