National Match, International Match? Need help!

[Michael Petrov]

Yes, Rifle No. 162 December, 1935 "Woolsey, M. Caye 30/06 Spfld Louisville,KY"

Hope this is what you need.

[404tbang]

Michael,
U N B E L I E V A B L E !!!!

Thank you Michael! Mother of all long shots indeed! This feels a little weird. I bought the Johnson Straight Pull about three years ago, it had come from an estate sale. I completed an extremely complicated trade to get the Springfield two or three months ago. That guy had bought it from a neighbor something like 25 years ago, he was not certain. This is the first time these rifles have been together in who knows how many decades. At least now I have a name to peg to the Springfield. I am floored that the same guy apparently owned both rifles. When I send you the pics of the two guns together, you will see what I mean about the stocks having some extremely similar features. I will post some pics here as well. Gotta catch the teenage boy who knows how to do this stuff.

Has anyone ever heard of Woolsey M. Caye from Louisville Kentucky before? Was he a shooter of any reputation?

Thanks for your help folks, I appreciate it. Michael, I will try to get an email out to you this weekend. Thank you again!

Greg

[EversonExhaust]

How do you ID an Eric Johnson barrel?

[404tbang]

How do you ID an Eric Johnson barrel?

Howdy EversonExhaust,
Johnson used a couple of different stamps over the years. First, it will have Eric Johnson stamped on the top of the barrel. At some point in time, he changed the stamp to say Eric Johnson with five stars and the number 8. The 8 represents the number of grooves in the barrel. I have read that the stars were basically marketing, and that he always made every barrel the best he could. He used a couple of different numbers of grooves for a while, then settled on 8.

At some point in time, I do not know when, Johnson began putting serial numbers on the bottom of his barrels. He also stamped dates of manufacture. I don't know if the serial numbers and manufacture dates came at the same time, or if he did one for a while and then added the other. I have a Remington 37 that was owned by a shooter named Charlie Whipple, (who was supposed to have been quite good) when the barrel was set back, part of the original date was cut off so the barrel could be rechambered. The new date of the work was stamped on the bottom of the barrel.

According to Carl Johnson, Eric's son, and the fortunate folks with a copy of the records, they are voluminous. The rifles that came into the shop before he recorded serial numbers of those rifles, and before barrel serial numbers were used, would seem about impossible to look up who the original owner was.

I was lucky enough to get Johnson Straight Pull serial number 1. There are only 6 Straight Pulls. Five commercial ones, mine is serial number one of these, and the prototype, which is also serial number 1. When Carl Johnson gave me the phone number of the guy with the prototype straight pull, he did not tell me about that rifle. He just said this guy would be extremely interested in mine. The guys is super nice, and highly knowledgeable about Johnson rifles. He very happily told me he had Eric Johnson straight pull serial number one! I said, grab a chair buddy, 'cause I TOO have Johnson Straight Pull serial number one. "WHAT??!!!" It was an interesting conversation, neither one of us knew about the other rifle. We compared rifles, he had the advantage of having a copy of the shop records, and figured out a couple of small differences that indicated his was the prototype and mine was the first commercial one.

I told you that to tell you this, I got lucky in the extreme, in that it was a unique rifle, and this guy had found the info about it in the shop records. If it had been something besides the Straight Pull, I don't know how one would identify anyone who owned the rifle by the barrel.

Had I not known the name of the original buyer of the Straight Pull, Michael Petrov could not have found that the same guy owned the Springfield in this thread. I am still amazed by that!

Anyway, I could not have Id'd the Johnson barrels without help from a couple of nice folks with the Johnson shop records.

I was about to close, and realized I may have interpreted your question wrong. If by Id'ing a Johnson barrel, you meant the stamps, well, I covered that along with a lot you had not asked for!! Sorry to ramble on that!

Greg

[Peconga]

Fascinating story, and I look forward to seeing pictures. I once owned a Marlin Ballard fitted with an Eric Johnson .22LR barrel, and you are correct that rifles with his touch are still highly sought after. As for your rifle no. 1403758, here is an extract of data from the SRS database showing rifles with adjacent serial numbers (Note that DATE is in MMDDYY format).


SERIAL TYPE DATE SOURCE
-----------------------------------------------------------
1403743 A1NM 011835 DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42
1403746 A1NM 091537 DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42
1403750 NM 082133 DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42
1403755 A1NM 112334 DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42
1403760 NM 041833 DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42
1403763 A1NM 110934 DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42
1403765 A1NM 091537 DCM RIFLE SALES 1922-42
-----------------------------------------------------------

Cheers,
Peconga in Boise, Idaho

[218bee]

I had a 1922 M2 trainer, fitted with an Eric Johnson heavy barrel....sold it, like a fool...dang....

[404tbang]

Thank you all for the interest and input! My son left his digital camera at my parents house, won't be able to get over there till the end of the week. I will try to get the camera and post some pics in a week or so.

Sorry!

Greg