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Old Ephraim


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I finally found it!   (I knew I had it someplace )

 

From my copy of Legendary Sporting Rifles (Sam Falda) pg. 118

 

The Story of Old Ephraim

Quote

118 LEGENDARY SPORTING RIFLES
1894 Winchester 25-35 pg. 118

  In 1895 an improved Model 1894 was built with much stronger nickel steel, which allowed for use of the 30 WCF. This was truly the Win- chester Model 94 that made a hit with shooters, the rifle brought out in 1895.
 
  All ways short-changed in this story, however, is the 25-35 Winchester. While the 30 WCF is usually noted as the first smokeless sporting round, it is more factual to say two rounds were smokeless sporters, because the 25-35 was announced with the 30 WCE in 1895. No one will ever know for sure, but it's a good guess that had the '94 stayed with the 52-40 and 38—55 blackpowder rounds into the 1900s. the little meteor might never have made the impact on American shooting that it did.
 
  The 25—35 was an expert’s deer round. That is, the little 25-caliber‘117—grain bullet at some— thing in the neighborhood of 2200 to 2300 fps was never a powerhouse; yet the dedicated sportsman with plenty of hunting experience could favorably tackle big game with the round.
 
  One of the largest killer grizzlies in the west was stopped with a 25- 35.
 
  This was Old Ephraim, a renegade killer that preferred the flavor of livestock. A trapper named Frank Clark tried to get Old Ephraim to set foot in a big snap-jaw trap from 1914 into 1925
 
  Trapper and bear finally came together. According to Utah Department of Fish & Game records, Clark related the bears demise: ”Finally, more out of fear than any other passion, I opened up with my small 25- 35 caliber rifle and pumped six shots into him. He fell dead at my feet”
 
  You can still read the statistics on Old Ephraim on a marker not far from the beautiful city of Logan, Utah:
 
   OLD EDHRAIM’S GRAVE (Grizzly Bear)
   KILLED BY FRANK CLARK
   MALAD, IDAHO
   AUGUST 22, 1923—
   Weight Approx. 1,100 pounds-
   Height 9 ft. 11 in.
   
   SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE HAS EPHRAIM’S SKULL

Skeptics may question the statistics. That’s a lot of grizzly bear, and the skulls size suggests that Old Ephraim was a monster
   
   A monster taken with the 25-35 from the reliable Model 1894 Winchester. The 25- 35 Winchester was a little bit better than its small caliber suggests, because the long bullet could be counted on to penetrate fairly well. The 25- caliber round-nose called for a fast rate of twist, and the Winchester '94 answered with a 1:8, a turn of the bullet in every eight inches of travel. That rate of twist was at least one of the fastest at the time, if not the fastest in a sporting arm. The 25—35 continued to be chambered in the Model 1894 Winchester from 1895 to 1936, when it was dropped, although it reappeared in the '94 from 1940 to 1950. The 25-35 finally gave way to the larger 30 WCE, as well as the 32 Winchester Special round, essentially a 30 WCE cartridge case, with a 32-caliber projectile.
   
   It has a story unto itself. It is said that the 32 Winchester Special cartridge was brought out for shooters who wanted to reload with black powder. The 32 Winchester Special was supposed to be more suitable for black powder than the 30 WCF, according to rumor.
   
   --

 

guess I don't need to find that Marlin .444 after all :)

 

just goes to show ya don't need a Gatling Gun -- if ya know what yer about !!

 

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1 hour ago, Grampaw Willie, SASS No.26996 said:

just goes to show ya don't need a Gatling Gun -- if ya know what yer about !!

 

A bit of skill and a whole lot of luck will usually save your bacon if you don't panic.

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6 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

A bit of skill and a whole lot of luck will usually save your bacon if you don't panic.

no doubt

 

I posted what there was from Sam Falda's book   ( OCR ) -- but from the story I infer Frank Clark had the experience he needed to deal with Old Ephraim

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