The repeating shotguns of the Butcher Collection

[Delmonico]

What really will surprise some folks is how many repeaters showed up in the pictures.  Most think of settlers as poor folks barely getting by.  With some it's true.  But also this was the era of no game laws and a Mallard was worth 10 cents and a Canvas Back was worth 25 cents on the market. (Figures I've heard anyway.)  All you need is a rail road to ship back east and they were showing up.  I'm not saying they all were market hunters, but I'm sure some were, this area is famous for marshes and ducks.


All the ones I found seem to be either 1887/1902 Winchesters or 1893/97 Winchersters with the exception of one picture.

12143:



12777:



12988:



And the lever guns.

14179:



10127



10628:





And another early "Photo-Shop" job. 





This is typical of the sandhill lakes and there are hundreds of them. 

This 1908 picture appears to have the two guys armed with either Browning Auto-5's or Remington 11's, both the same gun, both available at the time:

13547:

[JimBob]

I think when you get right down to it farmers adopted new technology quicker than many others.It was a labor intensive way of life and anything to get the job done quicker with less time spent at it meant you could get more done given the time spent.One of them fancy new repeaters you could get a lot more in less time than that old double,as witnessed by some of those pictures.Even in that day the game must have seemed in unending abundance.