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Another story comes to a close in the quest for all things Niedner.

For those who have a copy of Gun Digest for 1997 please turn to page 97 and read the article A Maynard Talks.

Maynard Model-82 44-100

From the May 21st Amoskeag Auction Company Catalog:

1146.MAYNARD MODEL 1873/1882 SPARE BARREL BY AO NIEDNER OF MICHIGAN (un-numbered), .376" bore tapering to .365 at the muzzle (.011" choke) with .425" � diameter base, nearly straight-wall case (may taper) about 2.155" long with .520" diameter rim. 24" round barrel with a bright excellent smoothbore. Metal surfaces retain about 70% fading original plum blue finish with the loss due to honest even fading and light handling marks with a spot or two of very light surface oxidation. The top of the barrel is maker marked "A.O.Niedner/Dowagiac Mich" and the barrel features an ivory bead front sight mounted in a dovetail and a Lyman style midrib ivory bead. The coarsely checkered American walnut forearm with scant Schnabel tip rates excellent with much original varnish. One would suspect a 38-55 would drop right in, it is very close. A very nice barrel overall by a very well-respected and talented old-time gunsmith.

MIchael, I'm confused more than usual. Is it a shotgun or a rifle or a rifle bored out to a shotgun?

No Gun Digest ;-).

It's a long and complected story with several decades of research in the making.

In a nut shell E.A. Leopold (not the scope guy)a famous shooter back in the day originally owned the rifle then after he died Dr. Mann bought it and then later gave it to A.O. Niedner.

Niedner made a shotgun barrel using a 38-55 case to use in shooting dragonflies when fishing.

Niedner gave away or sold all his other firearms, this was the very last one to go. The rifle was given to a friend in 1952 on his way to Alaska. The shotgun barrel was not with the rifle when I found it in 1982.

The shotgun barrel Niedner made for it arrived last night here in Alaska.

Thanks Michael I'm no longer confused about the rifle/shotgun. My wife says that I'm still confused though. It's a very nice looking rifle/shotgun. Must be very satisfying to make something like that complete once again.

What a great story! You ought to do a sequel to the GD story as to where you got the gun and anything you know about the travels of the barrel.

I've known where the barrel was since 1984. Jerry (Jake) Simmons of Goshen, Indiana had it.

I tried everything I could to get it from him, even sent him a copy of the GD article. His only use for it was to bug me about it. Just a few days before he died he sent me a note and ask if I knew he had a Maynard smooth bore barrel made by Niedner.

When they auction off his stuff a few months ago the barrel was not in the catalog and I was worried. I called around and found the guy who had bought all the stuff not in the auction. He did not have the barrel but remembered it in a case with other stuff that the auction people removed.

I called the auction house and seems they had forgotten to list it so they put it in the next auction.

The wait was twenty-seven years, not bad considering it took twenty-one years to get Niedner's Ballard-Schuetzen. Same deal except the owner lived here in Anchorage and every time I saw him he would ask if I knew he had Niedner's Ballard.

All good things apparently DO come to those who wait! Great story.

Maynards must have been one of the very first cartridge shotguns in this country; I remember firing a combo set that had been made by adding a 20 guage barrel to a Civil War cavalry carbine. As I recall, it was a factory barrel, probably postwar, but still an outside primed shell like the carbine's. Worked just fine; even patterned pretty well. 26" cylinder bore.

I suppose the dragon flies in Alaska will be in trouble this summer!