The full story of how this Winchester rifle came to be left in the backcountry of Great Basin National Park remains to unfold/NPS

No bones, bullets, or bodies have been connected with that century-old Winchester rifle found propped against a gnarled juniper in the backcountry of Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but park staff are not finished with investigating the circumstances around how the rifle got there.

The rifle, in surprisingly good condition, was spotted back in November by the park's cultural resource program manager, Eva Jensen. She was working with park archaeologists out in the field when she noticed the rifle leaning against the tree in a remote, rocky outcrop. Weathered by years of exposure to wind, rain, sun, and snow, the rifle's stock and barrel had turned to grey and brown, making it easy to blend into the tree trunk.

Information provided by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum in Cody, Wyoming, confirmed the model of the rifle -- Model 1873 --, that it had been manufactured in 1882, and that its caliber was .44-40. The rifle, which back in the 1800s had been nicknamed the "gun that won the West," was not loaded, and no shells were found nearby. 

A keen eye of a park staffer discovered this century-old rifle at Great Basin National Park/NPS

More intensive field searches likely will be conducted when spring weather arrives, and possibly will entail use of a metal detector, park officials said. No human remains were found near the rifle's location, but, again, more extensive searching will occur in the spring.

Park officials said the tree didn't grow around the rifle barrel in part because junipers are very slow growing.

"The gun was not left in the crotch of a tree where it might have been grown around. Also, the bark on the tree is dead and the rifle was not in contact with anything other than the bark," a park release said. "If it were leaning against a spot on the tree where a living branch broke or had been cut, the tree might have grown around the rifle."

After the rifle was taken from its spot -- the rifle stock was buried about 4-5 inches into the soil/duff -- staff wrapped it with orange flagging tape, which has no adhesive on it, to prevent further damage or degradation of the stock.

While park staff over the years have come across many artifacts, some much older than this rifle, this is the first time a rifle has been found in the park.

"This is one of many significant artifacts found in the park. Not all are as glamorous or exciting," park officials said. "Artifacts tell a story that helps us understand how people used the area now protected in the park. It is unusual to find something of this type in this circumstance and condition."

This close-up photo shows how deep the stock was buried and how the weathered wood blended into the tree trunk/NPS