Hunting Big Game Hunting

Jack O’Connor’s Lost Sketches

By Outdoor Life Team

Updated on Apr 20, 2021 3:21 AM EDT

2 minute read

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Some of Jack O'Connor's favorite cartridges- long before the .270 Winchester existed. Outdoor Life Online Editor

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The long-obsolete .22 Savage High-Power was also known as the .22 Imp. Faster and more accurate cartridges such as the 222 Remington doomed it. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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The Springfield '03 was the battle rifle for the U.S. Army when Jack O'Connor made these drawings. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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The British-made B.S.A. in .22 High Power was one of the rifles O'Connor lusted after. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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In this drawing of a Winchester 1895, O'Connor wrote the rifle was chambered in .30 U.S. Gov. Mod. 1906- what you and I would know as the .30-06. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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The detail of this Anson-Deley double rifle shows that Jack had expensive tastes that far outstripped his youthful earning potential. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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O'Connor was dreaming of hunting foreign lands even as a youth. The bolt gun on top is a ".35 Newton for Elephant, Buffalo, and Rhino," O'Connor wrote. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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The silhouette of this Marlin is instantly recognizable to modern shooters. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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Even at a young age O'Connor was fascinated by high-performance cartridges like the .280 Ross. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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Even in the early 1900s the Savage M99 in the hot 250/3000 Savage (as it was then called- we've since dropped the "3000") was considered the lever-action for those with refined tastes, a fact reflected in its $30 price tag. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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It is doubtful whether more than one rifle of this type, an Adolph Express in .40 Newton, was ever produced. Nonetheless, it caught Jack O'Connor's eye. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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In the days of O'Connor's youth a Winchester 1895 could be had for $24 and was chambered for the .30-03, .30-06 and .405 Win. Outdoor Life Online Editor

Childhood drawings by OL’s shooting editor reveal his passion.