The other doubles went for fairly reasonable prices, particularly the H&H Rpyals, around $60K + BP, far below current replacement cost. Keith's handguns brought unreal prices, way over estimates in most cases, family has to be happy, also Mr. Obama. Would be nice if buyer of Corbett rifle would donate it to NRA Museum.
NRA Life Member, Band of Bubbas Charter Member, PGCA, DRSS. Shoot & hunt with vintage classics.
Posts: 9487 | Location: Texas Hill Country | Registered: 11 January 2002
I think the most RIGHT thing to do with it would be to care for it like there is not another one, shoot the shit out of it, and take it to Africa and kill a man eating lion with it; only because killing man eating tigers is no longer an option. But thats just me.
Posts: 288 | Location: AL | Registered: 11 July 2005
I respectfully disagree, for a couple of reasons, with the idea that this rifle should be donated to the NRA museum. First of all, the rifle was not necessarily purchased by an American. It may now belong to a citizen of any country on the planet. Secondly, this rifle's greatest value is due to the fact that it belonged to the storied Jim Corbett. If it was just another of Elmer Keith's double rifles, it would have sold for between $50,000 and $80,000 like all of the others. Corbett was a Briton, living and hunting in the hill country of India. In a PERFECT world, the rifle would reside in a museum in Assam, but who would ever get to view it there. Perhaps the British Museum in London? It's all academic anyway, I doubt that the purchaser shelled out $276,000 just to give the rifle away any time soon!
Corbett may have been British by his parentage but he was born in India, to my knowledge never lived in Britian and would have never left India but for independence. All things being equal, which of course they are not, the rifle would be at the small museum in Nainital or perhaps at Jim Corbett National Park in Kumaon. Since neither of those places make sense from the standpoint that anyone would ever see it, I think the NRA museum or even some place like the Smithsonian makes sense (he was after all a great conservationist). I do agree the value in the rifle is all Corbett. I would have zero interest in the rifle as part of Keith's collection. As one of the primary rifles Corbett used, to me the rifle is priceless.
If you all are going to fight over the rifles final resting place just give it to me. I will hunt with it and if you would like to stop by and look at it from time to time no problem! Bryan
Posts: 583 | Location: keene, ky | Registered: 24 January 2001
At the time that Jim Corbett lived, India was a member of the British Commonwealth Of Nations, just as was Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. His parents were British-born. As such, Jim and his sister had British citizenship!
I understand . . . and I am not trying to be argumentative. I was only trying to point out that the most logical place for the rifle to be would be India. My guess . . . purely a guess mind you . . . would be that since Corbett was born, raised, educated, worked and lived all but the final years of life in India, he identified more with India than Britain. That said, he certainly had no occasion to identify with America. Wish I owned it and had a say in where it might be kept and displayed . . . after I was done thoroughly coon-fingering it.
With the letter from the factory I would have guessed around half a million dollars for it. That has to be the most famous, storied, written about double rifle in history.
Jim Corbett lived in Kenya with his sister when he retired and left India ,i would love to have a rifle in my hands a couple of minutes .
www.huntinginargentina.com.ar FULL PROFESSIONAL MEMBER OF IPHA INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL HUNTERS ASOCIATION . DSC PROFESSIONAL MEMBER DRSS--SCI NRA IDPA IPSC-FAT -argentine shooting federation cred number2-
Posts: 6369 | Location: Cordoba argentina | Registered: 26 July 2004
Seeing that picture of Elmer's Corbett rifle sure brought back some very pleasant memories. Although it was over 40 years ago, I can still vividly remember sitting on Elmer's couch in his living room with that rifle on my lap. He would show me two or three of his rifles every time that I stopped by. Unfortunately, he never brought out the Holland or WR 577 or 600's.
