Pieces of history can be found anywhere. That is certainly the case for Danny Tuttle, a six year old from Green River, Wyoming. According to a press release from Sweetwater Now, the regular museum visitor brought a badly rusted revolver that was found hidden beneath a rock in the desert by his great-grandfather, Jesse Lloyd Tuttle, in the 1940s. Sweetwater County Historical Museum examined the piece and determined that is was a “.38-caliber Iver Johnson Safety Automatic revolver, which first appeared on the market around 1896.” While the gun is not considered a top-shelf firearm the museum staff noted that the gun had been deliberately battered. “The trigger guard was bent upward, apparently an intentional act when the pistol was struck against a rock or other hard object, and the front sight was flattened, probably with a hammer or other blunt metal tool.” It was mentioned that those facts plus that it was found under a rock makes it clear that the gun was hidden for a reason. For those individuals that have vintage firearms and would like to learn more about them, the museum has a free of charge firearms research service. Contact them at (307) 872-6435.
