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Hello All,

Since we mentioned Jack Lott in a prior post telling of my purchasing a Custom Mauser that was custom built by Jack Lott for the editor of Peterson's Hunting magazine, here's another Jack Lott in my collection.

Many years ago I bought this Custom Browning Safari Mauser that was one of Jack Lott's creations.

Here was the original ad from when it was offered for sale .....

... and here is one of the pieces of provenance that came with the rifle.

... also included was a newspaper account of the family of elephants that was harvested for the LA Museum of Natural History, by Maurice Machris back in 1963.

... and here is the current display as it exists to this very day at the LA museum.

Here is a photo of the second owner, Max Hurlbut, with an 80lb elephant (weight of ea tusk) that he bagged with this rifle while hunting in the Congo. You can see the rifle in the photo.

This photo shows Max with 2 of his hunting guides. Things were a lot different back in 1973.

This next piece of provenance is the real topper! It is the original receipt from Jack Lott himself when he sold the rifle to Max in 1972. It is hand typed, with a hand written note added, both bearing not one, but two of Jack's original signatures. Even the original mailing envelope was included.

Several other documents also came with the rifle: a notarized receipt, a Factory Letter from Browning documenting the rifle's origin, an original Petersen's Hunting Magazine with articles about Max and his adventures in Africa. This tells of his elephant harvest and includes the story of Max bagging 2 extremely rare, World Record, "Bongos" with a single shot from this rifle.

And last, there is even a photocopy of the test target from when Max and Jack were shooting this rifle. Although the range was only 25 yards, all 5-shots went into a single hole. It was during this outing that a hair-line crack appeared in stock's grip area, and Jack promptly repaired it with a cross-bolt through the wrist.

Recent conversations with Max Hurlbut has confirmed the details of this rifle's History.

Originally built by Jack Lott from a Browning Safari 264 WM caliber - it was re-bored / re-rifled and chambered to 458 WM by Jack Lott.

It was originally sold to Maurice Machris, and then later re-acquired by Jack Lott and Customized to 458 WM and then re-sold to Max Hurlbut.

The custom Muzzle Brake was designed by, and fabricated by, and installed by Jack Lott.

Wrist cross-bolt was installed by Jack Lott when a hairline crack appeared during test firing as a 458 WM.
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As an update, I have formed an internet friendship with Max over these past years, and I purchased the BIG knife he was wearing in the pictures, to keep it with the rifle. Its a rare John Cooper Custom, and weighs 2-1/2 pounds.

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"You never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early."

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