Pensylvania gunsmith J.W. Van Patten ?

[Essex County]

I have a couple of rifles built by him. They appear to have done back a couple of decades ago. Is there anyone out there that has informatiom about the man or some of his work? Thank You. Essex

 

[mrmeval]

Rummaging around.



http://www.sc-Democrat.com/archives/2004/obits/11November/2004_1130.html

John Van Patten, 87
Owned Gunsmith Co.

John W. Van Patten of Milford, Pa., the owner and operator of J.W. Van Patten Gunsmith, in Milford, and a lifelong area resident, died Wednesday, November 24, 2004, in Morristown (N.J.) Memorial Hospital. He was 81 years of age.
The son of the late Bertram and Sara Walling Van Patten, he was born September 26, 1923, in Port Jervis. He was the widower of Isabel R. Fenner Van Patten, who died September 15, 2004.

Mr. Van Patten was a member of the Deerpark Reformed Church in Port Jervis, the Cahoonzie Hunting Club in Rio and a life member of the National Rifle Association.
He is survived by three sons, John S. Van Patten of Guadalajara, Mexico, Brian J. Van Patten of Milford, Pa., and Jason Van Patten of Glen Spey; and a grandson, Aren Barkley Van Patten.

Services were private.

Interment was made at the Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Jervis.
Memorial contributions may be made to the National Rifle Assoc., 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, Va. 22030.

From google cache since it's gone from the board:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...571+J.W.+Van+Patten&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=11&gl=us

65bee
Levergunner 2.0

USA
143 Posts

Posted - 04/02/2006 : 5:32:48 PM Show Profile Reply with Quote
Hi fellas! Haven't been on the forum for some time but thought you might be interested in hearing about an '86 I recently acquired. Man in my home town called and said he had a Winchester .45-70 for sale that he had inherited from his father-in-law back in 1981. Well, I wasted no time in getting to his house and he shows me an '86 solid-frame rifle made in 1904. It was a .45-70 allright, but it had been rebored from the original .33 WCF. The work was done by J.W. Van Patten of Milford, PA and you older guys will remember him as being among the best gunsmiths in the country back in the '60s and '70s for reboring. Seems that the guys' father-in-law, who was a lifetime gun man, had sent the rifle to Van Patten in 1980 to have it rebored, and before the work was completed, he died! The family got a letter from the gunsmith saying the work was done and they had no knowledge of what it was. Anyway, the son-in-law ended up with it and never fired it. I was able to strike a deal with him for a 'reasonable' price and have been doing quite a bit of shooting with it with cast bullets. Van Pattens' work is flawless and the rifle shoots and functions beautifully. It especially likes the old 330 grain Gould H.P. bullet for which I have one of the original Winchester moulds. I have an original '86 extra-light rifle in .45-70 but have not used it hunting for some time as its value is such that I hardly dare to take it in the woods anymore. This new rifle is will fill the bill when I get a hankering to lug an '86 around again!

Chuck 100 yd
Senior Levergunner

USA
1341 Posts

Posted - 04/02/2006 : 5:38:25 PM Show Profile Reply with Quote
Lucky Guy! I never seem to find those deals. GOT PICS???

Chuck 100 yd
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65bee
Levergunner 2.0

USA
143 Posts

Posted - 04/02/2006 : 6:01:56 PM Show Profile Reply with Quote
Hi Chuck. Yeah, I'll try to upload a photo, but am not too good at it.
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Henry McCann
Levergunner 3.0

USA
667 Posts

Posted - 04/02/2006 : 7:09:06 PM Show Profile Reply with Quote
65bee,

Your rifle sounds like a very nice find!

With your handle do you have a 65 in .218 Bee and do you reload for it?

I picked up a Browning 65 .218 Bee a little while ago and would very much appreciate any of your experience owning, shooting and reloading for this rifle and caliber.

Thanks much!!



"Be kind and polite to everyone you meet; but have a plan on how to kill them." From an old Marine.
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coyote nose
Levergunner 2.0

USA
182 Posts

Posted - 04/02/2006 : 8:13:43 PM Show Profile Reply with Quote
Back in 1981 I had Van Patten correct excessive headspace in my Winchester M43 .22 Hornet. He sure did a nice job, the headspace was corrected and I put a couple of thousand rounds thru it without a hitch before I finally sold it. Sounds like you got a great carrying rifle.

"...for there is a cloud on my horizon, and its name is progress..." E. Abbey, 1958
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Mike D.
Advanced Levergunner

USA
2528 Posts

Posted - 04/02/2006 : 9:01:10 PM Show Profile Send Mike D. an AOL message Reply with Quote
65Bee, sounds like your '86 is a sweet rifle. I have thought about converting a .33 to some other caliber, but have yet to do it.
I also have extra lightweights in .45-70 and .45-90, and try to use them at least a few times a year.

Mike D.

NRA Life
GOA
CRPA
GOC
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Hobie
Moderator

USA
15933 Posts

Posted - 04/02/2006 : 9:12:55 PM Show Profile Visit Hobie's Homepage Click to see Hobie's MSN Messenger address Reply with Quote
Some folks are indeed blessed!

Sincerely,

Hobie

"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson

The Stonewall Brigade
Shooting with Hobie
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JDL
Levergunner 3.0

596 Posts

Posted - 04/03/2006 : 07:36:57 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote
Man, with such luck, you should have bought a lottery ticket!!-JDL
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65bee
Levergunner 2.0

USA
143 Posts

Posted - 04/03/2006 : 10:04:32 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote

quote:Originally posted by Henry McCann

65bee,

Your rifle sounds like a very nice find!

With your handle do you have a 65 in .218 Bee and do you reload for it?

I picked up a Browning 65 .218 Bee a little while ago and would very much appreciate any of your experience owning, shooting and reloading for this rifle and caliber.

Thanks much!!



"Be kind and polite to everyone you meet; but have a plan on how to kill them." From an old Marine.

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65bee
Levergunner 2.0

USA
143 Posts

Posted - 04/03/2006 : 10:21:44 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote
Hi Henry. Yes, I do own an original Winchester 65 in .218 Bee. After 40 years of searching and hoping to locate one locally at a reasonable price, I finally broke down about five years ago and bought one from a dealer and paid the going rate at the time, which
I considered ridiculous. However, looking back now I am so glad I did it. The rifle has increased in value at least by 33% and I have had a ball with it. It is without a doubt the slickest 'carrying' rifle that Winchester ever put out, and I have owned and shot most of them. My rifle is all original with the bolt peep and a mint bore. My powder of choice for any .218 Bee is the discontinued Winchester 680 Ball. It can't be beat. I haven't used it, but they claim that AA1680 is close to it. I lucked into seven pounds of the Winchester 680 at a gun show a while back, so I am set for the rest of my shooting days. I will say this to you younger guys who hunger for one of the classic Winchesters but feel that the prices are out of reason - after a lifetime of buying, trading, and shooting them, I have never seen the values go down. If you want it and can anyway afford it, buy it now. It will be a great investment and you will have the thrill and pride of owning the greatest of all firearms (in my opinion). You won't regret it. Speaking of rare Winchesters - my Dad once owned a deluxe '86 in .33 WCF that had a factory matted barrel! Ever see one?
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Bluehawk
Senior Levergunner

USA
1819 Posts

Posted - 04/03/2006 : 11:38:28 AM Show Profile Reply with Quote
" LUCKY!"
Sounds like a great gun Best of luck with it
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Henry McCann
Levergunner 3.0

USA
667 Posts

Posted - 04/03/2006 : 3:40:23 PM Show Profile Reply with Quote
65bee,

Thanks for the follow up post! I'm excited to shoot my Bee a bunch this summer.

"Be kind and polite to everyone you meet; but have a plan on how to kill them." From an old Marine.
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http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180937

OW OW OW Pricey!

essexcounty
Senior Member

Join Date: 05-15-2005
Posts: 423

Maybe a real offbeat
I have a Mauser 98 in 30-40 Krag that I bought off Bob White at the Shooters Corner. The metalwork is flawless, it has what was an unfired Douglas barrel in a featherweight contur and has some very nice bottom metal to boot. If I remember correctly it was smithed by J.W. Van Patten. Before everyone gets too excited it sits in a cutdown military stock. I added a leather cheekpice from Brownellsand also put a new Weaver K-4 on it. She balances like a fine shotgun and feels simply alive. May not trip everyones trigger, but would be a New England ne plus ultra woods gun. By the way it is currently for sale for a mere 19500.00 dollars......Sincerely, Essex