In his introduction to Philip B. Sharpe’s The Rifle in America (William Morrow and Company, New York, 1937), then Lieutenant Colonel Julian S. Hatcher wrote,"So in such a volume of this kind it behooves the reader first to examine his author. In Phil Sharpe we have the ideal combination of a firearms enthusiast and technician who has made guns and ammunition his life’s workas well as his hobby; and who happens to be an experienced and prolific writer. For our purposes there could be no more perfect combination, and in this volume, we, the riflemen of America, may reap the benefits."

Julian Summerville Hatcher (June 26, 1888 – December 4, 1963), was a noted firearms expert and author of the early twentieth century. He is credited with several technical books and articles relating to military firearms. His premier works are Hatcher's Notebook and Book of the Garand, along with Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers and Pistols and Revolvers and Their Uses. He was also a pioneer in the forensic identification of firearms and their ammunition. Hatcher retired from the United States Army as a Major General. Afterward, he served as Technical Editor of the National Rifle Association's "American Rifleman" magazine.

Sharpe’s 640 page book contains a section entitled "The Custom Rifle" authored by Robert U. Milhoan. In an addendum to this chapter Sharpe explains that Milhoan had built rifles for him and rifles for others on his recommendation. He then goes on to describe one such rifle, built by Milhoan for a certain Chester Johnson.

Sharpe relates that Mr. Johnson had contacted him in his capacity as firearms editor for a national publication and related the following sad story. According to Mr. Johnson, he had bought a National Match Springfield rifle for the purpose of having it converted to a custom sporter. To make a long story short, the rifle was totally butchered by a gunsmith who advertised in a "prominant magazine", to the point that the unhappy writer had ended up with a rifle worth no more than $10.00 for scrap, although he had invested approximately $125.00 in it.

Sharpe relates that he, himself, had had a similar expeerience with the same "gunsmith" and that he had sent Mr. Johnson photographs of another rifle built for him by Mr. Milhoan. The upshot was that Mr. Johnson ordered a rifle from Milhoan, to be made "like Phil Sharpe’s", which Milhoan proceeded to produce, and which was illustrated with a two page photo spread in the chapter written by Milhoan.

A number of years ago, a sporterized Springfield appeared for sale in Gun Broker. I attempted to contact the seller, but received no answer. The rifle looked somehow familiar, and I searched through several of my books to try to locate the photograph I remembered seeing of it, when I came across the pictures of the rifle that Robert Milhoan had made for Mr. Johnson. There was no doubt about it, the rifle listed on Gun Broker was identical with the one pictured in Sharpe’s The Rifle in America.

I placed a bid on the rifle, and since there were no other bids, won the rifle. Soon afterwards, I received an email from Michael Petrov, a name familiar to me on the basis of articles I had read in Precision Shooting. Michael had been interested in the rifle also, but had refrained from bidding because he could get no response to his questions from the seller.

I called Michael’s attention to the photographs in Sharpe’s book, and he agreed that the rifle was either the Johnson rifle, or the Sharpe rifle which had served as its pattern.

However, he was unfamiliar with the name Robert Milhoan, and unable to supply any information about him.

The rifle is based on a National Match Springfield barrelled action. The star gauge mark is visible on the muzzle of the barrel. It is equipped with a Noske Fieldscope Type B 2.5X scope in an Noske side mount. The long eye relief of the scope made it possible to mount it far enough forward so that the bolt handle remains unaltered. It features a Lyman 48 rear sight and a quarter rib with one standing and three folding sights, a barrel band front swivel base and a ramp front sight. The stock is nicely finished and checkered with a palm fitting swell on the right side of the pistol grip. The bolt is fitted with a headless cocking piece.

I have tried repeatedly to find more information on Robert Milhoan, but have found precious little. I know he was located in Elizabeth, West Virginia, but precious little else about him. If anyone has any further information about him and his work, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.

The following photographs are of the rifle in my possession:

These photographs are copies of the two pages in Phil Sharpe's book