| Huvius |
| (.416 member) |
| 19/08/15 08:53 AM |
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Sharps Info Needed
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I don't know squat about Sharps rifles, so if there is anybody here whom can shed some light or point me in the right direction regarding this rifle, please chime in.
I got this gun about three months ago and have been able to come up with some information about it.
It looks to be a genuine Christian Sharps 1874. It was either retailed or rebarreled in period by P. Bergersen in Cheyenne Wyoming. I have been able to get some information about Bergersen on the web.
It is chambered in the 40-90 Sharps bottleneck cartridge.
It has a heavy full octagon barrel, double set trigger, an R.S. Lawrence rear sight and a pewter forend tip (the Hartford Collar is what I have read).
There are a couple issues with it, the top tang looks bent up at the rear edge and the hammer looks as though it has been broken and then welded and filed. The stock looks quite short to my eye but I can't say for sure if it has been shortened. Think that is likely though.
The serial number is clear but the Sharps patent stamp is just barely visible on the left side of the action.
Looks to me like a gen-yew-wine Old West buffalo rifle! What do ya think?
| rglenz |
| (.300 member) |
| 19/08/15 12:02 PM |
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Re: Sharps Info Needed
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Huvius,I can give you some info from your pictures.
Original barrels are marked with Sharps roll stamp,either Hartford or Bridgeport,front sight is not by Sharps.
A Hartford collar is a wide groove, cut in the barrel, in front of the reciever. You do have a Hartford style forend,if the serial no. on the forend matches the reciever it could very well have been used in the buffalo hunts. The Hartford rifles were earlier than the Bridgeport models and saw the most use.
Most of the rifles used on the frontier had a rough life, broken stocks etc.......
You can get a letter to see who,when,and where the rifle was shipped to by the factory.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 20/08/15 01:28 AM |
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Re: Sharps Info Needed
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I don't know much about the originals either.
Looks to me to be an earlier model than 1874, by the humped lock plate.
Is that 1869 I see stamped on the barrel?
If the date is 1859, then it appears to be a converted percussion Sporter Sharps. The conversions kept the humped lock plate from the "Maynard Tape Primer" mechanism.
It could be the welding noted on the hammer, was due to a later Model 74 top end being welded to the cap-lock Sharp's "1859" LOWER. Just when this was done, could be an interesting aspect of this rifle as well. Most simply had the hammer nose modified to hit a firing pin instead of a percussion cap or priming disk.
The answers to these questions will be interesting.
Is it chambered/barreled by any chanced, for the .44-77 - or .50/70?