Sharps Rifle

rayc · August 25, 2009, 10:39:49 PM

I have an original Sharps rifle and would like to find what the value is. Caliber is .45. Octogon barrel about 32". Two triggers. Good bore. Some pitting. Stock a little rough in couple of spots but no cracks. Rifle is complete and works. Would appreciate any info. Can send email photos and answer any questions. Thanks, Ray

Delmonico · August 25, 2009, 11:09:40 PM

Quote from: rayc on August 25, 2009, 10:39:49 PM
I have an original Sharps rifle and would like to find what the value is. Caliber is .45. Octogon barrel about 32". Two triggers. Good bore. Some pitting. Stock a little rough in couple of spots but no cracks. Rifle is complete and works. Would appreciate any info. Can send email photos and answer any questions. Thanks, Ray

Go to my profile and click on my E-Mail and send them to me and I'll be glad to post them for you, I'm guessing you don't know how and I'd be glad to do it for you.

Delmonico · August 26, 2009, 11:15:09 PM

Grogan · August 27, 2009, 11:07:58 AM

If I didn't know better, I'd say it looks like somebody used the Stock as a base for punching out wads with!

(Although those circles look a little smallish to be a large caliber?)

Maybe they were punching holes in a piece of leather?

rustyrelx · September 06, 2009, 12:45:38 PM

It a Model 74 Sharps. On the left flat near the receiver should be the length of the cartridge. 2 1/10 or 2 7/8. However this is a model that was certainly used in the buffalo period. You need to get it lettered to be sure its a "real" buffalo rifle as sold to one of the distributers in Buffalo Land.
Don

Fox Creek Kid · September 07, 2009, 04:39:55 AM

Del, the photos are simply too small to discern detail. Can you make them bigger?

Marshal Deadwood · September 07, 2009, 10:06:41 AM

You can enlarge any pic on IE yourself with one click.

If you need to understand this, I can show you.

MD

Short Knife Johnson · September 07, 2009, 10:26:14 AM

The shotgun buttplate I think places it manufactured in Bridgeport CT. unless it's a Hartford, then that would be a special ordered rifle. The barrel stamps are the telling factor - Bridgeports are stamped "Old Reliable". The major dealers J.P. Lower and Son's, and Walter Cooper out of Bozeman MT, are the main two. The cartridge lengths were stamped seemingly at random in the day. S.A.A.M.I. where were you at the time

Mike Venturino's book "Shooting Buffalo Rifles of the Old West" lists almost everything you need to know. As far as calibres go 2 1/10 - .45-70, 24/10 - .45-90, 2 6/10 - .45-100, and 2 7/8 - .45-110. The fabled .45-120 didn't exsit until after Sharps had closed its doors. Rumour has it that they did chamber a Borchardt for one bought by Winchester for developmental purposes. So it's not likely, unless some knob had the chamber run out to this brutally wasteful chambering. Get a chamber cast done to make sure it wasn't rechambered even from a .45 - 2 1/10 to 2 6 1/10 for example. You can toast a chamber pretty quick shooting too short of a round in it too. Get it papered, and I don't know where you would do that. Congratualations on your find.