50 Famous Firearms You've Got to Own by Rick Hacker

Author:Rick Hacker
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: F+W Media

Vernier tang sights are a popular feature on Sharps rifles, whether replicas or originals.

This early Shiloh Sharps is stamped with the original Farmington, New York, address that is sought after by some collectors.

The Sharps proved itself on target ranges as well. During one memorable 1,000-yard match, in 1877 at Creedmoor, Americans firing long-range Sharps rifles soundly defeated a British team. But it was in the hands of buffalo hunters that the 1874 Sharps lived up to its “Old Reliable” reputation. Most of these “buffalo runners” carried one or more Sharps rifles, firing volley after volley at the big, shaggy beasts, at ranges that often exceeded 400 yards, and switching guns when the barrels became too hot to handle. Another notable long-range event occurred in 1874, during the Battle of Adobe Walls, when a young hunter named Billy Dixon borrowed a “Big .50” Sharps from none other than Bat Masterson and toppled a Kiowa chief at what was later confirmed to be 1,538 yards (7⁄8-mile).

In spite of these and other success stories, economic woes continued to plague the Sharps Rifle Company. With the unexpected cancellation of a large British order, the firm was finally forced to close its doors; the last gun was shipped in 1881. Although it was an internationally renowned rifle whose inventor never got rich, the 1874 Sharps had amassed enough glory in seven years to create a legacy that continues today.

Originals are the centerpiece of many a collection. Fortunately, there are now excellent replicas made by Italian firms such as Pedersoli and Chiappa. In addition, firms such as C. Sharps Arms and Shiloh Sharps, both located in Big Timber, Montana, are emulating the original Sharps Rifle Company by handcrafting 100-percent custom-built rifles for the discriminating sportsman. I own more than one of these heavy hitters, and, with them, have taken everything from a Rowland Ward recordbook impala in Africa, to a 2,000-pound bull bison on the plains on Montana. No wonder this nineteenth century single-shot is on my bucket list.

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