October 30 - November 2, 2018 Firearms, Militaria, & Sporting
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/31/2018
According to the factory letter, serial No. C53271 was listed in order book No. 1 as an octagon rifle, later termed "1874 Sporting Model", invoiced at the Hartford factory October 23rd, 1874 and shipped to Tom C. Crowland in the town of Evans in the Colorado Territory. According to the records, it is described as being .44 caliber, case length not specified with 30" full octagon barrel, double triggers, open sights and oil finished stocks. Weight was not given but the price of $42 would indicate a rifle of standard weight (12 lbs or less). As an individual purchaser, Crowland was not tendered a discount. It is highly unusual to find a Western shipped gun to a private citizen rather than a large dealership. Along with the rifle he bought 250 empty shells and a set of reloading implements with wooden case; total came to $54.75. The town of Evans is located in Weld County in Northeastern Colorado; it is named for John Evans, an early territorial governor and is the first county seat of Weld County. Dr. Labowski notes that in 1874, when this rifle was purchased, wild game, including buffalo were certainly plentiful in Northeastern Colorado. Rifle features a full octagon barrel that now measures 28-1/4", which would indicate that the barrel was slightly shortened during period of use, probably due to damaged muzzle; and the front sight was reset to 1" center with knife blade front sight. Rear sight is a typical ladder sporting sight that is marked "R.S. LAWRENCE PATENT FEBRUARY 15TH 1859". The barrel is stamped "SHARPS RIFLE MANUFG. CO. HARTFORD CONN." The walnut forend features the pewter forend tip and the breech of barrel has the typical round collar. Walnut stock is standard. CONDITION: Blued barrel is a mix of brown, gun metal grey and fading blue, giving a smooth, homogenous appearance. Razor sharp edges and perfectly legible factory stamps. Frame is basically gun metal grey patina. Walnut stocks show their years in the wild but are proud to metal, with no cracks or large chips of any kind; there is a 2" area at top of comb that got a little to close to a camp fire at one time. The double set triggers are in complete working condition. Fine action. Bore looks well taken care of with extremely sharp lands and grooves, albeit a bit frosty. Current weight of this rifle is 12.4 lbs. An extremely handsome, Frontier shipped rifle that was certainly in the thick of it as to a true survivor of the Wild Western untamed Frontier and towns of the tumultuous 1870's. Further research within the two records of areas surround Evans, Colorado Territory may yield some interesting historical events and may even give some inside into the man himself who ordered this rifle. The .44 caliber 1-7/8" Bottleneck cartridge was available until 1875, the .44 caliber 2-1/4"Bottleneck was the first metallic cartridge to appear in a sporting rifle in April of 1869; the .44 caliber 2-5/8" Bottleneck was introduced in June of 1873, often referred to as the .44-90 and favored by buffalo hunters. A chamber cast of this rifle would dispel any mystery as to which of the three this rifle was made for since all three were available when this rifle was manufactured.
Caliber/Bore
.44 Percussion
Manufacturer
Sharps Rifle Co.