Any Canadian Sharps Rifle Collectors?

powderman said:
It was not my intention to derail this thread. I see now it is supposed to be for post civil war Sharps.

Regards
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Not at all! Your collection is outstanding! I’ve only ever seen a brass mounted 1859 and early slant breech rifles in a museum, it’s very nice to see some great examples in collectors hands, especially up here! Have you shot either? I’d really enjoy seeing more of both.

Also if your 1853 has its original colour case hardening I think that’d be the nicest original colouring I’ve ever seen. Just incredible rifles all round. I bet that brass 1859 has had a storied life. Many ended up with the confederate cavalry following Georgia acquiring them right?
 
As promised here are photos of a few Sharps rifles:

Nimschke Engraved Sharps Borchardt:

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Two Original Sharps:

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50-70 1874 Sharps & JP Lower Marked Sharps Borchardt:

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Your 50-70 is really interesting! Is it a Meecham conversion? Whoever made the stocks did a a fantastic job as well!
 
Nice Borchardts! I have one, originally a sporter, that was converted for long range black powder target rifle competition by Curt Hardcastle in New Mexico. It's pretty nice and went through a few shops including Al Storey's to get it all together.

I'm surprised that they used a sporter as a starting point due to the rarity. It looks similar to a Long Range Borchardt but has a significantly heavier barrel. No checkering or side panels though. It's an excellent shooter and I even tied Dave Gullo on a 1000 yard relay with it once.

Chris.

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I had Richard Hoch rebarrel it back in the 70's and make a nose pour mould for it and restocked it with a 40 year old maple plank. I think I do better work now. The J P Lower Borchardt had gone through a fire and the wood was charred so I made a new stock and lined it and then Oskar did his thing, one of his first. Have never fired it.
 
Does anyone have any experience with the 50-90? After doing more reading and experimenting with the Sharps rifles I currently own, I have a hankering for a Shiloh Hartford Sporter in 50-90 with a 30" 16lb barrel...
 
That'll get your attention! I shoot a Shiloh 1874 in 45-120 and a 600gr bullet over 120gr FFG can really wear you down after a bit. I'm sure the 50-140 would be even more brutal.
 
ArtyMan said:
Not at all! Your collection is outstanding! I’ve only ever seen a brass mounted 1859 and early slant breech rifles in a museum, it’s very nice to see some great examples in collectors hands, especially up here! Have you shot either? I’d really enjoy seeing more of both.

Also if your 1853 has its original colour case hardening I think that’d be the nicest original colouring I’ve ever seen. Just incredible rifles all round. I bet that brass 1859 has had a storied life. Many ended up with the confederate cavalry following Georgia acquiring them right?
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The Model 1853 has the original factory case colour and barrel browning.




















My New Model 1859 carbine shows no evidence of a cartouche on the wrist of the buttstock which would tend to rule out use by the US military.

Of the 30,000 NM 1859 carbines produced, about the first 3,000 had brass furniture. The remaining 27,000 had steel furniture.

Of the 3,000 brass mounted carbines, 1,600 were purchased by the State of Georgia from Sharps and an additional 400 on the open market, prior to the outbreak of hostilities.

I have been unable to ascertain if the State of Georgia marked these carbines in any way and I welcome any reference to if Georgia marked these carbines.

At the outbreak of the war, many volunteer units purchased their own weapons and my carbine perhaps might be one of these.
















Regards
 
These two have to be among the nicest original Sharps I've ever seen. The colour case hardening on the 1853 is nothing short of museum grade.

I'll check my books here for any specific mention of the 1859s and Georgia markings.

Thanks for taking the time to show off these two amazing pieces of history!
 
I finally found a saber bayonet for my New Model 1859 Sharps Rifle. (Coming from the U.S.)

Supposedly the dealer that I bought it from got it at the Civil War Show in Gettysburg in October 2022.

I bought my M1860 Colt Army revolver at the same show in June 2001.





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Well, after much deliberation, I decided to shoot the 'ole Sharps Business Rifle today. This rifle as mentioned earlier in this thread was shipped in 1876 to Western Sharps dealer Carlos Gove in Denver, Colorado.

Load was a 405gr bullet lubed with SPG over 68gr of FFG Black Powder.

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We only fired three rounds to not test fate, and to say we are pleased is an understatement! These two rounds are touching at 50m using the bone front sight and Lawrence rear sight. The first round was in the same area, but fired by another shooter on another target.

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To think of the stores this rifle could tell!

I have been compiling a fair bit of information, Carlos Gove period advertisements, photographs and archived newspapers in preparation for an article I will be sending to the Sharps Collectors Association, with this rifle as the centre point.
 
Thought I'd share a few "new" finds.

The top rifle is an 1874 Military Rifle chambered for the .50 2" cartridge. This rifle was shipped June 1873 to Schuyler, Hartley & Graham in New York. I am confident this rifle saw service with the California National Guard from 1873-1874. After that, they were sold as surplus, and many ended up in Texas and Kansas during the hunt of the Southern Buffalo herd.

The middle rifle is an 1874 Business rifle chambered for the .45 2 1/10" (45-70 Government) cartridge. This rifle as mentioned earlier in this forum was shipped November 1876 to Carlos Gove in Denver, Colorado. This rifle is the basis for an article that will be coming out in the next Sharps Collectors Association Journal in 2025.

The bottom rifle is an 1874 "A" rifle chambered for the .45 2 1/10" (45-70 Government) cartridge. It is in Business rifle configuration and was almost certainly sent February 1880 to Carlos Gove in Denver, Colorado (waiting on confirmation with a factory letter). These rifles were made toward the end of Sharps rifle production and were made using a mixture of parts on hand, and almost all letter to western states. They were sold at a discounted rate in an attempt for the factory to raise much needed capitol. They made approximately 700 of these "A" rifles, and not many are around today.

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