Guns International #: 103130047
Seller's Inventory #: 6450

Category - Sharps Rifles - Antique - Antique Rifles - Cartridge

Category
Sharps Rifles - Antique
Antique Rifles - Cartridge

OLD RELIABLE Bridgeport SHARPS BUSINESS MODEL 1874 .40-70 2 1/4” Antique 1 of 700 Made, Frontier, Buffalo, Wild West

Description:
OLD RELIABLE Bridgeport SHARPS BUSINESS MODEL 1874 .40-70 2 ¼” Antique     

1 of 700 Made, Frontier, Buffalo, Wild West

Here we present an antique Frontier Issued Sharps Bridgeport Model 1874 Business Model Heavy Barrel Single Shot “Buffalo Rifle” made circa 1877 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Only a total of 700 “Business 40” rifles were reportedly manufactured between August 1876 and September 1880, with the .40-70 2 1/4 inch Sharps cartridge offered for this model until March 1878. “Old Reliable” and the Sharps Bridgeport address is on top of the barrel ahead of the rear sight, with “BUSINESS 40” on top of the breech. “2 ¼” is marked on the right of the breech with matching serial number on bottom of the barrel. 

Many enthusiasts of the Sharps buffalo gun will tell you that while the Winchester rifle has been credited with winning the “Wild West”, it was really the Sharps that made things safe enough for the Winchester to do so. The range and stopping power of the Sharps made it practically a piece of artillery that you could hold in your hand. These buffalo rifles came in calibers of .40, .45, and .50 and were the first big cartridge gun to come into the market. Before the Sharps rifle, hunting buffalo meant riding alongside the beasts with smaller rifles while on horseback, shooting at close range. Not only was this dangerous, it often precariously scattered the herd. The Sharps boasted “one shot kill power”. Buffalo could be killed from great distances without the buffalo being able to detect the smell or physical presence of the shooter which could have led to a stampede. This allowed the buffalo to be dropped, one after another, allowing single parties to take hundreds of buffalo in a day which led the buffalo to the brink of extinction.

During the Indian Wars at the second battle of Adobe Walls in June of 1874, approximately 700 Comanche, Cheyenne and Kiowa warriors besieged 28 buffalo hunters sheltering in the ruins of a fort in the Texas panhandle. The tribesmen had already suffered heavy casualties from the hunters’ long distance Sharps guns when a hunter named Billy Dixon dropped a brave off his horse on a ridge at a distance of 1,500 yards. Discouraged, the tribesmen broke off the attack.

The overall condition is good. Patina on the barrel and receiver. The lock is a replacement and is in excellent working order. The bore is bright with strong rifling. The forestock is original while the butt stock is a replacement. Numbers on the barrel and receiver match.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 28 inches.

Caliber: .40-70, 2-1/4 inch.

Overall condition as seen in photos.

Very Fast. Very Safe. FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. Delivered directly to your door by express mail!

Guaranteed AUTHENTIC & Includes CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.

ancestryguns

$6450

#247538
 

Antique: Yes

Price: $6,450.00
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