The Sharps Rifle

[@harrisonmantooth3647]

This was a very interesting episode Spotlighting on the Sharps Rifle, thank you Evan. I didn't realize this episode was over a year old but, I enjoyed watching it and I learned a bit more history of this big bore rifle. Thanks for sharing. Stan

[@snowcatt5500]

Another great video Evan. Thanks a bunch, and keep it up.

[@kirk189]

Really enjoy these videos thank you!

[@destroygaryfunky7053]

The decimation of the Bison in retrospect was an unforgivable travesty,......and should never be forgotten by those interested in American history of this era. The thought of slaughtering Bison by the millions ought to sicken us even this far removed .

[@66smithra]

True but we were also concerned with westward expansion and driving out the Indians. We can look back now and say it was bad but at that time we were trying to clear out the west to civilize it.

[@331Grabber]

@@66smithra Westward expansion wasn't necessary. It also had nothing to do with expanding civilization since several civilizations existed on that land already. It was a resource and profit driven feeding frenzy and the Native Americans stood in the way of profit. So they were vilified so the Europeans could pretend to be protecting themselves by the "driving out" (genocide) of the natives. It's not unique to America. But that feeding frenzy almost wiped out the Bison and did wipe out the passenger pigeon. At least we have started to wise up and actually conserve what we have left.

[@66smithra]

@@331Grabber Oh it was certainly necessary. The more advanced settlers on this continent weren't just going to stop at an arbitrary point. They were going to push all the way to the pacific. Natives weren't going to be happy with interactions with them either, so one of them had to go and obviously it was going to be the more primitive people. It easy for you to sit there in a modern world (created by securing this continent) and say we "shouldn't have done this or that," but I don't see you giving your property back to any Indians. Are you going to?

[@331Grabber]

@@66smithra There aren't hardly any Indians left due to the genocide I mentioned. And you said it was about civilization of the west. That's incorrect. The whole push to the west was exploitation for profit and the natives were vilified and exterminated for that reason alone. The natives were forcibly removed from where they lived and moved to remote places. Then later removed again when another resource was discovered there that American business could exploit. There's no civilization motivation. It's just Americans doing to natives what the Nazis would later do to Jews. Vilify. Play the noble victim. Exterminate. In the end America was no better than the British.

[@66smithra]

@@331Grabber Blah Blah Blah. Like I said, westward expansion was inevitable. The natives would have killed the settlers if they could have. They couldn't. That's life. Everyone wants profit and everyone wants land. The Indian tribes fought and murdered each other over land and resources for centuries prior to the Europeans coming in and taking over. Please answer the question: When are you giving you property back to the Indians?

[@mausercal65]

Always look forward to your videos .

[@evangreen3209]

Thank you. We have many more lined up for your viewing pleasure.

[@jeffryrichardson9105]

Great History video! Proud time also a very sad time! 👍🏾😀❤️🇺🇸

[@evangreen3209]

Yes, I also have mixed feelings about this period in American (and Wyoming) history.

[@kencurtis508]

Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

Ken, thank you. I'm glad you like our work.

[@k1j2f30]

Looks like the Sharps that has the rawhide wrap has an extra heavy barrel and the other has a heavy barrel, the barrels most used by the "buffalo hunters." I own a Sharps rifle made in Big Timber in the cal. .45-100 but it has a standard size barrel because I wanted to hunt with it and also get involved in the shoots. And, I have, the first year after I got the rifle I shot a nice 6x6 elk in the Missouri Breaks south of Glasgow, Mt where I live. I grew up in Greybull WY but moved away after high school in 1972 and have mostly lived in MT since. By the way, if you want one of the wonderful Sharps rifles Made in Big Timber, MT from either Shiloh Sharps or C. Sharps, (both are fantastic and accurate reproductions of the original Sharps) they start at @ $2500.00 and can go over $75,000.00! I love the Friday firearms segment you are doing, please keep it up, you do an excellent job!!!

[@evangreen3209]

Thank you for the kind comment. I've a hankering for a Shiloh Sharps in .45-70 but the price is out of my reach.

[@gb-bp1me]

Great video, thank you.

[@gerrypowell2748]

Great stories and information👌

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

Thanks, Gerry. I'm glad you like our videos.

[@MrPh30]

Probably had rawhide reinforcement the one with the front stock also. Selous writes wrapping his rifle with raw thin hide bit of elephant for stock break. And George Gibbs made a metal reinforcement plate rounded around the grip for the same. Vital area it is to keep the rifkes going on.

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

Yes, the rawhide wrap is not uncommon. Never before heard of elephant hide. Thanks for that reference. The other repair we see is wrapping the compromised area with wire, sometimes iron or copper.

[@markrhuett]

Is that the same rifle that Tom Selleck used in the movie Quigley Down Under?

[@evangreen3209]

Yes, Selleck's firearm was a replica 1874 Sporting Rifle made by the Shiloh Sharps Company located in Big Timber Montana. The Quigley rifle was in caliber .45-110 with a longer barrel than standard for that modern maker. If you want to own one, the current price is is $3533.00. Wait time is two to four years.

[@bill7270]

Absolutely beautiful rifle

[@larryl603]

GREAT VID THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

Thanks for the comment. I enjoy learning about the guns in the collection and sharing that information with others.

[@sd4594]

You never did mention the caliber of these two rifles. Are they .44, .45 or .50. I also notice that one has double set triggers. The .44-77 and the.50's (.50-70 govt & the .50-2 1/2' Sharps) were popular, from 1871 when the model 1874 began production, in Texas, Oklahoma & Kansas. It is documented that Billy Dixon used a .50 2 1/2" at the Adobe Walls fight. The .45's which Sharps brought out in 1977 were popular later in the northern great plains states.

[@evangreen9430]

Calibers are not marked and I have neither the equipment nor the knowledge to do a chamber cast.

[@MrKmoconne]

The beat up guns are often the most interesting.

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

As a collector myself, it took me some time to appreciate the firearms with evidence of use and abuse. Those guns have the best stories whether or not we know the stories.

[@flintrichards945]

Maybe I missed it and it won’t open but why don’t you just open the breach on that rifle and check the chamber?

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

Yes, we open the breech except when the action is frozen closed by corrosion.

[@dennisgriffey8448]

I love the stories

[@normanbraslow7902]

The one with an obstruction should be able to be checked from the breech. My Shiloh Sharps has taken buffalo. Good fun.

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

When we can open the breech, we of course check for a load that way. When the breech is frozen with corrosion, we use a dowel down the muzzle. If there is an obstruction, we assume it's loaded and put a red tag on it to alert everyone who handles the gun.

[@LSUTIGER560307]

I enjoyed it. The damaged rifle could be x-rayed to see if it's loaded.

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

Thank you for watching. We do not have ready access to an x-ray machine. Firearms are checked by putting a dowel down the barrel. If the dowel is stopped before the breech, we assume the gun is loaded and tag it to ensure caution when it's handled.

[@MrSpudz2]

You could also open the breech…

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

@@MrSpudz2 We do except in cases where the breech is frozen shut by rust. The dowel method is also used for muzzle loading firearms with no access to the breech.

[@davidgardner863]

The Winchester single shot came out in 1885, too late for the Buffalo hunt.

[@evangreen9430]

Yes, commercial hunting was basically over by 1883.

[@ronaldmartin2065]

Although the Sharps killed a lot of Buffalo the rifle that took more buffalo was the Springfield 1873 45-70. The Sharps was a better rifle and heavier and more accurate than the Springfield but there was a high price on Sharps and a low price on Springfields so most buffalo hunters used the 1873 Springfield!

[@rt000r]

Don't forget the rolling block!!

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody used a 1866 Trapdoor Springfield in .50-70 before the stock was broken. The rifle is on display at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

@@rt000r Indeed! Custer was fond of a Remington No. 1 Rolling Block Sporting Rifle. Some believe that was the rifle he carried at the Little Bighorn. All sorts of firearms including handguns were used by "sports" to kill bison, even the anemic .44 Henry in the original Henry rifle and the 1866 Winchester. Commercial hunters of course preferred more potent calibers.

[@evangreen9430]

Soldiers were encouraged to kill buffalo as a way of forcing Native Americans onto reservations. They probably used their issued rifles. I don't have an exact reference, but I think the 1873 trapdoors were not widely available to civilians until declared surplus after the adoption of the Krag-Jorgenson in 1892. Commercial buffalo hunting was basically over by 1883. Do you have a reference source for your statement?

[@aaronwilcox6417]

Decimation isn't a correct term and its always misused. To "decimate" actually means to reduce by 10% and it doesn't actually mean totally destroy.

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

You are correct that decimate originally meant to destroy or kill one in ten. However as is the case with much of language, usage has evolved. Current dictionary definition includes "kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of." I try to be aware of proper language usage, but don't always get it right. Thanks for your comment.

[@snowlothar45]

1. the killing or destruction of a large proportion of a group or species. "our growing hunger for fish has resulted in the decimation of fish stocks" 2. HISTORICAL the killing of one in every ten of a group of people as a punishment for the whole group (originally with reference to a mutinous Roman legion).

[@wsmvolunteers8588]

@@snowlothar45 Thank you!

[@Lucontheman]

There was a huge amount of meat sold as well as the hides, in 1873 5,000,000 pounds of meat was sold. Read Destruction OF The Bison, natives were very wasteful as well