Make: Sharps Rifle Company

Model: Model 1874 Sporting Rifle

Serial Number: C52236

Year of Manufacture: Early-Mid 1870s / Antique

Caliber: .44 Bottleneck. Cast chamber to confirm precise cartridge.

Action Type: Single Shot, Lever-Actuated Falling Block Rifle with Exposed Hammer and Single Trigger

Markings: The barrel is marked “SHARPS RIFLE CO HARTFORD CONN.” and “CALIBRE 44”. The Hartford address has been double-struck. The left side of the receiver is marked “C. SHARPS’ PAT / SEPT. 12TH 1848.” The upper tang is marked with serial number “C. 52236”.

Barrel Length: 30”, Round. The serial under the barrel does not match the receiver.

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a globe-style target sight with a crosshair-style insert, windage adjustment, and spirit level. The rear sight is a barrel-mounted folding ladder sight.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are smooth walnut with a straight wrist, steel curved buttplate, and sporting forend. There is a sling ring mounted to the belly of the buttstock. The LOP measures 13 5/8” from the front of the trigger to the rear of the buttplate. There is a substantial crack through the wrist beginning at the rear of the right side of the action, wrapping around the upper tang, and continuing down onto the left side of the wrist near its center. There are also several smaller cracks in the buttstock around the buttplate. The wood otherwise shows scattered scratches, compressions, handling marks, and finish wear consistent with age. The forearm shows scattered handling wear with a small crack as the tip and at the receiver. The forend appears to be a repurposed carbine martial forend. Due primarily to the wrist and buttplate-area cracks, the stocks rate in Fair antique condition.

Type of Finish: Blued Barrel, Case Hardened Receiver and Action Components, Steel Buttplate

Finish Originality: The barrel appears original, the receiver has been refinished at some point.

Bore Condition: The bore is dull and the rifling is well defined. There is light to mild erosion down the length of the bore. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 5/10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains approximately 40% of its original metal finish. The barrel retains a mixture of thinning blue and dark brown-gray patina with scattered handling marks, freckling, and light oxidation. The receiver and action components have largely lost their original case colors and have taken on a mottled gray and brown patina with scattered oxidation and light surface erosion. Parts of the receiver have been blued. The buttplate has largely worn to gray with oxidation and age-related patina. There are scattered scratches and handling marks throughout. The screw heads show some tool use but retain generally serviceable slots. The factory markings remain identifiable, with the Hartford barrel address notably double-struck. Overall, this rifle rates in Good antique condition, with the significant wrist crack being the primary condition concern.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: Included is a later fitted wooden display case with a padded green fabric interior. The fit is somewhat good but the front sight prevents proper seatment in the case.

Our Assessment: The Model 1874 represents the classic metallic-cartridge development of the Sharps falling-block action and is one of the firearms most closely associated with long-range shooting, western hunting, and the great buffalo era. This example is particularly interesting as a Hartford-marked rifle from the latter portion of Sharps production in that city. Its “SHARPS RIFLE CO HARTFORD CONN” barrel address, .44-caliber marking, 30” round barrel, single-trigger action, broad steel buttplate, and sporting-length forearm give it a distinctly early cartridge-Sharps appearance.

The rifle has the honest wear expected of an approximately 150-year-old working Sharps, including stock cracking and substantial loss of the original case colors, while retaining its major components, visible Hartford markings, strong rifling, and an attractive period character. Original Hartford Model 1874 rifles remain highly desirable pieces of American firearms and Western history.