Sharps rifle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sharps rifle |
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| Type | Falling-block rifle |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1850–1881 |
| Used by | British Empire United States of America Confederate States of America Qing Dynasty Argentina Peru Bolivia |
| Wars | Sepoy Rebellion Bleeding Kansas American Civil War Indian Wars Fenian Raids War of the Triple Alliance (Limited) Boshin War Taiping Rebellion Argentine Civil Wars War of the Pacific First Sino-Japanese War Mexican Revolution |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Christian Sharps |
| Designed | 1848 |
| Unit cost | $30 (1861) |
| Produced | 1848–1881 |
| No. built | 120,000+ |
| Variants | Single set trigger (regular army) Double set trigger |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 9.5 lb (4.3 kg) |
| Length | 47 in (1,200 mm) |
| Barrel length | 30 in (760 mm) |
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| Cartridge | .52-caliber 475-grain projectile with 50-grain (3.2 g) cartridge, later converted to .50-70 in 1867. The Model 1874 rifles and carbines were available in a variety of calibers, including .45-70, .45-110, and .45-120. |
| Action | Falling block |
| Rate of fire | 8–10 shots per minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,200 ft/s (370 m/s) |
| Effective firing range | 1,000 yd (910 m) |
| Maximum firing range | 3,000 yd (2,700 m) |
| Feed system | Breech-loading |
| Sights | Open ladder type |
Sharps rifles are a type of rifle known for being very accurate over long distances. They are single-shot firearms, meaning you load one bullet at a time. These rifles use a special "falling-block" system to load from the back (breech-loading).
The first Sharps rifle was designed by Christian Sharps in 1848. Production of these rifles continued until 1881. Over time, they were made to use different types of bullets. The Sharps rifle became a famous symbol of the American Old West. You can see them in many Western movies and books. Because of their popularity, many companies today make copies of the original Sharps rifle.
Contents
History of the Sharps Rifle
Christian Sharps first patented his rifle design on September 12, 1848. The first rifles were made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1850.
The second version of the rifle used a special "Maynard tape primer" system. This helped the gun fire more easily. In 1851, the Robbins & Lawrence Company (R&L) started making a mass-produced version called the Model 1851.
Later in 1851, the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company was created. Christian Sharps worked as an engineer for the company. Richard S. Lawrence was in charge of making the rifles. Sharps received a payment for each firearm made. The factory was built in Hartford, Connecticut.
The Model 1851 was later replaced by the Model 1853. Christian Sharps left the company in 1855 to start his own business. However, Richard S. Lawrence stayed and helped improve the Sharps rifle designs. These improvements made the rifle very famous. In 1874, the company changed its name to the "Sharps Rifle Company." It moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1876.
The Sharps rifle was important during the Bleeding Kansas conflict in the 1850s. This was a time of fighting over whether Kansas would allow slavery. Anti-slavery groups used Sharps rifles. These rifles were even called "Beecher's Bibles." This name came from Henry Ward Beecher, a famous person who was against slavery.
The Model 1874 Sharps was a very popular rifle. Many different versions were made quickly. It could use many large bullets and came with different barrel lengths. The last rifle made by the Sharps Rifle Co. before it closed in 1881 was the Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878.
Today, people still use copies of Sharps rifles. They are used for things like Civil War reenactments, hunting, and target shooting.
Military Use of Sharps Rifles
Sharps Rifle in Battle
The military version of the Sharps rifle was a falling-block rifle. It was used during and after the American Civil War. It had a special feature called a pellet primer feed. This device held small primers and put one on the gun's firing part each time the hammer fell. This made it much easier to fire the rifle, especially when riding a horse.
During the Civil War, many Union Army units used the Sharps rifle. The most famous users were "Berdan's Sharpshooters." These were special marksmen led by Hiram Berdan. The Sharps rifle was a much better sniper weapon than the common muzzle-loading rifles. It was more accurate and could be fired faster. It was also easier to reload while kneeling or lying down.
However, many officers worried that soldiers would waste bullets with these faster-loading guns. Also, the Sharps rifle was expensive to make. It cost three times more than a standard Springfield rifle. Because of this, only about 11,000 Model 1859s were made. Most were given to sharpshooters.
Sharps Carbine for Cavalry
The carbine version of the Sharps rifle was very popular with cavalry soldiers. Both the Union and Confederate armies used them. More Sharps carbines were given out than any other carbine during the war.
The way the carbine loaded made it easy to change to new metal cartridges. Many of these converted carbines were used in the Indian Wars after the Civil War.
Some Civil War carbines had a strange feature: a small hand-cranked grinder in the stock. People once thought it was for grinding coffee. But experiments show it was not good for coffee. Experts now believe it was for grinding corn, wheat, or charcoal. Charcoal was needed to make black powder for the guns.
The Sharps carbine was very popular, with almost 90,000 made. By 1863, it was the most common weapon for Union cavalry. Some copies of the Sharps carbine were made by the Confederates in Richmond. These copies were usually not as well made. They often used brass parts instead of iron.
The British army also bought 1,000 Model 1852 carbines in 1855. They used them in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Sharps Rifles for Sports
Sharps made sporting versions of their rifles from the late 1840s to the late 1880s. After the American Civil War, many leftover army rifles were changed into custom sporting guns. The Sharps factory also made many Model 1869 and 1874 rifles for commercial buffalo hunters and people living on the frontier.
These large rifles used some of the most powerful black powder bullets ever made. Sharps also built special long-range rifles for target shooting. This was popular at places like the Creedmoor Rifle Range. Today, many shooters use original and replica Sharps rifles for target practice. They shoot at metal targets shaped like animals from far away. Companies like Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing Company still make copies of the Sharps rifle.
Sharps Rifles in Pop Culture
The Sharps rifle became even more famous because of movies. In the 1990 Western film Quigley Down Under, Tom Selleck plays a character who uses a Sharps rifle. This rifle was so important to the movie that some people said it was almost a co-star with Tom Selleck!
Other movies also showed the Sharps rifle. Burt Lancaster's character in Valdez Is Coming (1971) uses a Sharps rifle to hit targets from almost 1,000 yards away. In Billy Two Hats (1974), a character uses a Sharps rifle to wound another character from a long distance.
Because of these movies, companies that make firearms saw a big increase in people wanting Sharps rifles. There is even an annual shooting competition in Forsyth, Montana, called the "Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match." It's named after the character in Quigley Down Under. This competition is a big event where people shoot at steel targets from very long distances.
See also
- .50-90 Sharps
- Billy Dixon, a Medal of Honor winner at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls
- Rifles in the American Civil War
