6/8/2022 – Frontier Firearms from the Lifetime Collection of Larry Ness

90-bore (.373 caliber). 27″ octagonal barrel. SN: 3187. Browned and color casehardened finish, brass furniture, smooth, straight-gripped varnished walnut stock. Matching serial numbers on receiver tang, under barrel and in forend. Lock marked “C SHARPS’/PATENT/1852″. Tang marked “C SHARPS/PATENT/1848” and with the serial number. Barrel marked “SHARPS RIFLE/MANUFG CO/HARTFORD, CONN”. The Model 1852 was the first series of Sharps arms equipped with the Lawrence patent pellet primer system, as is this one. This one appears to be incomplete and is missing the feed spring and arm. Rifle is equipped with adjustable double-set triggers, standard “squirrel ear” leaf rear sight and dovetailed German silver front sight blade in brass base. Standard brass buttplate and patchbox, forend tip appears to be German silver, rather than the typical pewter. Sharps factory records indicate that roughly 600 Model 1852 Sporting Rifles were produced circa 1852-1854 and of those only 98 were 90-bore octagonal barrel “plain” guns that were not engraved. An attractive and not particularly common Sharps Sporting Rifle.