New old guns

[bobw]

Well just about exactly what I mean. A friend asked me to stop by and look at a Shiloh he bought on auction and was having problems dropping the breech block. I checked it over found the problem and we moved on to some of his new old guns. An almost mint 78 Borchardt military rifle in 45-2.1, A Ft Griffin" Buffalo Sharps" which was a 15 lb gun with a 30bull barrel in 45 -2 7/8, a Bridgeport rifle lettered to Conrad at Ft Griffin in 1877 by RL Moore. This gun had a military butt and semi buckhorn rear sight and a modified frt sight that started out as a std frt with the bronze peg insert. The big firing pin and a slightly cratered breech block above the pin. Looks like it will shoot.... The next Sporting rifle was a Hartford model std barrel with the Hartford collar and pewter forend tip again a military butt its a 44 and I'm guessing a 44-77 but would need a chamber cast to confirm that. Again a very small notch in the semi buckhorn rear and modified frt with a very fine blade and bead combo. This gun was lettered to the Latham gunshop in Cheyenne ,Wyo. . The last gun was a #1 sporting rifle heavily modified by Freund in 45-2.4.Freund breech work ,double extractor, hammer, barrel replacement, engraving which was documented as belonging to D. Boone May a notorious shotgun guard on the Deadwood stage that operated between Cheyenne and Deadwood. Neat gun with serious history behind it. Might get a chance to shoot the 45-2.1 I worked on tomorrow and he sure wants to run afew thru that Ft Griffin Sharps ,I told him I just happen to know the only guy with period correct ammo that would chamber in it in 250 miles.... Will see. I kinda like this kinda X-mas experience. bobw

[Don McDowell]

Interesting stuff there Bob.

[bobw]

Was Don, very interesting .I'll never have an income that allows me the ability to accumulate such guns but it sure is neat he will share the looking and handling of such. The Freund modified Sharps had all sorts of trick stuff on it,like a steel checkered shotgun butt with a sliding trapdoor in it made of brass. I looked at the owner and he said go ahead so I slid it open. Looked like a rolled piece of canvas inserted into approx. 7/8" hole bored back in the butt. I pulled it out to reveal a neat little sown canvas bag with a snap closure. It contained a jointed 4 piece hard wood cleaning rod. 3 of them were about 7" long and the 4th about 3". exactly the length of the barrel the frt end section had push jag. The joint ferrules were beautifully machined and joined to the wood. The Freund shop was obviously capable of all sorts of mastercraftsmanship. Freund modifications to the 74 Sharps tend to receive a lot of doubtful attitude and I can't say one way or another if they are really necessary but they sure were beautifully executed. Like the reforging and shaping of the hammer with it checkered, the ebony forend tip,& the one piece steel pistol grip cap. The trigger on this gun was set so light that the hammer would not stay cocked unless you engaged the set tigger before cocking it. A condition I call scary as well as unsafe. This rifle had one of the smallest frt sights I've ever seen,coupled with a very small notch in the semi-buckhorn rear made for a very precise sight picture and one I am sure was of doubtful use in low light with eyes like mine. At one point in time while D. Boone May owned this gun it was stolen from him and he sought to recover it, allways looking at rifle butts projecting from scabbards on horses tied to hitching rails. He spotted it on a horse tied in frt of a saloon and went it in asking whose horse it was. When the guy who owned the horse owed up, DB May called him for a thief and they shot it out. DBMay was arrested for this but exonerated for it. History all over this gun ,just as plain as the rowel marks on the butt. DB May was reported to have killed 9 men not counting Indians in his time in the west.... bobw

[Mike]

Hey Bobw, Is there any chance of getting some pictures of those old Sharps you mentioned? I'm particularly interested in the .44. Shoot sharp, Mike

[Cody Smith]

Thanks for posting Bob! I take a special interest in Freunds as well as history from here in Laramie County. DB May is mentioned in the Freund Bros book as being an ardent supporter of Freund and I think there are some pictures of the mentioned rifle in it. I will have to look. I have not gotten the chance to handle a Freund yet, but hope to one day.

The Fort Griffin rifle was in 2 7/8? Was that original?
take care, Cody

[Mike]

Also, about the .44 again, you could just try chambering a .44 2-5/8" cartridge, if it doesn't fit, it's a .44/77. Just an idea. Shoot sharp, Mike

[bobw]

CS that May gun is fairly famous and I'd be surprised if it wasn't in the Freund book. The Ft Griffin gun is all original and lettered by RL Moore ,nice shape and the barrel is good enuf to shoot, the chamber obvious is still original . One only needs to look thru both a greaser style chamber and original to see the difference immediately. Only problem I see to shooting it at the present is the frt sight which is original just like the ones Stephen Borud reproduces for his own use. It's obvious as hell to me that they were not well liked by the 1870-1880 users, seems like everytime I see an original they have been thinned down or somehow modified from factory configuration. I don't think it was breakage as they are of a sturdy design. The sight blade on the Ft Griffin gun was ground down flat with the base top split fore to aft with a cut and a blade inserted that simply does not stick up far enuf to use with the semibuckhorn on it. I told him I could jury rig in a temp duty a piece of copper electrical wire and some electrical tape to provide a useable bead without physically altering the gun. Custom modifications and historical guns don't mix. This gun was lettered to Conrad of Ft Griffin in 1877 as one of a big shipment of 40 guns the largest order Sharps ever shipped at one time according to RL Moore letter. historical provenance in spades, don't know what it's worth but he was offered over 30k for it. When I heard that I handed it back to him and asked if he was still sure about shooting it. He is and figures he needs to shoot a buffalo with it to boot. Kinda like that idea myself.

Mike I don't know about pictures of but imagine a Hartford gun with the collar ,pewter tip, semi-fancy wood. Lot of pitting on the barrels exterior, with maybe 50-60% finish left. The chamber looked shorter than the 2 44-90's he has so I think it's a 77 by visual exam. same sights as the Ft Griffen gun and a RL Moore letter with that also I don't remember all the specifics on it but seems it came from Sharps to a dealer in St Louis, Albrecht & ? Cool guns and damned neat reading those RL Moore Letters , yeah he keeps his doc letters in a safe also. bobw

[Don McDowell]

If it wasn't such a pain in the toosh to get them to you , I could provide you with a batch of 44-77's loaded with a copy of the original sharps bullet...

[bobw]

Yeah, but thanks for the offer Don.
Photos won't happen here. The guns mentioned already been color photoed for the new update of Seller's book by another author you'll have to wait for those. bobw

[Mike]

Okay, I'll wait to see the new book. Sounds great! Shoot sharp, Mike