Anniversary Rifle

[Mike]

Okay, here's enough pictures to bore you. While waiting to get this rifle I made a blanket gun cover from a piece of Pendleton blanket. I personally like blanket material better than leather, more padding and such. And my thoughts that went into the order for this rifle were somewhat based on the idea that I was putting together a buffalo outfit and had just enough $$$ left for one more rifle. Don told me about the original Hartford '74 he's playing with in .50/70 and that was a big influence. Also, I have a copy of the old Sharps 1875 catalog and I combed that for details. One detail I noticed in that old catalog was that 1/2 octagon barreled rifles were $2 less expensive than the full octagon versions. Too bad that isn't true today. Also, prices of the rifles were dependent on barrel length; a 26" barreled rifle was cheaper than a 28 or 30" barreled rifle. Those ideas and a few more were boiled out to become the order for this 26" 1/2 oct. Model '74 Hartford in .50/70 with Hartford collar, and pack-hardened receiver with no rear dovetail on the barrel. This rifle joins my .44/77 and my .44/90 to make my Hartford family rather complete. Here's hopin' you think it's a good one. Shoot sharp, Mike