Potential 45-70 used for buffalo

[Caprock]

Only no specifics and really pretty iffy. Interesting though!

Still looking for a bonafide hide man documented to use a Sharps in 45-70.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIte...=389317101

[Don McDowell]

Tiz in fact interesting. I do question the Republican River deal tho, if that was the case it most likely would of been sent to Sidney, Julesburg,Sedgwick or Ogallala, possibly even North Platte .. At that time the Union Pacific was going strong and shipping a rifle here for Republican River doesn't sound right.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

I do know the first Business rifle was sold by them at Fort Laramie and was a 45-70, Rifle would of been used more likely on the Northern herd but they did overlap just south of us, as the old original Maps of the herds show. Hard to say with out any hunter Prov be a tough sell and its way way to high, more like 4.5 to 5 K. TOPS

KW

[Don McDowell]

I've been on the search for the records from the suttlers here at the fort. I'm really curious as to the arms and ammo they sold. They said that in the 30's there were still several packs of buffalo hides in the storage shed, that had been there for ever.

[Caprock]

Yep, I think that too late for the Republican as well.

[bobw]

According to Labowski's letter the rifle was shipped in May of 1878 to Collins/Petty in Omaha. Hmm I'd a thought the Buff hunting in that part of the west ( Republican River country) was pretty much done by then.? From the reading I've done most of the 45-70 killed buffalo were shot by users of the 73 Springfield aka needle gun. bobw

[Caprock]

AKA 50-70 mostly I would think when it comes to needle guns. Everyone points to the 45-70 as being the most common (popular?) round of the Bridgeport era. Maybe so, but that doesn't mean the hide hunters took to it in the late 70's. On the contrary, it appears they ignored it in favor of the 2 7/8 and the 40-90 while many old hands hung on to the tried and true 50's and the 44-77. I'm thinking the Bridgeport era hit just about the time the wannabes back east could ride a train west and shoot em from the passenger car.


The only 45-70 Sharpsof significance that i've read about is the one Sgt Ryan used at Little Bighorn

[Don McDowell]

The 45 2.1 was the standard chamber in a sporting model Sharps, everything else cost 4 $, or was special order after 1876.
If you really get down to it, and start putting the time lines together, the only place that actually had a hide hunt was south of the Kansas Pacific railroad. Most of the country to the north of there was actually pretty full of settlers, gold camps, overland trails, and military posts by the 1850's.
Heck the city of Cheyenne had street lights two years before the Adobe Walls fight happened. Sgt. Dan Ryan of the Reno/Benteen fight fame bought his 14 lb 45-70 in Bismark in 1876.
When the Ballard co. sent Farrow out on the western expedition to kill all manner of western game with their rifle, he ended up shot 2 buffalo, the "guides" had to finish the first one off and he shot the second one in the balls with a borrowed Springfield...That's all the buffalo he could find.
So while the 45-70 doesn't get much acclaim in some of the writings of the past, I'ld about bet in actual numbers it probably accounted for more kills on most all critters, than the 2 7/8 did.

[Caprock]

Thanks for the wake up Don....guess I'm really guilty of dwelling on matters south of the Arkansas River and then generalizing to the whole.

[Don McDowell]

Sam, it's an easy thing to do, but then you'll be reading about a wagon train to the gold fields in Montana that left from St. Paul, in 1869.. and they recover a white captive from the Souix that was taken about 4 weeks previous just west of Douglas Wy....