Sharpshooter

The name “Sharpshooter” is usually tagged for someone who is an excellent marksman.  But how did that title come about so many years ago?  Thanks to Christian Sharps who patented his iconic rifle in the late 1840’s.  His Model 1851 “box-lock” was developed in conjunction with Samuel Robbins and Richard Lawrence and produced thousands for the military.

Sharps left that company in 1853 and formed the Sharps & Hankins Rifle Manufacturing Enterprise.  Their company produced over 100K firearms during the Civil War for the Union Armies. A Sharps carbine was known for firing the first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg knocking a Confederate officer off his horse. The Sharps carbine and rifle would become legends for the roles they played in the Civil War, for buffalo hunters and the Southwest Indian Wars.

They were just very durable, fast loading and accurate at long distances.  A soldier with practice could load and fire his single shot Sharps ten times in a minute, so much faster than a musket and less confusing.  The Sharps rifle and carbine became the weapon of choice for the Berdan Sharpshooters, a famous group on the Union side called which made the Sharps rifle famous and probably the first to use the title of sharpshooter.

Before a new member was accepted into the Berdan unit, he had to prove his marksmanship skills and hit a target 10 inches in diameter at a distance of 200 yards consistently.  The Berdan’s like other sharpshooters then and now singled out high value targets, but had the highest percentage of casualties of any unit in the war.  After the Civil War, buffalo hunters like the famous “Buffalo Bill” Cody armed themselves primarily with the large caliber Sharps and sometimes were outfitted with scopes using a .50-.90 caliber bullet.  This 11 pound rifle with its octagonal barrel absorbed much of the recoil and heated up very slowly.

That setup was the greatest cause of the elimination of the mighty buffalo and the end of the Plains Indian way of life.  The Indians targeted these hunters and attacked them often, but the Sharps rifle saved the hides of the buffalo hunters with its long range abilities.  The Indians were disheartened when their brothers dropped dead from shots from at least a half mile away.  The Indians who faced the Sharps rifle in a battle referred to it as “the gun that would shoot today and kill tomorrow”.

The Sharps rifle and carbines were also the choice of those heading out West after the Civil War.  Eventually the single shot carbines and rifles were replaced by the invention of repeating arms.  The day of the single shot rifle was over.  Today’s gun collectors treasure a Sharps rifle or carbine originals and are just about as hard to find as hens’ teeth.  But you can purchase a good reproduction through Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing and C. Sharps Arms Co. Inc.  Both are located in Big Timber, Montana.

Stay tuned for another chapter in the Guns that made America by following the Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 State Hwy 205 in Terrell, Texas or by calling the 80 plus private gun club at (972) 551-0470.

Rockwall Gun Club Presents Famous Guns in History: 1873 Colt Single Action

It was undoubtedly the gun that won the West and it was introduced in 1873 by Colt as a single action army revolver.  This “Peacemaker” no doubt a go to and must have firearm with its practical design and performance.  It was also the gun western movie makers preferred for their cowboys and even bad guys to wear on their side.  Remember Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Matt Dillon?

The bet is on that a lot of Rockwall Gun Club members have this Colt 1873 model revolver in their collection or wishing they did and maybe even seen being fired on the range.  Through the years, large numbers of knock-offs and look a likes have never been able to replace the real Colt.

The design of this famous Colt six-shooter started in early 1869 for the goal of meeting the U.S. Governments service revolver trials of 1872.  It was adopted as the standard military service revolver and production started in 1873 using 45 caliber cartridges. The blunt round-nosed bullet was quite powerful in its day with great stopping power.

Colt made over 16,000 and about 3,500 were available for the civilian market. The single action army 1873 model was developed in barrel lengths of 4 ¾, 5 ½, and 7 ½. The shorter barreled revolvers are sometimes called the “Gun Fighter”.  It later became available as a sub 4 inch that was referred as the “Sheriff Model” or “Bankers Model”.  Through the years modifications were made for a .44 model, adjustable leaf rear sights, and a spring-loaded base pin replaced the cylinder pin retaining screw and other tweaks.  The Colt 1873 remained the U.S. Military sidearm until 1892 when it was replaced by the .38 Long Colt caliber Model 1892, which was a double action revolver with a swing-out cylinder.  This revolver remained somewhat the same until the beginning of World War II, with different calibers that ranged from a .22 rim fire to a 476 Eley.

The most popular were the .44-40, .38-40, .32-20 and the .41 Colt. The guns that are most sought after and so valuable are the rare Henry Nettleton and the Orville Wood Answorth Colt revolvers.  They could go for over $10,000.  Both the Netteton and the Answorth Colts have OWA or HN on the left side of the wood grip.  So be on the lookout for a fantastic find on your next trip to your favorite gun-show.  Anyway, the Colt 1873 revolver or “Frontier Six Shooter” was the favorite side arm for Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid and many others.  This reliable gun became a big part of taming the Wild West and is still a big favorite among modern day gun slingers.

Today, Colt Manufacturing Company is still offering this famous revolver for sale in an array of calibers, barrel lengths and styles to appeal to just about every gun enthusiast. Maybe the folks at the Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 State Hwy in Terrell, Texas know of one for sale at a good price so you can play cowboy.  Find out by calling them at 972.551.0470.  Stay tuned for further stories about the guns that made the United States of America and remember Safety comes first.  Flash!  Update…In a recent showing of PAWN STARS a 1976 Colt Army revolver brought in $25,000!

Rockwall Gun Club Presents Famous Guns in History – M1 Garand

General George S. Patton referred to this weapon as “the greatest implement of battle ever devised”.  In the movie with Audie Murphy “To Hell and Back” he was using this new army rifle to mow down German troops like he did in real time.

This semi-automatic rifle could easily fire 16 to 24 30-06 rounds in a minute from its 8-round clip.  Of course, we are talking about the so dependable M1 Garand rifle you can see in use today and is popular with drill teams, some hunters and collectors.  Who knows, you may even see one in action at the Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 TX-205 in Terrell, Texas.

During World War II, the M1 gave American infantry a tremendous firepower advantage over German and Japanese troops.  With its semi-automatic operation, the M1 rifle’s strong 30-06 cartridge released superior penetrating power because a soldier only had to aim, pull a trigger instead of using a bolt action. He could fire more rounds keeping his eye focused on the target. It had a range of 500 yards, muzzle velocity 2750-2800 ft/sec and weighed 9.5 lbs.

Another advantage of the design of a M1 was the weapon’s simple construction.  In the field a soldier could quickly disassemble the M1 to easily clean it and get ready for the next action.  Another cool thing about the M1’s operation is that it utilized a gas-operated action that used expanding gases from a fired bullet to chamber the next round.  Thus, when the M1 was fired, the gases acted upon a piston which in turn pushed the operating rod.

The inventor John C. Garland made the rod engage a rotating bolt which turned and moved the next round in place.  When the last shot occurred, the clip would be expelled with a “ping” sound and the bolt locked open and ready to receive the next clip.  Garland also tweaked the M1 so it could be reloaded before a clip was fully expended and even made it possible to load single bullets in a partially loaded clip. No wonder our men in battle loved this rifle.

The M1 Garland continued to see action during the Korean War and used it until the M-14 replaced it around 1957.  But our ground troops had so much faith in the proven M1 it really wasn’t totally phased out until 1965.  The total number built were 5.4 million, but trying to find one at a reasonable price could be a challenge.

If interested in collecting a M1 Garland, you might get some help from the friendly folks at Rockwall Gun Club or by calling at 972.551.0470 or visiting them online at http://rockwallgunclub.com today!  Stay tuned for another chapter in guns throughout history.

Rockwall Gun Club Presents Famous Guns Throughout History: Colt Model 1911

An American soldier was in the fight of his life with dozens of Germans.  He ran out of ammo for his rifle and the Corporal from Tennessee had already killed a good number of the enemy and more were charging toward him.  He reached for his trusty M1911 and used the .45 to shoot four quickly.

The remaining Germans stopped in their tracks and surrendered along with 131 more Germans.  It was hailed as the greatest event accomplished by any solider in World War One.  Of course, we are talking about soon to be Sgt. Alvin C. York.  He turned in his efficient and very effective M1911 to the Army when he left the service months later.  The friendly folks at Rockwall Gun Club would love to have that gun on display for its members. It will not happen as York’s 45 whereabouts are unknown.  But, the popularity of this famous handgun is still strong after eight decades with gun owners and you will see it in use at the Gun Club.

The Colt Model 1911 was the invention of John Browning, a renowned gun maker working for Colt; he is also the inventor of many modern firearms.  Browning knew, along with the Army, that the handgun the Army was using in the form of a 38 revolver didn’t really do the job of stopping attackers in their tracks.  So an Army Ordnance Board chaired by Col. John Thompson (remember the Thompson machine gun) felt they needed a handgun with a .45′ cartridge.

Browning engineered a pistol that could accommodate such a cartridge.  The testing period began in 1906 with firearms submitted by Savage, Colt, Luger and others.  In 1907, Browning’s pistol was selected for tests along with a handgun from Savage.  These tests were grueling and neither pistol had satisfied the evaluators and another Selection Committee took over the task in 1911.  So back to the drawing board went Browning and his crew to fine tune one of the best handguns in history.

Then another tortuous test was conducted in March of 1911.  This test consisted of having each handgun go through 6,000 rounds.  As you guessed, the Colt M1911 45 won and quickly went into production for use by our troops in the First World War.   During WW11, several thousand of these 45s were used by our military around the world.  The M1911 was highly cherished by our troops and many found their way home.  Shortly after WW11, Colt introduced a new shorter version with the 4.25” barrel and an aluminum frame and was highly received by the American public.

Colt later shortened the barrel again to 3.50” with a shorter frame that targeted the concealed carry users.   Then Colt focused on safety in the 1980’s with a firing pin safety feature, which didn’t let the gun fire until its trigger was pulled to the end of its travel.  In the 90’s Colt designed a beaver-tail grip safety, flared ejection port and more.  John Browning’s design, after so many years, is much alive and coveted by many of America’s gun owners.  Stay tuned for another famous guns in history story courtesy of Rockwall Gun Club, and learn more about their state-of-the-art facilities and ranges by visiting http://rockwallgunclub.com/ today!