This rifle was originally a single shot Sharps Straight Breech Model 1863 in .52 caliber, manufactured around 1865. It was converted by Sharps about 1880 to a Model 1874 single shot rifle in .45 2 1/10” caliber (.45-70) with 30” octagon barrel and double set triggers. As the primary buffalo hunting era was from 1871 to 1884, this gun would have been typical of those used toward the last few years of the buffalo hunting trade. In SHARPS FIREARMS, author Frank Sellers stated that large numbers of the Old Model 1874 rifles were used in the Northern buffalo herd (1879 - 1883) and that “…most of these are the factory-converted rifles sold by various New York dealers…”. He further said “…The vast majority of the factory conversions were made for dealers other than Meacham. 500 for Boker in 1879; 1000 for J. P. Moore & Son in in 1879 and 1880; and 1500 for Joseph Frazier in 1880.” This particular Sharps (C 31002) made it from the buffalo trade possibly in Montana, through the balance of the 1800’s and the first half of the 20th century in the Northwest, ending up with R. L. Anderson (perhaps a dentist, who maintained a “trading post” near Portland) who collected in Portland, Oregon. In 1969, Anderson sold his collection, including the Sharps, along with numerous southwest and plains Indian artifacts, to the Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody, Wyoming. In 1984, the Museum traded for a number of Annie Oakley artifacts from R. W. Smith, Evergreen, Colorado. Included among the things the Museum traded to Smith was the Sharps in question. In the spring of 1985, the Sharps was purchased from Smith by John Parker, Hudson, Colorado. John passed away in December of 2021, and the gun is being offered by his estate. (One other interesting note is that there is an oval indentation on the left flat of the barrel, six inches back from the muzzle. We will never know exactly what caused this blemish, but considering the size, shape, texture and depth, I prefer to imagine it as a bullet wound!) Documentation for this last roughly 60 years accompanies the Sharps. As an ANTIQUE, no FFL is required for shipment. Note: John and his wife Shaaron, both C.U. grads, raised Quarter Horses in Hudson, Colorado, and were also responsible for keeping and training the University of Colorado’s buffalo mascot, Ralphie, in the 1970’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s. Johnnie was known as the “buffalo runner coach”. If you are not aware, when you click on an individual picture, there are forward and back arrows in the upper left corner. If you click the icon between the arrows, you will get a great enlargement. We suggest viewing pictures on a full-size computer to take advantage of this feature. We will consider trades for U.S. gold and silver coins at spot value. Contact information can be found by Googling Columbia Precision (tang sights).