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LOT 1073
Very Fine Remington-Hepburn No. 3 Single
Shot Sporting Rifle in Desirable .45-70 Caliber - Serial no. 5224, 45-70 Government cal., 32
1/8 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened finish, checkered pistol grip walnut stock. These rifles were manufactured c. 1883-1907. This example has
an “E. REMINGTON & SONS. ILION. N.Y.” address on the barrel, indicating it was manufactured c. 1883-1888 before the company was reorganized as Remington Arms Co.
The barrel is equipped with a windage adjustable globe front sight and elevator notch rear sight, with a tang mounted adjustable peep ladder rear sight. The caliber
designation “45.70” is marked on the bottom of the barrel ahead of the forearm, along with 2 threaded holes added for a barrel rest. “HEPBURNS PAT./OCT. 7TH 1879.” marked on the left
of the frame. Matching serial number “5224” marked on the underside of the barrel, rear surface of the forearm, lower tang, front surface of the buttstock and underside of the buttplate.
Mounted with a smooth walnut forearm with nickel forend cap and round knob checkered pistol grip stock with casehardened buttplate.
CONDITION: Very fine, retains 85% original blue finish on the barrel, 50% plus vivid original case colors with smooth gray patina on the balance and some scattered patches of very light pitting, 75% plus bright niter
blue finish on the small parts, and sharp edges and markings in the metal. Wood is excellent with defined edges, some light handling marks, and a few small nicks in the otherwise crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 3,000 - 4,500
LOT 1072
Scarce Pieper Rolling Block Volley Rifle - Serial no. 214, 32 RF cal., 25 5/8 inch round bbl.,
blue finish, walnut stock. This volley rifle was manufactured in by Henri Pieper’s firm in the 1880s-1890s. Some period advertisements
and publications list them as “Pieper’s 7-Shot Mitrailleuse” or “Pieper’s mitrailleuse punt gun. It features a cluster of seven rifled barrels that
fire simultaneously with a single trigger pull, and a large rolling block action that operates using the lever. The large firing pin strikes all seven
cartridges at the same time leading to a powerful volley of seven bullets with a relatively tight grouping and greater range than a shotgun. They were
mainly used by professional market hunters. The rifle has a dovetailed beaded blade front sight, oval Liege proof mark and “crown/N” on the left, checkered forearm and pistol grip stock,
and the serial number “214” on the barrel, forearm, and lower tang. The buttplate has the Pieper trade mark. A removable clip to hold the cartridges is included.
CONDITION: Very good with 20% original blue finish on the barrel, mostly gray and brown patina on the balance, a few dents in the barrel group, minor oxidation, removed rear sight and filled dovetail, and general
mild wear. The wood is also fine and has distinct checkering, mild scrapes and dings, and faint cracks and chips. Mechanically functions.
Estimate: 3,000 - 4,500
LOT 1071
Fine Bullard Repeating Arms Co. Single Shot Target Rifle - Serial
no. 3602, 40 cal., 26 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock. Bullard Repeating
Arms Company manufactured limited quantities of these single shot rifles in a variety of configurations c.
1883-1890, per page 701 of “Flayderman’s Guide”. These rifles are noted for their smoothness of operation
and quality craftsmanship but ultimately failed to gain wide support with shooting clubs despite Bullard’s strong
promotional efforts which included using factory grounds for shooting club events. In turn, this has lent to their general scarcity
today, making these Bullard single shot rifles highly prized among collectors. This example has a round barrel with a globe front sight (absent blade insert) on
the barrel, with adjustable peep sight mounted on the tang. The top flat of the breech is marked “Cal/40” along with the two-line address/patent information. The rifle appears to
be chambered for the proprietary .40-70 Bullard cartridge, which is also interchangeable with the .40-60 Marlin and .40-65 W.C.F. cartridges that this rifle was found to be able to properly
chamber. Mounted on a nicely figured checkered walnut forearm and stock with a checkered gutta percha buttplate with the Bullard name and turkey motif. Sling swivels mounted on the barrel
and buttstock. Matching visible serial number “3602” on top of the frame and bottom of the barrel.
CONDITION: Fine, retains 50% original blue finish, 70% vibrant original case colors, with smooth brown and silvery patinas on the balance, and sharp markings in the metal. Wood is also fine, with defined
edges, minor surface wear, handling marks, cracks and absent toe of the buttplate, with defined checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 4,500 - 6,500
LOT 1070
Very Fine Documented Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878 Short Range
Single Shot Rifle with Factory Letter - Serial no. 17246, 40-50 Sharps Straight cal., 26 inch
round bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock. Manufactured in 1879, only 153 of these Short
Range rifles are estimated to have been produced per Frank Sellers in “Sharps Firearms” on page 275.
The included factory letter confirms this “short range” rifle was invoiced at the Bridgeport factory to A.S. Winchester
(president of the company) and shipped to E.S. Harris, a Sharps agent in New York, on 28 May 1879. Page 228 of “Sharps Firearms,
Volume IV” by Marcot, Paxton, and Marron Jr. also lists this serial number with a different shipping date of May 20, 1879, with two different notes stating, “A.S.
Winchester. ‘Special rifle.’ A.S. Winchester. ‘Standard rifle.’” Though these rifles never reached widespread popularity, they certainly would have been a valued piece
of kit for anyone in the American West who valued long range accuracy and massive stopping power, things that most
of the lever action repeaters of the day failed to deliver. The left side of the action is marked with the standard three-line
Sharps address and Borchardt patent. The top of the barrel is marked “Old Reliable” without a boxed border and with the
Sharps Bridgeport address, while the caliber marking “CAL 40 1 /78” (.40-45 Rem. or .40-50 Sharps Straight) is on the left.
The serial number is marked on the bottom of the frame in front of the trigger, on the bottom of the barrel along with “L/L/L” in
script, and on the rear face of the forearm. In addition, the bottom of the barrel has two other serial numbers “36817” and “17095”, both of which appear to have been “dinged” out by the factory before they renumbered the barrel
for this gun. It is fitted with a Lyman pattern combination front sight, a folding ladder rear sight, and a peep sight mounted on the integral base of the upper tang. It is mounted with a multi-point checkered, Schnabel tip forearm
and multi-point checkered pistol grip stock with a checkered hard rubber buttplate with the Sharps monogram at the center.
CONDITION: Very fine, retains 85% plus of the original blue finish with some scattered light dings and scratches, and 50% of the muted case colors remain having faded to mostly a smooth grey patina with some light freckling. The
wood is also very fine with some scattered minor handling marks and mostly crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 5,000 - 8,000
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