Sharps Carbine C 8885........Was this rifle ever issued to a soldier?????

[Smokepole50]

I was wondering if someone could tell me if this carbine was ever issue out to a soldier.

The interesting thing about this carbine is that is appears to be 50/52 caliber. A standard Sharps bullet driven down the muzzle and then back out measures .514 and .526

After looking more closely there does appear to be a stain of a inspectors cartouche under the saddle ring bar.

The receiver does not have any machined area for a case extractor in a 50-70 conversion and the barrel still has a chamber insert.

Soooo why would it be a smaller bore size yet still have the saddle ring????

The barrel does not have any markings on it either except the C. 8885 a U and a W under the barrel fore end wood.

thanks, Smokepole50

[John Holland]

The Sharps Manufacturing Company had a terrible time with quality control when it came to bore size/diameter. This is the very reason why they developed, what we call it today, the " Christmas Tree" bullet, which is a projectile with three diameters. The bore diameter you have described is the minor diameter for a Sharps. When the carbines were shipped back to be converted to .50-70 center fire cartridge the order was if the bore diameter was greater than .526 to bore out the barrel and insert a liner with a .50 caliber bore and chambered for a .50-70 caliber cartridge. By not relining the bores that measured .52 caliber is where the term "52-70" came from.

I do not understand your comment about bore diameter vs the saddle ring?

[Smokepole50]

A comment was made to me that because of the small bore size that it might have been a civilian owned rifle. I made the comment about the saddle ring suggesting that a civilian purchase rifle would most likely not have the said saddle ring. I should have better explained my self.

Should I be shooting the smaller Christmas tree bullet in this rifle???

[Curt]

Hallo!


C 8885.

IMHO, hard to say.

C 8654 went to Company "A," 1st Maryland PHB Cavalry in April of 1865.
C 8863 went to Company "A," 1st Maryland PHB Cavalry in April of 1865.

Next known number was C 9318 that went to Company "H," 5th Illinois Vol. Cavalry in May of 1864.

Sometimes one can glean and idea when there is a range of serial numbers issued to a unit. Such as guessing that if gun number 1-10 was issued en masse, then maybe a number 5 say would have been in that batch.

Or not.

Sometimes, an odd number is an odd gun. Meaning it may have been a replacement for one damaged, lost, stolen, or captured and has nothing in common with the serial number ranges of the unit's initial bulk issuance.

In this case, while we do not know.... C 8885 is relatively close to C 8863 and may have (Or not...) gone to the same place as "A" of the 1st Med Cav., did get one as high as C 10375.

Curt

[Smokepole50]

Thanks guys. As I told a fellow member, I guess it is just blind luck if you end up with a documented weapon unless you have the ref. books and the time to make the purchase based on the serial number. I would think most of the known original serial numbered rifles are already in collector hands demanding high prices.

[geezmo]

According to the Coates-McAuley book "Civil War Sharps Carbines & Rifles", which I mentioned to you before, lists C8886 was issued to Edward Connor, Co. A, 17th Illinois Cavalry. No real conclusions can be drawn from close numbers. A direct hit on a published number, or stumbling into one in the National Archives, is about the only way to know for sure where a firearms was.

Good luck,
Barry S.