The Sharps Collector Association was formed in 1993 to study the firearms of
    Christian Sharps and the Sharps Companies.

  •     Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company
  •     Sharps Rifle Company
  •     C. Sharps & Company
  •     Sharps and Hankins

    The breech-loading rifle, invented by Christian Sharps and patented in 1848, was the first successful falling
    block percussion rifle.  After some changes in 1859 and 1863 it played a very crucial role in the Civil War
    years of 1861 – 1865.  The Sharps Company also produced the Sharps and Hankins cartridge rifle that was
    adapted by the Navy.  They also produced several types of pistols, primarily the four-barrel derringer.

    From 1869 until the factory ceased production in 1881 the Sharps cartridge rifle were the most powerful and
    accurate single shot rifle on the western plains and the eastern target ranges.  The hammer models 1869,
    1874, 1877 and the hammerless Model 1878 was the most popular guns used in the buffalo hunt and the
    1000 yard Creedmoor target ranges.  

    With the original Sharps factory letters and extensive correspondence from the dealers a detailed history of
    this period is covered in the Sharps Collector Society report, produced three times a year.
    The Sharps Collector Association
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