When most people think of the Sharps rifle, it’s a good bet they probably think “Buffalo Gun.” The “Old Reliable” Sharps single-shot rifle was generally the first choice with hide hunters of the late 1860s through the 1870s.
These big, heavy rifles—some weighing over 12 pounds and chambered for some of the biggest blackpowder cartridges of the day such as the .44-77, .45-70, .45-110, .45-120, .50-90 and .50-140—were certainly the big guns of the buffalo-hunting era. The roma

August 2012
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- The Mini “Buffalo Gun”
- High Doom in the Andes
- How did Chester Goode, Matt Dillon’s assistant on Gunsmoke, get his limp?
- Singing for His Supper
- A Bonanza Paradise
- Pizza in the Old West
- A Tale of Two Shirts
- Tailor-Made Re-enactor
- Larry Winget
- Bill Anton
- 10 for 10: Santa Barbara, CA
- Why did the three “Outlaw Cowboys” from your May 2012 issue tuck one pant leg into their boots?
- Did U.S. marshals have authority over local law enforcement officials?
- Who is Sheet-Iron Jack?
- Who had the fastest draw: John Wesley Hardin, Wild Bill Hickok or Doc Holliday?
- August 2012 Events
- Following the Santa Fe Trail
- Railfest
- Rodeo Ben’s Jeans
- What are the Staked Plains?