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REMINGTON No. 1 SPORTING RIFLE – EARLY PRODUCTION
RIFLE, CHAMBERED IN .44 SHARPS - BUFFALO HUNTER’S GUN:
Second only to the famous Sharp’s rifles on the Buffalo
ranges, these Remington No. 1 Rifles were very popular
on the western frontier with such notables as George
Armstrong Custer and accounted for more than their fair
share of hides during the height of the market driven
Buffalo hunts.
This rifle, weighing approximately 12 pounds and
featuring a full original length octagon 24” barrel, is
chambered for the very desirable .44 Sharps cartridge,
and is in its original configuration with all matching
serial numbers and parts. This particular rifle
features a shorter barrel than is normally encountered,
however this 24” length was offered as a standard length
in the Remington Company era price lists of the early to
mid-1870’s. This barrel is original to this rifle, the
barrel and receiver both bearing the matching four digit
serial number “8512” - indicative an early production
rifle. The caliber is marked “44S” on the bottom flat
of the barrel just forward of the fore stock nosecap and
the top flat of the barrel is stamped "E. Remington &
Sons, Ilion, N.Y.". Showing the wear expected on a true
veteran of the frontier, the metal of the receiver, the
top flats on the rear 2-3” of the exterior barrel
surface and the trigger guard shows some pitting, where
the rifle would have been carried or balanced on the
pommel of the saddle and have received the most
handling. The balance of the exterior of the barrel is
overall smooth with only minor handling marks and there
is some minor surface pitting on the butt plate. The
receiver still retains some hint of the case colors and
the barrel has a pleasing, even aged brown finish on the
exposed surfaces and some blue in the protected areas.
The receiver’s case colors have silvered, but still
retain discernable mottled color pattern. The bore is
excellent with clear well defined rifling throughout and
very bright surfaces with no dark spots or pitting. The
condition of the bore is quiet testimony to the man who
carried this rifle – he wasn’t particularly concerned
with the exterior finishes, but it is obvious that he
did attend regularly and carefully to the bore. The
fore arm and butt stock are in excellent condition with
no cracks or worn wood with much of the original finish
present, and the butt stock in particular shows a
beautiful tiger stripe grain in the wood. The forearm
is complete with the steel nosecap. The action is
strong and the rifle is mechanically sound, with a crisp
trigger pull. Both the front and rear sights are
original, the rear sight complete with the stepped
elevator.
This Remington No. 1 shows all the earmarks of an early
range rifle that was quite possibly used by one of the
market hunters that decimated the Buffalo herds, and
features a fairly scarce 24” barrel, one that would have
been much handier on horseback than were the longer,
more cumbersome barrel lengths. These early large bored
single shots are rapidly increasing in value, are
getting difficult to find, and are a desirable addition
to any collection of firearms associated with the
American West. $5800
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