One of the popular pistols of the Wild West was the Sharps Four Barrel Pepperbox Pistol.
The appearance of the pistol is certainly familiar to many fans of the history of weapons. The pistol was created by Christian Sharps (1810-1874), whose arms company Sharps and Company produced, in addition to pistols, also reliable military and sports rifles.
The Sharps pistol appeared on the civilian weapons market when the demand for personal self-defense weapons was very high. This reason, coupled with multiple charges, ensured the pistol's huge success. Of course, the compactness and reliability of the weapon were also appreciated by the consumer.
As early as December 18, 1849, Christian Sharps received a patent number 6960, which described a four-barreled "pepper pot" with fixed barrels and a rotating drummer. After each cocking, the hammer struck alternately on the primers mounted on the brand tubes of the four barrels. This pistol was not produced for commercial purposes and the HistoryPistols.ru website could not find its photographs. The advent of unitary cartridges allowed Sharps to continue developing his project, leaving the general design of the pistol as the basis.
“Let it be known that I, CHRISTIAN SHARPS of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in the breech of a rotating firing gun, and I am explaining this invention in a complete, clear and accurate description with reference to the accompanying drawings. … This is how the textual part of the patent obtained by Sharps on January 25, 1859 under the number 22753 begins. From this date, the history of the famous Sharps pistol began.
Despite the fact that the title of the patent says “C. Sharps. Revolver…”, Sharps is certainly not a revolver, but a four-barreled pocket pistol. This weapon is sometimes referred to as the "Peperbox", although the classic "pepperboxes" usually had a rotating block of barrels. The total length of the Sharps pistol, one of the first models, is 161 mm, the barrel length is approximately 75 mm.
Sharps is also sometimes referred to as a four-barreled derringer, as it is a typical compact self-defense weapon. The Sharps pistol was popular with card players, women of easy virtue, traveling salesmen, travelers as a defensive weapon.
As a spare pistol intended for concealed carry, Sharps was used by the military and law enforcement. The weapon was produced for various rimfire cartridges. The first models had a 0.22 caliber. Pistols of a later release were made for 0.30, 0.32 and 0.32 long cartridges.
The Sharps pistol is quite simple and technologically advanced. The weapon consists of a frame, grip cheeks, a block of barrels, a single-action firing mechanism and a mechanism for fixing barrels in a frame.
The gun is easy to disassemble for cleaning and maintenance, easy to maintain and use. Perhaps these are the most important qualities that a pocket civilian weapon should have.
The flat mainspring of the Sharps pistol is located in the grip. The barrels block for loading moves forward, opening the chambers of the four barrels.
The protrusions in the lower part of the barrel unit moved along the grooves in the pistol frame. After loading the weapon, the barrel unit moved back and was fixed by the protrusion of the locking mechanism lever. The locking mechanism button, depending on the gun model, is located at the bottom of the frame or on its left side.
Unusual in the Sharps pistol was the design of the rotating striker. A hammer is installed in the trigger hole, which has a ratchet on the back side. When the hammer is cocked, a special pivoting lever with its end acts on the ratchet, turning the hammer by 45 degrees. In this case, the warhead of the drummer occupies one of four positions opposite one of the four chamber chambers of the barrel unit.
The swing arm is located on the left side of the trigger. The rotating striker is held in the trigger by a special spring plate. This plate is screwed onto the back of the trigger. It also acts on the pivot arm, guiding it when the ratchet rotates.
Sharps pistol frames do not have a trigger guard. Interestingly, one of the graphic appendices to the patent shows a trigger guard, which is at the same time a lever for moving a block of barrels in a frame.
Early pistol frames were usually made of brass, later models had steel frames. The trigger is steel, nipple type, in the stowed position, covered in the high tide of the frame.
The fastening of the grip cheeks in the pistol frame is quite unusual. The upper part of both the left and right cheeks fit into the groove of the frame and are held in it. The lower part is fastened by a transverse bar with protrusions - a cheek retainer (Grips Retainer). After installing the cheeks in the frame, they are clamped with the cheek lock. The latch itself is screwed to the bottom of the frame with a screw.
The barrel block of the pistol has four rifled bore with six grooves in the right direction. The barrel block is usually not equipped with an extractor.
The sights of the Sharps pistol are quite primitive. They consist of a front sight, reinforced in the upper part of the barrel block, and a slot in the breech of the frame. For a pocket weapon, which is intended for shooting at a distance not exceeding 10-15 meters, this is quite enough.
On the surface of the frame of the Sharps pistol there is a marking in the form of alphanumeric text applied around a circle. The marking indicates the name of the enterprise and the place of production of the weapon, as well as the year of registration of the patent for this pistol. On the left side of the frame is the text: “C. SHARPS PATENT 1859 ", on the right side" C. SHARPS & CO. PHILADA, PA ".
Serial numbers of the pistol are printed on the bottom of the barrel unit, on the bottom of the grip and on the right side of the trigger.
In 1862, Christian Sharps teamed up with William Hankins. The Sharps & Hankins joint venture continued to produce pistols. Sometimes a new name of the manufacturer appears in the marking of pistols "ADDRESS SHARPS & HANKINS, PHILADELPHIA, PENN." at the top of the barrel unit. On the right side of the frame, the markings are in two horizontal lines “C. SHARPS PATENT / JAN. 25, 1859 ". In late-release pistols, the grip cheeks were attached in the frame with a simple screw.
The great popularity of the Sharps pistol is evidenced by the fact that the Italian company Uberti is currently releasing a replica of the famous four-barreled derringer. The markings of the pistol replicas produced by the Italian company Uberti differ significantly from the markings of the original weapons of the Sharps and Company and Sharps & Hankins companies.
The Sharps pistol is quite common at arms auctions, especially in the United States. Sometimes weapons in a very unusual design are put up for sale. The pistol shown in the photo is a combination of firearms and bladed weapons.
A folding knife mounted in the upper part is secured with a ring on the muzzle of the barrel block. For this purpose, a slot is made above the lock button. A curved steel plate is fixed in the frame, which probably not only performs the function of protecting the hand, but also serves as a striking part - brass knuckles.
Sharps pistols were produced from 1859 to 1874 in large numbers. The exact number of manufactured pistols is not known, but judging by the serial numbers, there were about 100 thousand of them. After the death of Christian Sharps, the rights to manufacture the pistol were acquired by Tipping & Lawden from Birmingham (England), which produced not only weapons of the usual caliber, but also 6 mm, 7 mm and 9 mm for European consumers. Sharps British pistols were produced from 1874 to 1877.
In the antique market, Sharps four-barreled pistols are in constant demand. Weapons can adequately replenish the collections of museums and private collections. The average price of original pistols in good condition is 1.5 thousand dollars. The price for rare models of Sharps pistols in the original weapon box, with a set of accessories and the remaining cartridges can reach 10 thousand dollars.
