Just learned from Pawn Stars that the term comes from Sharps rifle shooters back in the day. Cool

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Pawn Stars and Cajun Pawn Stars really do know their stuff concerning firearms.

American Pickers, little education here and there.

My favorite 3 programs that I never miss.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

During the early competition days, the BIG competition was between Ireland, England, Great Britain and Canada. In the first match at Bisley, the US won by shooting a perfect score at 1000 yards to beat Ireland by one point. The best shooters were using Sharps, so they were referred to as "Sharp's shooters".

During the American revolution, an Irish-American marksman named Timothy Murphy was told to climb up into the trees and kill the officers and sergeants. He asked how he could tell. His commander said "Start by shooting the one's with the most gold on their uniforms. Those are the officers"--hence the expression "Go for the gold!"

I believe Billy Dixon is the only civilian to win the Medal of Honor.

If you think the people on Pawn Stars know their gun lore, you haven't watched much. During the Civil War, there were Berdan's Sharp Shooters, and they weren't using Sharps rifles. The expression goes back long before. Still an interesting program, and they do show respect for the history of the guns that come in.

This is sarcasm right? Recently Pawn Stars had a Sharps Mod. 1874 on and said this was the gun that the buffalo hunters used. Well someone of them might have used that style Sharps but according to my sources the buffalo hunters used Sharps rifle but this was a musket. Check out Frank Sellers excellent book on Sharps rifles. This is acknowledged as THE source on Sharps.

I don't always agree with the info that is given on that program about guns. I like the program and watch it but their gun "expert" doesn't agree with my expert or with acknowledged expert authors that I have read.

The term "sharp shooter" does come from Berdan's unit of riflemen that all purchased and shot Sharps rifles and were utilized in a snipers role.

Rant over.

I kinda lost faith in Ricks "firearms expert" when he said the Colt SAA Rick was thinking about buying didn't have all matching numbers. He was looking at the assembley # on the loading gate. If my BIL or a bud made a mistake like that= no big deal. But for someone who introduces himself as a "expert"?

But I do like Chumley and the "Old man."

Love the show but it's totally staged, every deal is prearranged.

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Back to back World War Champs.

Why do you think they didn't use Sharps rifles? They had the actual rifles, BTW. Cavalry often used the shorter carbines, also known as Beecher's Bibles, as some were shipped in boxes labled "Bibles". They went to anti-slavery activists in border states. I think John Brown's lot had some.

The Confederacy copied the Sharps, but some didn't fare well, as the troops were not well instructed in their use.

Got any Civil War buffs here who know the manufacturer of the Confederate version? Robbins & Lawrence? Haven't read about them since I was in junior high school, too many years ago.

NOTE: the fiction series that was also a TV series about Sharpes Rifles did NOT use the arm developed in the USA by Christian Sharps. I didn't see the series or read the books (yet), but I think they had Baker rifles. This Napoleonic Wars series was named for an officer whose name was Sharpe. His command was called Sharpe's Rifles for that reason. They may have been part of the Rifle Regiment or the 60th Rifles. Back then, most British troops were still armed with Brown Bess muskets. And they sold many to the Republic of Mexico. Texans faced those in our revolution, which was against Mexico, not against the UK.

Next time I'll keep my mouth shut.....

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Hehehehhhaahhha, some days it just doesn't pay to chew through the straps...

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Halfway and one more step

Yeah, right.

Most improbable...

Yeah, I always figured that it was their shooting that was sharp, but I've seen it referred to as 'Sharp's shooters'. I kinda like what they said about the 'Henry' rifle being called "that damned Yankee rifle that they load on Sunday and shoot all week!"

No you need to use your "phone a friend" (expert down the street)

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Still Running Against the Wind

Don't go off half cocked.

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Dum vivo cano

Berdan Sharpshooters were the 1st and 2nd regiment of United States Sharpshooters ( USSS ).

They were issued several different models of longarms including Colt revolving rifles. They were originally told at recruitment they could bring their own target rifles with them into the service. Originally they needed to pass a marksmanship test to muster into these 2 regiments.

They were enentually equiped with the 1859 Sharpe three band military rifle. This is what they had been promised at enlistment.

The regiments served from 1861 to 1865 generally with the 3rd and later the 2nd Corp in the AOP.

There are several interesting books on these sharpshooters.

LTC
Co. C (Pa. Co.)
2nd USSS

How about "straight shooters," Sip? Where'd that come from?

(This oughta be fun to watch.....)

Gay snipers.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Me too

No more likes for you

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

Don't feel bad Sip, I made a mistake once too!

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Even older, even crankier....

Gay snipers champing at the bit?

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Dum vivo cano

While I agree they know little about gun history, you are incorrect.

"On President Lincoln's personal intervention, after witnessing a spectacular exhibition of marksmanship by Col. Berdan, the Sharpshooters were promised their Sharps rifles."

"The long-awaited Sharps rifle were finally delivered in May and June of 1862, and gave great satisfaction as " a perfectly safe and reliable arm, combining accuracy with rapidity, just what a skirmish line needed for effective work"."

History

Also, the "expert" from Pawn Stars is doing a show called Lords of War or something like that. What a joke!

Examples:

1. $700 dollars for an M-1 Carbine-looked like a 1943 from the furnishings. Good stock. Supposedly US arsenal refurbished (Korean War era). Didn't even mention manufacterer. $700??
2. Gibbs manufactured Mannlicher. Boxed and marked by Gibbs (in fitted case). Immaculate. Supposedly owned by Denys Finch-Hatton (OK, that is speculation) but only $2500?

I'm with you, BearBio. The gun "expert" that has his own show now and appears on Pawn Stars drives me nuts.

He insists that every gun that passes thru his hands has to be fired and that doing so will increase the value. I've seen those goofballs shooting old blunderbusses, canons etc. I understand it's TV but and the producers want to see something go bang but to present actually shooting the gun as necessary to determine value is an idiotic and dangerous thing to tell people.

Most anyone with a basic understanding of firearms can determine in most cases whether or not a gun will fire. It's especially easy with a muzzleloader. Determining whether it's safe to do so is something else and requires more knowledge and often equipment and gauges most people don't have.

There were Sharpshooter regiments on both sides. My handle here is for the South Carolina Palmetto Sharpshooters of which my g-g-grandfather was a member. My information is that they were armed with Enfields and maybe some Whitworths; no Sharps here.

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N.R.A. BENEFACTOR Member

Tonights quote from "Wild West Alaska"......

"Biting at the Chomp".

Good TV for only $120 a month.

"I think there's a 'Squatch in in this Amish Gator Moonshiners Pit bull paroles redneck mudding tow truck from the Ice road sculptures show".

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Dum vivo cano

Sharp shooting shape shifters. Say that three times real fast.

That so-called "arms expert" on pawn stars doesn't impress me much. His info often seems to be a little off, firing antiques without having a real expert determine the safety of the gun is a good way to end up hurt and reduce a potentially valuable antique to scrap. He really does not seem to know what he's talking about when it comes to antiques.

On the "sharp-shooter" issue, Berdans Sharp Shooters were promised Sharps rifles when they joined but were originally issued Colt revolving rifles. They used these or their own personal target rifles until they were finally issued the Sharps rifles.

It appears that the term "sharpshooter" goes back at least to ca. 1800.

Online Etymology Dictionary

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72