Sharps & Hankins Model 1862

History of Sharps & Hankins Model 1862

The designer of the classic Sharps Rifle, Christian Sharps (more details elsewhere on this site) eventually left the company that bore his name - the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company in Connecticut - and founded in Philadelphia, PA under the name "C. Sharps & Company" was re-established. in the early 1850s.

In 1862, with the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861-1865), he collaborated with William Hankins to create a series of single-shot bolt-action carbines - the Sharps & Hankins Model 1862.

The Sharps & Hankins Model 1862 was a traditional breech-loaded and single-shot design. It fires a self-contained .52 caliber (.56-52 Spencer) rimfire cartridge and the two main production forms of this weapon - Army and Navy. The Army model had limited success, and production was even more limited, as only about 500 examples were delivered in total. The Navy model (24" long barrel) is the final model and is distinguished by its leather-covered barrel (essentially a barrel sleeve) to protect it from corrosion at sea.

Another form appears in the family tree, which is a A "cavalry carabiner". Designed for cavalry, it comes with a shorter 19" barrel and a saddle ring for the intended role.

Eventually 8,000 of these guns were made between 1862 and 1865 for service in the Civil War and beyond. Sharps guns were often the reliable and popular long guns during this period.

Specification

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