Original Item: Only One Available. This is one of the fascinating and still somewhat mysterious Nepalese Sharps pattern rifles recovered from the historic Nepal cache, built around the distinctive Model 1853 type slant breech action and configured as a full length rifle with a 40" barrel. Entirely unmarked as to maker, these rifles have intrigued collectors since their discovery because they combine recognizable Sharps mechanical features with construction and finishing that differ considerably from standard Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company production. This example measures approximately 57" overall, has a bore measuring approximately .52 caliber, retains its Lawrence type pellet primer mechanism, and remains in very good condition with an unusually bright bore.

This is an antique black powder firearm manufactured before 1899. Under federal law, it may generally be owned within the United States without a special license or permit and does not require transfer through a Federal Firearms Licensee. However, state and local laws may vary. This firearm is sold solely as a historical collector’s item and has not been test fired or inspected for firing safety by a professional gunsmith. Any mechanical or bore observations provided below describe only its present condition and should not be interpreted as confirmation that the firearm is safe to load or fire. The purchaser is solely responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

The design is unmistakably based on the early Sharps slant breech system developed during the 1850s. Christian Sharps' breechloading action used a lever operated vertically moving breechblock, allowing a paper or linen cartridge to be loaded directly from the rear rather than through the muzzle. The Model 1852 and Model 1853 family developed this into the characteristic sloping breech form that became one of the most recognizable early Sharps configurations.

These Nepalese rifles are not standard Sharps factory products. They lack the normal Sharps maker, patent, and serial markings, and their full length 40" barrels, furniture, stocks, and other construction details differ significantly from American Model 1853 carbines. Contemporary examination of examples from the Nepal cache concluded that at least substantial portions were probably manufactured or completed in Nepal, although the precise origin of every major component remains unresolved.

This uncertainty is one of the most compelling aspects of the rifle. When examples from the cache were examined after their discovery, observers noted that portions of the actions displayed a degree of machining and fitting that seemed surprisingly sophisticated when compared with the visibly hand worked barrels and furniture. No surviving Nepalese, British, European, or American documentation has yet established exactly how these rifles were procured or assembled.

In early 2004, IMA submitted samples of stock wood from these Nepalese Sharps pattern arms for examination at the British Engineerium in Brighton. The wood was reported to us as Honduran mahogany. If that identification is correct, the stock material itself was imported into Nepal rather than locally sourced. It does not, however, establish where the metal components were manufactured or prove that the completed rifle originated in the Americas.

Nepal had a long tradition of indigenous arms manufacture and was capable of producing surprisingly sophisticated firearms with comparatively limited industrial infrastructure. On these Sharps type rifles, the long barrels show characteristics consistent with traditional hand forging methods rather than standardized Western mass production.

This example has a 40" barrel and measures approximately 57" overall. The bore measures approximately .52 caliber.

The barrel is fitted with a simple barleycorn style front sight. The rear sight base and its fixed notch remain present, but the folding leaf and slider are now missing.

The action retains the distinctive slanted breech arrangement associated with the early Sharps system. Lowering the lever drops the breechblock to expose the chamber for loading, and the mechanism operates correctly during careful manual inspection.

A retaining arrangement at the end of the lever helps secure it in the closed position and prevents it from dropping inadvertently.

The lock also remains mechanically functional, holding correctly at half cock and releasing from full cock.

The lock is fitted with a Lawrence type pellet primer mechanism, a distinctive feature of the Model 1852 and Model 1853 Sharps system. The mechanism on this rifle is incomplete and no longer functional. The primer system was intended to feed individual priming pellets automatically to the nipple as the arm was operated, reducing the need to place a separate percussion cap manually for every shot.

The bore is in very good condition, appearing mostly bright with clear lands and grooves. We do not see evidence of extensive firing or prolonged use. Interestingly, the rifling does not appear perfectly uniform or straight throughout the bore, a characteristic that may reflect the hand manufacturing methods used when the barrel was produced.

The exterior metalwork is also in very good condition overall. Much of it retains a bright appearance, with scattered staining and oxidation concentrated around the action and various fittings. There is no indication of the heavy service wear ordinarily encountered on a rifle that had experienced prolonged campaigning.

The wood has developed a particularly attractive red brown color and shows the expected dents, scratches, handling wear, and storage marks accumulated over many decades. There are several more substantial gouges, but we do not see major cracks, large missing sections, or other serious structural damage.

The upper sling swivel remains present. The lower swivel is missing. On this pattern it would normally be associated with the lever pivot area, but the pin at that location was replaced at some point and no swivel is currently fitted.

The relative lack of firing wear seen on many examples from this Nepalese group has led to considerable speculation that the rifles were completed but saw little actual service. A 2004 examination of rifles from the cache likewise noted generally good condition consistent with little or no use. However, in the absence of surviving issue records, ammunition records, or contemporary Nepalese documentation, we cannot say precisely why these advanced breechloaders apparently spent so much of their existence in storage.

With its full length 40" barrel, approximately .52 caliber bore, working slant breech action, surviving Lawrence pellet primer assembly, bright rifled bore, imported mahogany stock material as reported from earlier testing, and direct provenance from the extraordinary Nepal cache, this is one of the more unusual variations on the early Sharps system available to collectors. Its exact manufacturing history remains unresolved, which only adds to its appeal as a tangible example of Nepalese experimentation with advanced Western breechloading technology during the 19th century. It would be a fascinating addition to a collection of Sharps firearms, Nepalese military arms, early breechloaders, or unusual 19th century military rifle development.

Specifications-

Years of Manufacture: circa 1865-1870
Caliber: .52-caliber
Ammunition Type: Percussion Ignited Cartridge w/ pellet primer or cap
Barrel Length: 40 Inches
Overall Length: 57 Inches
Action type: Lever Action Falling Block
Feed System: Single Shot
Federal Classification: Pre-1899 Antique

History of the Sharps Rifle
Christian Sharps (1811-1874) was the originator of a line of sturdy, practical, and popular military and sporting rifles and handguns that were associated with several events that shaped American history in 19th century, including armed conflict in Kansas during the 1850s, the Civil War, the era of the Plains buffalo hunter, and the rise of modern long-range competition shooting during the 1870s. Sharps worked at John Hall's Rifle Works in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, where he learned the principles of arms manufacturing. His first breechloading rifle design was patented in 1848, and the toggle-linking trigger guard and vertically operating sliding wedge breechblock of later Sharps rifles and carbines date from that patent. These features are still with us today, and have seen use in both rifle and artillery breech mechanisms. The spring lever-toggle-breech mechanism of the Borchardt-Luger semi-automatic pistol also had its roots in Christian Sharps' lever-linked breech.

In 1850, Sharps moved to Mill Creek, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and contracted with the firm of A. S. Nippes to manufacture two of his sporting rifle designs, which became known as the Model 1849 and Model 1850. Faced with difficulty in obtaining financing for further ventures, Sharps left the Philadelphia area in 1851 and relocated to Hartford, Connecticut, where he formed the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company. Lacking production facilities, he contracted with the Windsor, Vermont firm of Robbins & Lawrence to manufacture his new breechloader. This venture continued until 1855.

Among the Sharps-designed firearms manufactured under this association were the Model 1851 "Box Lock" Carbine, which featured the Maynard tape primer system, and the Model 1852 and Model 1853 "Slanting Breech" Carbines, which were equipped with the Sharps-patented pellet primer system as an integral part of its breech mechanism. Model 1853 Carbines were nicknamed "Beecher's Bibles," after noted New York clergyman and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. Approximately 900 of these arms were shipped in heavy crates marked BIBLES for use by anti-slavery "Free Soil" settlers who were fighting against pro-slavery forces in "Bleeding Kansas" during the 1850s. One of the most famous "Free Soilers" was John Brown, who later used 300 Model 1853 Carbines in his ill-fated attempt to capture the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859. Christian Sharps served as technical advisor to the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company, receiving royalties on the manufacture of their firearms. His relationship with the company was a rocky one, and in 1853, Sharps severed all connections with the firm. There is no evidence that he ever had any further association with the company that continued to bear his name.

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.