By David Sefton
This article is really two stories in one. A modern day hunting story using a C.Sharps on a very successful hunting trip in Africa. And a more fascinating tale reaching back 150 years to the early days of hunting buffalo in the American West.
While at my gunsmith’s shop, who specializes in old western black powder guns, we found a fascinating mystery. Under the old butt plate of an original 40-90 1874 Sharps there was a preserved four leaf clover – a shamrock, as the Irish would say. A four-leaf clover is truly rare - they estimate they only occur once in 10,000 plants. Obviously, the good luck talisman of a four-leaf clover is universally known in America today. Most native-born Americans today have some Irish ancestry, St. Patrick's day is even celebrated nationally. In the 1870’s it was a different matter. The Irish had a hard time, dying off in the hundreds of thousands in Ireland and fleeing broke and downhearted to America. They face tremendous discrimination in the US. It was hard, most Irish concentrated their communities in New York, Philadelphia and Boston; urban areas. The Irish American accent is still a mainstay in many movies and TV shows featuring "Big City Cops". Yet how did this Sharps end up in the far west with a four leaf clover?
The rifle in the pictures is fascinating and some probable facts can be discerned by inference. The Clover Sharps is a working-man’s tool: no fancy engraving, initials, carving on the stock, or inlays. Just a heavier barrel factory upgrade over their standard gun; their trademark “Old Reliable,” still clearly readable. This isn’t the gun of a casual hunter, too heavy; and the shells far too expensive. The 40-90 bottle neck cartridge carried a whopping 90 grains of black powder during a time most rifle cartridges were an anemic 40 grains. It delivered a heck of a wallop in its' kick: nota gun for plinking or pleasure shooting. Weighing in at a hefty 10 pounds, with a shorter barrel, it is very heavy to hand hold. This was a gun made to shoot from tri-pods or shooting sticks. Almost certainly a gun whose primary, if not sole purpose, was shooting buffalo at tremendous distances. The rear sight ladder is a very fine incremented sight and ranged for almost a mile, and was amazingly accurate.
The owner was almost definitely Irish, which is unusual, in the late 19th century not many immigrants could have afforded this gun. While the luck of a four leaf clover is universally known in modern America, in the 1870’s it would have been very limited knowledge; amongst primarily immigrants or Gaelic speaking first generations. Some Irish hunter would have prized this gun, found a rare four leaf clover, unscrewed the butt plate and carefully placed it there, making it his “lucky” gun.
The gun is well worn, aged handling marks, but given the age in very good shape. Likely we can deduce the Irishman became prosperous and kept the gun. Some subsequent owner would have shortened the stock, repaired it or any number of other small adjustments, and the ancient good luck talisman would have been lost. Most likely this gun passed into hands of his children and kept as an heirloom. There was virtually no work ever done to this gun and consider, had it passed from dealer to dealer or pawned during the Great Depression it wouldn’t be in as excellent shape. Who was the proud superstitious Irish hunter? That we will never know; but it was an incredible experience reaching across a century of time and feeling the emotions of this unknown man’s most prized possession.