No Cleaning Rod On Sharps Rifles

[smoothshooter]

Does anybody have any idea why the percussion Sharps rifles were not equipped with cleaning rods under the barrels? I assume most users carried some sort of sectioned cleaning rod on their persons somewhere, but those could be easily lost, and would be an annoyance in combat operations.
Looks like a stupid oversight to me.

 

[Phil Coffins]

A rod isn’t needed, a leather thong with a weight at one end and an attachment at the other can be carried in a pocket. Insert the weight into the breech then pull it out the muzzle to clean the bore.
IMG_0599 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[52Bore]

Doesn’t load at the muzzle.
No cartridge possibly stuck to extract (such as a Trapdoor officers model).
Saves in cost - same for removing patch box.
Govt wanted arms that worked - but they also wanted them cheap.

 

[wiscoaster]

....
Looks like a stupid oversight to me.

No, not an oversight, intentional by those responsible for evaluating gun specifications and production. As noted above, determined to be not really recessary.

 

[Antelope Pete]

Sharps, Maynard, Smith, Gallagher, Spencer, Burnside, Starr. I don't think they had cleaning rods that I'm aware of.

 

[2 shots]

seem to remember one with a cleaning rod under it looked kind of like a plains rifle. cant think of what it was called. im sure mr coffins will recall.

 

[Phil Coffins]

A Gemmer conversion, not made by Sharps but by a gunsmith that had taken over the Hawken business. Others did similar work.
2439 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[2 shots]

very nice phil guessin its a shilo

 

[Phil Coffins]

Yep, the first Gemmer I built.

 

[smoothshooter]

A rod isn’t needed, a leather thong with a weight at one end and an attachment at the other can be carried in a pocket. Insert the weight into the breech then pull it out the muzzle to clean the bore.
IMG_0599 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

Looks to me like something that could be separated from the gun and lost when placed in storage and removed repeatedly.
A rod and the required additional inletting would not have cost much more.
A complete rigid rod cleaning kit that stores on or in the rifle is never a bad Idea.
Just like with the Garand, M-16, and others.

 

[Coinneach]

Looks to me like something that could be separated from the gun and lost when placed in storage and removed repeatedly.
A rod and the required additional inletting would not have cost much more.
A complete rigid rod cleaning kit that stores on or in the rifle is never a bad Idea.
Just like with the Garand, M-16, and others.

A rod isn’t needed, a leather thong with a weight at one end and an attachment at the other can be carried in a pocket. Insert the weight into the breech then pull it out the muzzle to clean the bore.
IMG_0599 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

Issue Pull Through cleaning kits have been an integral part of military Weapons CES (Complete Equipt Schedule) in the Brit and former Commonwealth Armies since before WW1; the Australian Army in particular continues to this day to prefer sturdy robust Pull Throughs over sectioned cleaning rod assemblies for small arms weapons including LMG's, GPMGs and HMG's. Pull throughs are part of the individual Soldiers cleaning roll that also contains a screwdriver, tool combo, and metal Oil bottle etc, always carried in the Basic "webbing" /Fighting kit worn and losses are rare. BTW if we lost a CES item we had to pay for it after we'd submitted a Loss or Damaged Report (LDR). If the item lost was a Weapon part or Bayonet / Fighting knife then the Soldier was formally charged with a offence.