RARE BULLARD LARGE FRAME BIG BORE SEMI-DELUXE LEVER ACTION RIFLE.

SN 449. Cal. 50-115 Bullard. Fine early rifle with 26″ oct bbl, half magazine, half nickel front sight with screw and short semi-buckhorn rear sight with checkered edges altered to flat top. Receiver is color case hardened with company name, address and patent date on the left side. Top of the receiver ring is marked “Express / 50 / 115”. SN is located back of the hammer slot. Mounted with very highly figured, uncheckered American walnut with capped round knob pistol grip stock & orig Bullard hard rubber buttplate with embossed company name and an elk. The cartridge for this rifle is the first of the 50 caliber repeating cartridges, which preceded the Winchester Express round by 3 years. The earliest mention of this cartridge is 1886-87, but it was actually introduced much earlier. It is considered to be the first rimless case and the first modern style solid head cartridge case. James H. Bullard was a prolific inventor in a variety of disciplines who patented this rifle in 1881. He established his business in Springfield, Mass and by around 1883 was producing firearms. He only stayed with the company a few years, moving on to other pursuits. The company continued in business until late 1890 or early 1891 when the building housing the factory was sold. The Bullard rifle was in many ways superior to its contemporaries, the Winchester and Marlin, with its rack & pinion action which is much stronger and smoother than either of the others making it much more able to chamber and extract swollen or damaged cartridge cases. The company’s demise was most likely precipitated by Mr. Bullard’s inattention to marketing along with the fact that the early iterations of his rifles were chambered in proprietary cartridges which were generally not readily available on the open market. Coupled with their late entry into the repeating rifle market, Mr. Bullard’s lack of business sense and the proprietary cartridges, the company simply didn’t stand a chance regardless of the superiority of their product. PROVENANCE: Tommy Rholes Estate Collection. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl retains about 85-88% orig finish turning plum with sharp edge wear and some light surface discoloration. Magazine tube is a blue/brown patina. Receiver retains most of its orig case colors, moderately faded. Lever retains strong case colors and the hammer faded case colors. Wood is sound with light nicks & scratches and retains most of an old restored finish. Mechanics are crisp. Brilliant, shiny bore. 4-50645 JR63 (7,500-12,500) – Lot 1169

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	1169	$6,325.00	RARE BULLARD LARGE FRAME BIG BORE SEMI-DELUXE LEVER ACTION RIFLE. SN 449. Cal. 50-115 Bullard. Fine early rifle with 26″ oct bbl, half magazine, half nickel front sight with screw and short semi-buckhorn rear sight with checkered edges altered to flat top. Receiver is color case hardened with company name, address and patent date on the left side. Top of the receiver ring is marked “Express / 50 / 115”. SN is located back of the hammer slot. Mounted with very highly figured, uncheckered American walnut with capped round knob pistol grip stock & orig Bullard hard rubber buttplate with embossed company name and an elk. The cartridge for this rifle is the first of the 50 caliber repeating cartridges, which preceded the Winchester Express round by 3 years. The earliest mention of this cartridge is 1886-87, but it was actually introduced much earlier. It is considered to be the first rimless case and the first modern style solid head cartridge case. James H. Bullard was a prolific inventor in a variety of disciplines who patented this rifle in 1881. He established his business in Springfield, Mass and by around 1883 was producing firearms. He only stayed with the company a few years, moving on to other pursuits. The company continued in business until late 1890 or early 1891 when the building housing the factory was sold. The Bullard rifle was in many ways superior to its contemporaries, the Winchester and Marlin, with its rack & pinion action which is much stronger and smoother than either of the others making it much more able to chamber and extract swollen or damaged cartridge cases. The company’s demise was most likely precipitated by Mr. Bullard’s inattention to marketing along with the fact that the early iterations of his rifles were chambered in proprietary cartridges which were generally not readily available on the open market. Coupled with their late entry into the repeating rifle market, Mr. Bullard’s lack of business sense and the proprietary cartridges, the company simply didn’t stand a chance regardless of the superiority of their product. PROVENANCE: Tommy Rholes Estate Collection. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl retains about 85-88% orig finish turning plum with sharp edge wear and some light surface discoloration. Magazine tube is a blue/brown patina. Receiver retains most of its orig case colors, moderately faded. Lever retains strong case colors and the hammer faded case colors. Wood is sound with light nicks & scratches and retains most of an old restored finish. Mechanics are crisp. Brilliant, shiny bore. 4-50645 JR63 (7,500-12,500) – Lot 1169 Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

.red{fill:#B50938;} .white{fill:#FFFFFF;} .blue{fill:#005596;}

RARE BULLARD LARGE FRAME BIG BORE SEMI-DELUXE LEVER ACTION RIFLE.