Another tidbit from 1884.  In Bullard Firearms, Scott Jamieson writes, “In late December 1884 the Bullard company had to duplicate a case of guns that went missing a month earlier in transit to the New Orleans Exposition.  Farrow, who had charge of the display, said the exposition was chaotic.  Colt also suffered a similar disaster.”

I sure wonder where that case of Bullards went.  Surely they were ultimately sold.  How would a collector know if they had one in their collection?

BullardShooter wrote on Apr 27^th, 2024 at 8:36am:


Jamieson tells about the trip on p. 60 of his 2nd edition, Bullard Firearms. 
Pittsburgh PA, Wheeling WV, Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, then across Minnesota, to Montana, to Washington Territory (and presumably through one of the Dakotas and Idaho), to Oregon (mention made of Portland), and then to San Francisco. Then east to Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah. Then home. Prep started in March 1884 and he returned to Springfield, Mass., is September. Trip covered some 10,000 miles, Farrow participated in about 50 matches, winning most of them, and fired some 4,000 cartridges. 

There is a photo of Teddy Roosevelt and 2 associates with Bullard rifles, photo taken in N. Dakota during TR's days there. Would that be associated with Farrow? 

Since the Large-Frame repeater was the only model then in production, and since it was made in .45-70 Gov't., I assume that Farrow took several with him, all .45-70, none with proprietary cartridges. That made resupply easier.  He was a long way from the factory, with what was really an unproven product.  He probably took spare parts and some tools.

What was the accuracy shelf life of a .45/70 BP cartridge in 1884?  Would WMF have taken cartridges in sealed tins?

waterman wrote on Apr 27^th, 2024 at 12:57pm:


If I am it's news to me! But I was just replying to BullardShooter's comment about the stolen rifles.

waterman wrote on Apr 27^th, 2024 at 12:43pm:


Waterman -

Thanks for the reminder of what Scott wrote in his book regarding Farrow's 1884 travels.  It seems these days I can remember something I read 50 years ago easier than I can remember something I read last week.   

1884 sure sounds like a whirlwind trip for Farrow.  He must have been a driven man with a good amount of energy.

As far as guns stolen 140 years ago, I have no idea how far back a statute of limitations would apply.  It is an interesting question. I can't see I've seen anything that would apply.  I have heard of stolen guns being return to original owners - but the owners have still be living.  In this case, I doubt the serial numbers of those stolen Bullards are available anywhere.

My 4th Model Farrow in .22 LR is a great offhand rifle, as long as you understand its funky behavior.  Other than as an offhand rifle, I'm not sure.  I think it depends on what you want to do with one and what Model you have.

Arthur Corbin Gould, owner, publisher and editor of The Rifle, was a rifleman of the old school, valuing accuracy above all.  ACG cared not a whit for repeaters and viewed breech-loading single shots as having a lot of unnecessary parts, all of which detracted from a rifle’s accuracy.  To increase circulation of his magazine, and to push his point, ACG arranged for a rifle match at the spring 1886 meeting of the National Rifle Club in Vernon, Vermont.

The National Rifle Club had been around since the 1850s.  Members shot heavy muzzle-loading rifles from the bench or from machine rests and used telescopic sights.  Distance for the matches was 40 rods.  Scores were “string measure”, the cumulative distance from the center of each bullet-hole to a pin-head sized mark, measured to the nearest 1/16th of an inch.  The winner of a 30-shot match often had a “string measure” of about 36 inches, sometimes less.  On today’s target, a winning score would almost all the of the 30 shots in the 25-ring, with only one or two going into the 24-ring.   

The match was to be between the National Rifle Club members using their heavy rifles and, by invitation, some of the nation’s leading marksmen using their breech-loaders.  Willard Milton Farrow was one of the invitees.  The match was to be held on May 26, 1886.

In the spring of 1885, Milton needed to promote his rifle and was probably delighted with the invitation.  He would have a letter of acceptance in the mail within a day or two.  He recognized that he had to gain some experience with benchrest shooting and with the use of a telescopic sight.  The National Rifle Club’s range at Vernon, Vermont was only about a 2-hour buggy ride north of Brattleboro.  (The people at the Brattleboro Historical Society had never heard of the National Rifle Club, either.)

The spring meeting of the National Rifle Club was held on May 26 and 27, 1886, at the Vernon, Vermont range.  One 10-shot string measure target was shot on the 26th, two on the 27th.  Eleven competitors finished the match.  As expected, the 15 lb. muzzle-loaders won the day.  First place went to D.A. Brown, shooting a Horace Warner .45, with a 412 grain bullet and 123 grains of powder.  The center of his average shot was 1 and 3/16” from the center of the bull.  The next 3 places went to men shooting Norman Brockway’s rifles.  All had string measures less than 49 inches.   

waterman wrote on Apr 27^th, 2024 at 8:16pm:

Question, I presume the photo shown of the shooters was from the match in question. If so can you comment why Farrow is holding a Ballard rifle and not his own? Not the best way to promote his rifle.