First Sergeant Ryan’s Rifle

Nearly 150 years have passed since the famous “Battle of Greasy Grass,” which many of us remember better as the “Battle of the Little Big Horn.” At the battle “M” Company, 7th Cavalry, First Sergeant John Ryan, used his 45-70 Sharps rifle and fired the last shot of this famous conflict with the Cheyenne and the Sioux. However, that last shot is not what Ryan’s rifle is best remembered for. What is remembered more is the shooting done by Sgt. Ryan with his rifle when firing at Sharpshooter Ridge. Those shots most likely saved Ryan’s life, plus the lives of other troopers in “M” Company. 

Today, we can only look back at that ordeal, helped by some of the documents written at that time or just after, plus some of the speculations made by experts in putting some of the finer details together. One of those experts was Ralph Heinz, the noted Western artist who was also a member of an archeology team in the 1970s, that combed the battlefield sites looking for clues. Heinz was very interested in the site called “Sharpshooter Ridge” and that’s where our story really begins.

One (or possibly more) of the “hostiles” was shooting at “M” Company with remarkable accuracy from what is now known as Sharpshooter Ridge, which was approximately 400 yards away. The troopers were generally armed with early versions of the Springfield Model 1873 carbines in 45-70 caliber, which, because of their lack of long-range sights and their standard issue carbine loads, would not reach out accurately enough to counter the situation. Captain French asked Sgt. Ryan if he could “do something about that.” Ryan’s rifle was a special one, a custom built, heavy Sharps in 45-70 caliber, complete with a full-length scope. Ryan can be quoted from his book, Ten Years with Custer that “he fired a couple of shots to find the range, adjusted his scope for elevation, then fired half a dozen well-directed shots into the area where the Indians were.” Consequently, that ended the sniping done from Sharpshooter Ridge.

Not long after that, Indians could be seen pulling down their lodges as they prepared to make their escape because they knew that more “blue coats” would be coming soon. Captain French was armed with a Springfield rifle instead of a carbine, a Model 1870 Trapdoor in 50-70 caliber. Because Captain French and Sergeant Ryan had the only guns in the Company with long-range capabilities, they fired at the Indians from their positions on the other side of the river. Ryan states those were the last shots fired at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Ryan described his rifle as weighing 17 pounds in his book. In another collection of Ryan’s words, he stated that the gun weighed 15 pounds, possibly without the scope. With either of those statements, obviously done from memory and possibly estimated to begin with, we can determine that his rifle had a heavier than standard barrel. Ryan did say that he had the gun specially built, at the cost of $100, probably by a gunsmith in Bismarck, which was close to Fort Lincoln where the 7th Cavalry was headquartered. Having that rifle custom built, likely by re-barreling a Sharps sporting rifle, was likely the fastest way to get a heavy-barreled rifle in 45-70 caliber during the early months of 1876. Sporting rifles made in 45-70 were very few and certainly far between at that time.

In the book Custer’s First Sergeant John Ryan, by Sandy Barnard, Ryan was quoted as saying, “I used infantry ammunition, 70 grains of powder, which I procured from First Sgt. Wm. F. Bolton of G Company, 17th US Infantry, before going out on this trip. I gave him some of our carbine ammunition in place of it.” This tells us that the ammo Ryan used at the Little Big Horn for his 400-yard shots was loaded with the 70-grain powder charges and not the carbine loads with 55 grains that the other troopers were shooting. Such an increase in powder charge would certainly make a difference.

Also, during the archeology search, at least one bullet was found on Sharpshooter Ridge that bore rifling marks from a Sharps rifle and not from a Springfield. The issued Springfield carbines had three-groove barrels while the Sharps had six-groove rifling. This fact adds a great deal of support for Ryan’s story.

Shortly after the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Sergeant Ryan left the cavalry, taking his discharge and returning to the East. His Sharps rifle was “raffled-off” which certainly gave the winner a fine rifle but also allowed Ryan to regain his personal expenses for buying the gun. The winner was contacted years later but he had sold the gun in a transaction that he couldn’t remember. So, the old Sharps owned and used by Sergeant Ryan is lost to history. However, we can still treasure the description of the rifle that Ryan left us in his comments about it.

However, such a rifle cannot simply be forgotten. C. Sharps Arms is making a limited number of rifles honoring Sgt. John Ryan, and only 50 of these rifles will be built. This gun is based on the work done by Ralph Heinz in his rendition of Ryan about to take the shots at Sharpshooter Ridge, which certainly saved the lives of several troopers. That painting graces the cover of Custer’s First Sergeant, John Ryan by Barnhard. Heinz personally stood on Sharpshooter Ridge, seeing for himself the lay of the land. He also verified that empty 50-70 cases were found at that location. In addition, he told me that some empty 44-40 cases were found there, although those might have been added to the scene after the battle. The rifle depicted in the Ralph Heinz painting of Sgt. Ryan is not an absolute record of the actual rifle that Ryan had, but it is certainly based on Ryan’s description of his gun.

Here’s a quick rundown of the special “First Sergeant’s Rifle.” It is a Model 1874 “Hartford” chambered for the 45-70 with a pack hardened receiver, walnut stock with pewter nose cap, 30-inch No.1½ heavy barrel with the Hartford collar, and topped with a traditional style full length MVA scope. The action is engraved with the unique serial number 1SGT-1 through 1SGT-50 on one side and period correct First Sergeant chevrons on the other. It comes with a signed and serialized print and sells for $6,100 which includes the federal excise tax. As this is a limited edition, no custom options are available. 

The first of these special rifles was made in early 2024, and was turned over to me for sighting in. I received the rifle at a meeting in Idaho, to where Allen Cunniff and I joined Zach Schofstall and Ralph Heinz, along with western artist Toby Sauer, to talk about some of the research that Ralph had done. I then took the rifle back home and a small number of our Black River Buffalo Runners (as we call our buffalo rifle shooting group), got a chance to fire it at the Capitol City Rifle & Pistol Club, near Olympia, Washington. We were checking it out, finding a good load, getting ready to take it back to Montana and to the Quigley Rifle Match. There we would shoot it at the 405-yard diamond target (target Number Four at Quigley) to replicate the target size and distance of the shots fired toward Sharpshooter Ridge in the battle. 

Some carbine loads were tried first and those were certainly a pleasure to shoot. Going along with the carbine loads, the target was placed at just 50 yards. Good shooting was done and that was a great help in getting started.

Believing that Ryan would have tried some paper patched loads as well, experiments continued with a 500-grain paper patched bullet that were cast from a Tom Ballard mould, and seated over 63 grains of Swiss 1½Fg powder with a .030 Walter’s wad and a 1⁄8-inch beeswax lube cookie. Several of those loads were taken to Quigley the following June.

When June arrived, we headed east to the Quigley Rifle Match in Forsyth, Montana and the Ryan rifle had a “first class seat” for the trip. Our usual itinerary had us spending a night in Big Timber, Montana with a stop at the C. Sharps Arms Company where we got to visit with Pat Dulin, the shop foreman, as well as the rest of the staff. Pat was the maker of 1SGT-1 and we relayed the results we’d had with our shooting. The next day we drove for three hours along the open rolling hills of Montana, to the match and set up camp. 

We had a day to get our final testing done before Pat and the crew would have the C. Sharps tent up and the rifle would go on display. We made our way to the 405-yard Diamond target and set up our cross-sticks. Allen Cunniff, Mike Moran and I, plus a few others including Pat Dulin, would all get a chance to shoot and “battle test” the rifle at a more appropriate distance. 

Our expectations were exceeded to say the least. All of us got hits on the 24-inch square Diamond target. Perhaps by then we had simply fired enough shots down the barrel to really break it in, or the competition environment had us shooting our best. Pat joined us with some of his own ammunition and some duplex loads from the late John Schoffstall, which he had at the shop. One, two, three – the shots rang out and the steel “diamond” rang out with the hits. The Ryan rifle was a success. Since then, Pat has favored a “Money Bullet” over a duplex load of Elephant 2Fg and IMR-4895 smokeless powder.

Then rifle number 1SGT-1 went on display in the C. Sharps Arms tent on vendors row, well behind the firing line at Quigley. As previously mentioned, there will be only 50 rifles made in this limited edition. As of this writing, Zach noted that just under 20 of those special rifles have been made. If the original rifle wasn’t historically significant enough, these replicas are taking their own place in modern history. For example, the FBI Agents Association auctioned a First Sergeant Ryan rifle and print to raise funds for their 501C (3) fund, providing college tuition support for the children of fallen FBI Agents. In September of 2026, the Warriors and Quiet Waters Foundation will auction First Sergeant Ryan serial number 1SGT-41 (Montana is the 41st state), during the annual September gala and fundraiser in Bozeman, Montana. Funds will go to support the Warriors and Quiet Waters Foundation and their efforts to expose post 9-11 United States military veterans to nature and give them the tools to process trauma and prevent further veteran suicides. Starting in January 2026, there will be a joint campaign between WQWF and CSA to tell the First Sergeant Ryan story and promote the auction in September. On the American Outlaw channel on YouTube (@LastAmericanOutlaw) the content creators are currently shooting and videoing one of the First Sergeant Ryan rifle prototypes while his rifle is being built. There are multiple YouTube videos planned along with other social media content for 2026. Discussions are also underway for @LastAmericanOutlaw to take his First Sergeant Ryan rifle on an African safari in the summer of 2026. 

We can’t go back in time to those historic days at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, but for a lucky 50 people they can own a rifle that honors the service of First Sgt. John Ryan and the contributions he made to the battle. For more information and the order forms can be found at the 

C. Sharps Arms website at www.csharpsarms.com.