Gun Tests RecommendsCabela’s 1874 Sharps, $850. The case coloring on action, hammer, trigger-guard/lever, and butt plate was attractive and reasonably well done. Our first group with Winchester’s 300-grain JHP measured 1.1 inches. Some 140,000 Sharps rifles were produced prior to, and during that war. This Henry is also drilled and tapped for scope mpunts. Lewis and Clark had their military flintlocks, the mountain men had their percussion Hawkens, and the buffalo hunters had their cartridge-firing Sharps. Relia-Bolt is the best Bolt for the money. I have purchased 6 or 7 of them for me and my family of Boys. The checkering gave good traction. The rifle offered in two barrel length being the army full length 32 inch and the 22 inch illustrated here the sale rifle at Cabela’s is the 22” carbine model. Back in the year 1873, the 45-70 Government cartridge has survived up until present day because of one thing. The Cimarron stock had a pistol grip and, happily, a much larger butt plate. Out of Stock. Expert Advice! I have specialized much of my work as a load developer in shotguns and rifles. I have hunted deer and buffalo with the round as applied to a Sharps 45-70 rifle, and as such have produced the most noted results of the cartridges history when once removed from military applications. Post Cancel. We liked the checkering of the Cabela’s, but preferred the stock design of the Cimarron. 1 Comment. In the Peninsular War, a British sergeant is field promoted to a lieutenant in charge of a disrespectful rifle … In terms of this brand I know my business well as I own several handguns and rifle built by these folks. All that information stated here are some choices when buying a 45-70 Government chambered rifle. I currently live in the American west and hunt all across the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the Big Horn mountains. Then comes the Quigley Sharps in either .45-70 or .45-120, at $1,300. In the blinding snow these critters never did see us coming, Total sniper detail. All have a twist rate of 1 turn in 18 inches. Your email address will not be published. Selecting a Sharps: Shilohs Pricey Single Shot is Our Pick, Ruger American Pistol Pro Duty 10 08607 9mm Luger, Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield EZ NTS 12437 9mm Luger, The Bolt-Action Handy Rifle in 2021: Savage 110 Hog Hunter, 380 ACP Ammunition Testing: Bullet Development Continues, Twelve 22 Long Rifle Cartridges, Shot From a Rifle This Round, 9mm Barrel Lengths Compared In Range Performance Testing, 12-Gauge Mini Shells from Federal, Aguila, and Nobel, Gun Belts: Beat the Sag with Choices from Wright, Bigfoot, Quick-Release Extended Scope Mounts For Carbines & Rifles, BATFE Reclassifies ‘Honey Badger’ AR Pistols as SBRs, PROOF Research Introduces the $8500 Conviction Ti Long-Range Precision Tactical Rifle, USPSA Limited 10-Division Guns: We Test Four Practical Pistols. Why shoot so precisely? A Sniper's Best Friend: The Sharps rifle is among the few weapons that can one shot players if accurate enough with a single head shot. If your not buying the Relia-Bolt from Sharps Rifle … It offers an option in rifle designs if the potency is what is wanted not the nostalgic factor. We believe this design ought to be changed to reduce the height of the half-cocked hammer to forestall any potential problems with unintentional firing. The 1874 Sharps, production of which actually started in 1871, was a cartridge rifle designed for sporting purposes. Moving back to the action, it was machined with flat sides, sharp corners, and clearly defined contours, unlike the vague appearance of the other two rifles’ actions. Based on a design that Sharps may have only made one … Barrettrifles.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The ount used would be the Weaver 63B series. Some of the Sharps Big .50 rifles remain in use today, and Shilo Sharps Rifles of Big Timber, Montana is once again offering new Sharps rifles in .50-90 caliber. 1874 Sharps Cavalry Carbine 22" .45-70 $1,565.00. All three shots were touching. This high wall design makes use of a falling block breech system and a straight in chambering of a single round at a time. Why would the Shiloh shoot these fast, heavy lead bullets so much better than the other two rifles? And the 45-70 in this my Sharps rifle design produced all one shot kills inside 170 yards by way of the old school buffalo hunters trade shot, being one inch behind the ear and two inches low for a cerebral impact shot that drops the animals in their tracks. I bought a sharps about 25 years ago in 45 100 Shiloh really never shot it that much , it shoots very well.I also have a browning black powder rifle in 4570 that shoots really well I don’t think they make that model anymore. When we did so, we removed a slight amount of oxidation that might have contributed to the spotty look. In this case it is the Uberti once again and as offered the the outstanding Sharps rifle. Check the company’s website at cimarron-firearms.com for more details. The Shiloh felt precise and smooth, almost sensual. Accuracy was not quite as good as that of the Cabela’s rifle, averaging about 6 inches with the Winchester and 3 inches with the 350-grain Buffalo Bore ammunition. I shoot the High Wall Uberti in my selected 303 British cartridge and my rifle is nothing less than perfect in every respect. All of these rifles are based on the same action and barrel but the dressing is different as are the sights and fixtures as well. There was no checkering at all. As offered by Brownells the Uberti Springfield Trapdoor is an outstanding reproduction of the original short carbine carried by the American Army during the Indian fighter era throughout the western United States. Shiloh’s rifles list for as little as $1,504, for either the rather plain Business rifle or the Montana Roughrider. Sharps 1863 Carbines; Walther P38 (a WWII trophy gun) Mosin-Nagants; S&T Daewoos; Legacy H&K pistols; Sig AMT (STG57) FN FNC; Merwin & Hulbert revolvers; Enfield rifles; Legacy Arisaka rifles; Purdeys; The worst guns to collect for investment are… modern rifles… The Cabela’s Sharps liked two types of ammunition about equally. The work involved in getting the feeding correct as applied to the very large straight wall cartridge is massive and the problem is that this round is not a good fit for such rifle receiver / action designs. With Sean Bean, Assumpta Serna, Brian Cox, Daragh O'Malley. This Cimarron version took much more effort to open and close, and if your hand was between the lever and the trigger, you could get bit as the lever snapped upward with strong spring pressure. The other two rifles’ parts were blued, and rough-looking by comparison. Yes, the Cabela’s and Cimarron Pedersoli-built rifles are pretty good, but we believe they’re going to be stop-gap measures to keep you relatively happy while you wait for your Shiloh. Finally, there is the Deluxe Engraved version at a cost of $1,430. This rifle comes in a variety of barrel lengths and stock designs. Both the Winchester 300-grain and the Buffalo Bore 350-grain ammunition went into 100-yard, three-shot groups of around 2.0 inches. In this model 45-70 that is available through Cabala's and also Brownells, we find a rifle that is a classic in Sharps rifle design, shoots the full power smokeless 45-70 buffalo hunters round and based on my own rifle that has in effect been used for commercial buffalo hunting. We had to hammer the pin back into the Pedersoli with a plastic mallet. Over the years some have been built on British Enfield actions and Mauser action as well. After the war, cartridge-rifle development continued at a great rate. We do not specifically market to children under 13. These averaged nearly 4 inches. Directed by Tom Clegg. Our groups with the Buffalo Bore 350- grain weren’t all that great, undoubtedly hampered by our inability to see the target. Comment. We could remove some of this by rubbing very lightly with 4-0 steel wool. If the barrel looks good, the rifle looks good. That means that in its basic configuration, the sights and general appearance would have looked a whole lot like either the Cabela’s or Cimarron rifles, for around $700 more. The Sharps breech-loading percussion rifle saw great use in the Civil War on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. Conditional Buy. The .458 socom round mimics 45/70, same bullet and velocity, which is designed to feed from detachable mags. We could feel a huge difference between the Shiloh and Pedersoli designs in the feel of their action levers. This rifle is manufactured to withstand modern 45-70 loads like those offered by the major manufactures today. On December 23, 2020, Marvin G. Richardson, associate deputy director (ADD) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE), withdrew the “notice... Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Save your rifles for later. Where the muzzles of the two Pedersoli rifles showed notably visible lathe marks and a deep, wide funnel-shaped relief that served as a crown, the Shiloh had a dead-smooth muzzle with no trace of machining marks, even under 8X magnification. This is my rifle the Sharps long range buffalo gun. If you want one, it probably should be the best possible representative of an original Sharps, which was one of the finest U.S.-made rifles to ever see the light of day, and an icon of our frontier history. serial #c,39116, all matching numbers. Sharps Small Betsy Rifle $1,692.00. Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore single-shot rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848, and ceasing production in 1881. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry the guns’ prices at the time of the original review. Sights were a buckhorn rear, and driftable blade front. Unfortunately, there’s a long waiting list for these rifles. Many percussion Sharps rifles were converted to fire brass cartridges. We have very long range shooting here and this rifle can’t quite cut it down range. Buy it, no matter how long you’ve got to wait. *Quigley® Down Under and the Sharps 1874 Model Rifle 45-110. Finally came the moment of truth. Therefore, we will NEVER SACRIFICE quality for higher production figures. The system worked very well, and we had no problems with it during our field testing. View All Cartridge Rifles. Safety is a transfer bar system unlike the rifles of old. On original Sharps rifles and on the Shiloh design, the half-cock position is about an eighth of an inch above the firing pin. There were no streaks, and no abrasions. Most of them were the carbine model, with 22-inch barrels, which fired a paper “cartridge,” or a pre-measured charge of powder wrapped in combustible paper, with the paper stuck to a ball or conical bullet. The carbine carries a 22” barrel, blued finish with a total length of 41,3 inches. This undoubtedly limited our abilities with all rifles, but we did manage to get one superlative group fired with the Shiloh along the way. The action pin had a tapered nose that was designed to go back into the rifle easily, and we were able to replace it with our fingers. The government USDA agent was at our side during every animal take down and none were rejected. The hammer serves as the only safety on this rifle, just as with originals. The single-shot rifle was an important part of the history of the American frontier, from the time of Lewis and Clark through the epoch of the mountain men, to the post-Civil War buffalo hunters. The wood pores were nicely filled with an oil-type finish. My commercial names include Ballistics Research & Development / Metro Gun Systems.TM. Additionally, Barrettrifles.com participates in various other affiliate programs, and we sometimes get a commission through purchases made through our links. It was marked with numerals from 1 to 8, and held a sliding click-stopped U-notched rear sight. At those events and those distances, you shoot BP. Chiappa 920.197 Little Sharps Rifle. We could fix that with Lin-Speed, but it doesn’t seem we ought to have to. There was a small step on the end of the cross pin, and the edge of that step had a sharp shoulder that didn’t belong there. And to the last screw the guns are top of the line in quality and performance. This took only the force of our fingers. Uberti offers the rifle in four different models starting with the 1874 Special, followed by the Deluxe, and the last tow being the Down Under series, and my favorite the Buffalo Hunter. Here is a beautiful Shiloh Sharps 1874 rifle chambered in 45-70 govt wi ...Click for more info I bought a Shiloh Sharps 1874 Hartford from the factory around 15 years ago, but it seems to me that altogether it cost about $2500. As the breech block reached bottom, it brought an extractor rearward, withdrawing the contents of the chamber. Springfield Trapdoor. This, plus better fitting and care in manufacturing, resulted in the big difference in feel between the Shiloh and the Pedersoli rifles. This website contains many older reviews. The receiver on this gun is polished brass on dark steel. It would seem that a rifle like this could be manufactured for a great deal less than $850, but no one seems to be doing so. The Sharps rifle was encompassed within the development of both percussion and cartridge firearms. Out of Stock. In terms of effectiveness and my background with the cartridge living here in the American west. I have a close friend that hand built one on a German 98 ( Large Ring ) Mauser and it worked out well. The 1874 Sharps came in many varieties, the most prolific being the Sporting Rifle. Whenever you're looking at a C. Sharps Rifle that you like, look for the 'Save for Later' button. If you’re willing to pay more than the current list price, and are not all that particular about special features or about which model you want, several dealers have, over time, ordered Shiloh rifles on speculation, and may have one in stock. Basically what the 45-70 is all about is a straight walled case that retains a 45 caliber bullet being pushed by 70 grains of powder. Developed for the US Army. These are open sight models and as such are relegated to shorter range limits than the Sharps rifles and others. If this is any level of truth to a cartridges ability to do its job, the 45-70 is a classic example of just such a round. Actually Quigley shot a 45-100 on the classic move set. The latter two were both Pedersoli rifles. Today, the demand to own a Sharps rifle far exceeds the supply. The rifle uses a rea sight that is semi- buckhorn with a dimond insert, and the front sight is a brass bead. Walnut stocks are select grade wood and checking as well as metal to wood fit is perfection. To fire the rifle, the hammer is placed on full cock. a u.s. civil war military issued sharps new model 1863 rifle in excellent and untouched condition. This rifle is offered in several styles but in this case we will center on the standard field dressed model set up for big game hunting. The interior of the barrels looked extremely good, but as we noted, both of these had 1 in 18-inch twists. Military rounds just tend to be that any regardless of how old they are. However, Cabelas or Cimarrons less expensive versions of the 1874 Sharps will do until your $1,700 Shiloh Hartford Model arrives in a couple of years. Made in Big Timber, Montana! The light suddenly cooperated, and for a few brief moments we were able to see the target clearly. Although the rear curved surface was probably similar to what was on original Sharps rifles, we’re sure frontier riflemen changed their sights to suit their eyes. Even the simple sights on the Pedersolis would be a vast improvement for field use. Rifles; 1874 & 1877 Sharps; 1874 & 1877 Sharps “SHARPS PTD” The name that shooters and collectors all over the world dream about. “Experimental” at the time I believe he stated in the film. However if you are hunting dangerous game ( bear ) or even deer in timber country, the use of a lever action would be a better choice. By 1874 the rifle … The stock retains a length of pull measuring 14 inches. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. The inletting of the Shiloh Sharps was far superior to either of the other two. The fact is that  not every one is a “Quigley Down Under” kinda of guy. This post may contain affiliate links which means we receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase. In most cases you will find that the 45-70 Government is offered in Sharps style rifles or lever guns as has been noted in the proceeding review. This is not the norm however, we can’t located any rifles save for Gun International and the like, that once in a while come up with used or collector grade custom bolt gun chambered in the 45-70. We longed for a simple post, but the front sight insert didn’t seem to be replaceable. One of the best breechloaders of the war, the Sharps rifle was a favorite arm of marksmen. This is possible through its very simple single shot structure, based on the falling block design mutuated from … The walnut was not as quite nice as that on the Cabela’s, but it was adequate. 1   Henry Lever Action 45-70 brass receiver, 2   Marlin 1895 Lever Action Rifle. Buy It. The front sight was driftable for windage, but the fixed rear sight had no provisions for elevation changes. The bore was not leaded, so the bullets were not stripping. The Sharps 1874 rifle became the professional buffalo hunters’ gun par excellence, thanks to its accuracy and large caliber, which allowed them to shoot down the animals from a safe distance, … 1863 Cavalry Sharps Carbine without Patch Box Black Powder Rifle .54, 22” Round $1,366.00 1859 Cavalry Sharps Carbine with Patch Box Black Powder Rifle .54, 22” Round The Shiloh had a perfectly flat, very well polished, sharp-cornered barrel with what appeared to be perfectly done rust bluing, which gave it a semi-matte glow that could be picked out across the room. There are a number of manufactures building side by side rifles around the world but this is about as good a bargain in a 45-70 double gun as you are ever going to find. The butt plate was checkered and seemed to be made of hard rubber. However, the edges of the eight sides were very slightly rounded; they should have been sharp to match original rifles. Menu Menu Dealer Locator. The rifles are rear loading sidle open hammer rifles exactly like the original 1874 buffalo rifle models. The barrel was drilled and tapped for the spring of the normal rear sight. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Calibers ranged from .40 to .50. I have owned double rifles in 45-70 and other calibers but I have found them not to be very workable out here in the American west. In our collective opinion, there’s only one rifle of this trio that’s completely worthy of the name Sharps, and it’s the Shiloh, which, by the way, is made entirely in the United States. Pedersoli Kodiak. Cimarron Sharps 1874 Silhouette, $1,095. Cabela’s shows a similar stock design on its Heavy Target Model, but the price is $1,000. We feel that Shiloh Sharps Rifles … Enter your email address to receive our best … The most expensive rifle, without any extras which can drastically raise the price, is—you guessed it—the Quigley Model, for $2,860.