Edition 2019-2 Published by C. Sharps Arms Co., Inc.

M

MY HUNTING WITH THE .50-70, page 3

Manufacturers of A WORLD FAMOUS SERIES of Classic Metallic Cartridge Rifles and Classic Sights

P.O. Box 885, Big Timber, MT 59011 Phone: 406-932-4353 Fax: 406-932-4443

2019 www.csharpsarms.com * info@csharpsarms.com 2019

THE AMERICAN SHARPS SHOOTERS

Publisher: C. Sharps Arms Co. Inc., John R. Schoffstall – President

Mike Nesbitt - - - Editor (miken54@aol.com)

Allen Cunniff --- Field Contributor (tpigskin@comcast.net)

Dangerous Don McDowell - - Field Contributor (ranch13@hotmail.com)

Rick Hamilton—Field Contributor (rhamilton@nntc.net)

Table of contents: Page

MY HUNTING WITH THE .50-70 by Allen Cunniff.………..…....……….……. 3

OLD WEST CENTERFIRES by Bob Gietz……………………….…...…………7

LYMAN’S DIGITAL BORESCOPE by Rick Hamilton……………...……….….…...11

Outstanding Products ……………………………………….............................…14

MORE THAN JUST NEW RIFLES by Mike Nesbitt……………………….…. 19

“Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason,”—Mark Twain

MY HUNTING WITH THE .50-70 By Allen Cunniff

As a youngster in Texas, many of my fondest memories centered

around a variety of hunting opportunities available near my home. When

life (and the guiding hand of the military) moved me far from that home

over 40 years ago, my hunting trips became fewer and farther between.

Although nowadays I primarily enjoy target shooting with black powder

cartridge rifles, there is no escaping inevitable conversations surrounding

their heritage as hunting arms. Rifle configuration, sighting, and caliber are

all factors when considering game, terrain, and hunting techniques. In fact,

this is always one of the first topics of discussion broached when sharing

thoughts with shooting partners. Although it is fun (and cheaper) to dream,

these for the moment flights of fantasy often find a way to materialize into

reality.

Although our home is now in the Pacific Northwest, my travels often take me to my childhood home in

Texas, where family still resides. Whenever hunting season coincides and opportunity presents itself, I get to

enjoy target shooting and hunting deer and feral hogs with my brother and nephews. The rifle of choice is

typically a vintage piece and caliber and occasionally a muzzleloader. In recent years, the thought of hunting

with a Sharps has increasingly piqued my interest. Virtually all hunting land in Texas is privately owned. Our

hunting sites are working cattle ranches, generously covered with cedar and scrub oak with meandering

grasslands. While still hunting is possible, the thickness of the stands of trees dictates that most hunting takes

place from ground blinds or elevated stands overlooking corn or protein feeders. These feeders perform two

key functions; they provide enhanced nutrients and minerals to develop more robust deer and compete with the

predominant oak mast, or acorns, to draw in a variety of game, including turkey, whitetail deer, feral hogs. By

far, the most common game in the northcentral Texas area in which we hunt is the whitetail deer and feral hog.

Deer season is king in this part of the world, but hog hunting is fast becoming a staple. Hogs are well

established throughout the state, often to the point of pestilence. They are prolific breeders and voracious eaters

and have become a destructive element in farming areas. As a result, hogs may be hunted year-round, day or

night, with no bag limit. With larger boars reaching weights of 200-300 pounds, they can be a tough adversary.

With the thought of taking a deer or hog on a future hunt, attention was turned to finding a Sharps rifle that

would fit the bill.

While travelling, Mike Nesbitt and I have a long-running road discussion on general caliber

considerations as well as bullet and rifle configurations, and often focused on the .50-70 cartridge. Mike is a

strong advocate for the .50-70 as a cartridge that is easy to load and a bullet that carries considerable energy for

a wide

range of

hunting.

During a

stop at C

Sharps’

Montana

Armory facility in Big Timber, Mike called me back to the wall of firearms in the showroom and pointed to a

Model 1874 Hartford in .50-70 caliber. It had a straight stock and 30” Badger barrel with blade front sight. At

11 pounds weight, it was suitable for the hunting role I had envisioned, with the exception of the standard rear

sight. A Marble’s Improved Tang Sight was selected as a preferred solution and into the truck it went. The

rifle was christened on the 350-yard bucket target at “Quigleyville” using ammunition generously donated by

Les Cramer. While long range shooting is satisfying using long range rear and globe front sights, clanging a

gong using open sights at those ranges is a rush.

On our return home, the development of a hunting load became the focus of attention. It was a given

that this would be a black powder load, with emphasis on shooting accurately from a clean, cold barrel. No

opportunity for fouling shots when you sneak into position in the wee hours of the morning of a hunt, so first

round accuracy was even more critical than terminal bullet performance. Additionally, there was little need for

bore wiping or rapid rates of fire. This would be set up for a one-shot hunt. The expected distance of the shot

was 100-200 yards, the distance of the hunting stand from the feeders on the ranch we hunt. Several different

bullets were tested to identify the most consistent first round accuracy. With several loads I was able to place

the first round consistently in the 10-ring at 100 yards and subsequent rounds grouping well within the kill zone

radius of the whitetail or feral hog.

The loading I finally settled upon was the Accurate Molds’ #50-525T paper patch

bullet in 20:1 alloy at 550 grains weight over 70 grains of 2f Olde Eynsford powder

and a .030” Walters fiber wad. Compression is approximately 1/8” and no lube cookie

was used. After seating the bullet, the case is bumped into the sizing die to remove the

case mouth and lightly crimp the bullet. When chronographed, this load averages

1245 fps with low standard deviation. Since I was not concerned with a series of

follow-up shots, I opted to go without the lube in order to seat the bullet a bit deeper.

The deeper seating holds the bullet a bit more securely and reduces the likelihood of

the bullet and case separating in a cartridge loop or pocket while hunting.

The opportunity for a hunt did not present itself that season, but the rifle made

its way to the range many times over the next year, fired for a few rounds at 100 and

200 yards before being put away. Particular attention was placed on familiarization

with the Marble peep sight and range adjustment. During one day’s shooting on a

particularly cloudy day, my range partner, David Dolliver, made a comment that he

had mounted the same sight some years before on his hunting rifle and found it

necessary at times to remove the rear aperture and use the threaded hole in the sight

stalk as a sort of “ghost ring” in order to have enough light to see his target. Dave’s

words would prove prophetic.

The following Thanksgiving found us once again in Texas with a 2-day visit scheduled for my brother

and myself to hunt the ranch. The weather was typical for that time of year, with a cold, steady wind blowing

directly into the face of the

shooting stand the entire first

day. I had walked to the stand

in the dark with my sight set for

100 yards, the distance to the

feeder as estimated by the ranch

owner. As light improved, I

began to note features to use for

range estimation and realized

the distance to the feeder

looked rather suspect. By the

end of the day, only a few does

were seen and my eyeballs felt

as though they had been

sandblasted. Before retiring for

the evening, I paced the

distance from the stand to the

feeder, which proved to be in

excess of 170 yards. That

night, I adjusted my rear sight

accordingly for the following

Day one, does venture into the corn feeder on a Texas ranch day’s hunt. The next morning

dawned ominously, as I awoke with severe eye pain from the exposure to the wind the day before. A generous

dosing of eye drops got me back out to the stand before first light. The weather was overcast but calm.

Around 45 minutes before sunrise, my binoculars detected movement near the feeder, and careful

observation revealed a pair of bucks feeding in the area. It was still too early to shoot, but a quick look through

the Marble sight raised a new concern. There would not be sufficient light to achieve a good sight picture

through the peep. Then Dave’s remark came to mind, and I removed the aperture. Sure enough, the extra light

brought the needed clarity. Still 10 minutes before sunrise but during legal shooting hours, and I was able to

draw a clean sight picture on the larger buck. My binoculars had identified him as a legal buck for that area,

with antler spread outside his ears. Trigger set, and a squeeze sent the bullet downrange. Immediately

following the shot and peering through the smoke, I noted movement to my right as the buck was seen in a

small opening between the cedars before disappearing. I felt the shot was good and had heard impact, so I

waited 10 minutes in the stand before attempting to track. Once at the feeder, I was disappointed to find no

blood or viscera, only the marks made by his hooves as he leapt. For 45 minutes, I carefully covered the area

between the feeder and where I had last seen him as he paused and searched the fence line to see if he had

crossed under. Just as I was about to concede defeat, I heard cattle moving beyond the fence that bounded the

area and noticed several with their attention focused at the base of a cedar. Standing on the fence, I could see

the tips of the antlers of a fallen buck just above the tall grass, 10 yards beyond the fence. The buck had

travelled a distance of approximately 50 yards before piling up. A short drag to and under the barbed wire

fence brought me with my prize back to the area of the feeder just in time for my brother and uncle to drive up

in a 4-wheeler to check on me.

On inspection, the

clean entrance wound

was mid shoulder and the

equally clean exit wound

behind the opposite

shoulder. Both holes

were the same ½”

diameter, and the only

trace of blood was from

the mouth and nostrils.

While the lungs were

completely destroyed,

there was no apparent

expansion of the bullet.

For the whitetail, a lighter

weight, flatter point

bullet could be more

appropriate. The spire

pointed bullet showed a

lack of expansion in the

body of the whitetail deer

but might have proven

more suitable against a

The C. Sharps .50-70 with a ready-made rifle rack feral hog. Regardless,

the result was a successful hunt, a downed deer that dressed out at around 140 pounds and a tremendous

experience.

The workup to this hunt fostered a tremendous appreciation for the .50-70 as a reliable and accurate

cartridge. This particular load in general and the bullet in particular may be a bit overkill on Texas whitetail,

but should be extremely effective on larger-bodied northern game. As far as my Texas hunting efforts are

concerned, this rifle will be tested later this year on feral hog hunts in this same area on a neighboring ranch. I

expect the .50-70 cartridge will prove the equal of the big feral boars that terrorize the area.

Old West

Centerfires

By Bob Gietz

Eight shooters were present for this Old

West Centerfires match, which seems to be a usual

number. But nine scores are noted for the

competition because Allen Cunniff shot his witnessed targets on the Wednesday

previous and under much better weather conditions. That is said not to take

anything away from Allen, his scores are still the tops for this match and he had

his troubles too. Allen’s main problem was with his rear sight which would

somehow loosen the eye cup during his shooting and drop a minute of elevation

with almost with every shot. That was something he simply had to watch out for.

The problem was under control when he shot at 200 yards. On his 200 yard

target, Allen made up for any points lost at 100 yards with a very dandy group

Allen Cunniff (inset picture) certainly favors this .45/70 rifle, it shoots as good as it looks

scoring a 98-4X. Allen was shooting his favorite C. Sharps Arms ’74 in .45/70 using 550 grain bullets from a

Hoch mold.

But let’s give credit to these intrepid elite eight for flaunting the bad weather forecast and coming to the

range in the rain. We had cloudy periods and posted one relay at a time to minimize the ‘Paper Mache’ effect

on the targets. One intense shower poured during the set up then settled back to partly cloudy with light

variable breezes. And we had a good pot of hot coffee on the camp stove behind the firing line which added a

little comfort to our shooting situation.

Our course of fire was 20 shots on paper targets; 10 shots at 100 yards at the standard bullseye and 10

more shots at the 200 yard military bullseye target. After the “paper match” we shot the steel white buffalo at

200 yards while sitting behind cross-sticks and the steel bucket at 100 yards from the offhand position. The

Buffalo was particularly challenging in that it was only visible when shifting light conditions were just right.

Patience was a needed virtue for the shooters. Two relays, five shots each, were shot at the steel targets with the

shots fired in sequence as called by the Match director. Five shooters participated in this extra event which was

won by Phil Wiebe with 5 hits. Mike Nesbitt also scored 5 hits but the preference went to Phil Wiebe for

getting more hits on the off-hand target.

Before talking about the aggregate scores, let me point out how “tight” this match was. There were only

six points difference spread out over the top-scoring six shooters. And, making the scoring just a little easier,

there were no ties.

Match prizes were awarded for the aggregate scores with selection of items from a combination of club-

provided high protein prizes, plus merchandise items from C. Sharps Arms, and SPG Sales. Allen Cunniff’s

witnessed targets took first place with a score of 185-4X. Jerry Mayo’s scores are improving noticeably and he

posted a 183 for second place. Bob DeLisle, using paper patched bullets in his .45/70, was third with a score of

182-X. “Loco Jeff” Ritter, using his Shiloh Sharps that was re-barreled to .40/65 by C. Sharps Arms took

fourth with an aggregate score of 181-X and Jeff also had the highest score at 100 yards. Lynn Willecke was

fifth place with a 180-X score earned while shooting his heavy .50/70. Mike Nesbitt was sixth shooting a score

of 179-2X (one point less than his second place score from last month). Mike had changed the insert in his

front sight on his .44/77 just before the match to a larger aperture but did not “sight it in” prior to shooting for

score. His first shot, fired at the 100 yard target, scored a 5 at almost 6 o’clock. That new front sight insert

must be taller than the insert it replaced. Elevation was added to the rear sight to get shots scoring closer to

center but the 5 possible points lost with that first shot could not be made up. Seventh place went to Don Kerr

with a score of 174 using his .45/90. And eighth place was taken by Wes Davis with 133-X shooting his .45/70.

Then ninth place went to Phil Wiebe with his new and still unfamiliar C. Sharps Arms ’74 in .45/90.

These short range matches are a lot of fun and they can be a real challenge. Try joining us for one of the

coming shoots. You can contact me, Bob Gietz, by email at duckfreak@q.com.

Scores for this Match

Name Rifle/Cartridge 100 yd. 200 yd Total Accum

1st Allen Cunniff 1874 C. Sharps Arms .45/70 87 98-4X 185-4X 375-9X

2nd Jerry Mayo 1874 C. Sharps Arms .45/70 88 95 183 507-X

3rd Bob DeLisle 1874 Pedersoli Sharps .45/70 86 96-X 182-X 546-7X

4th Loco Jeff Ritter 1874 Shiloh/C. Sharps .40/65 89 92-X 181-X 530-2X

5th Lynn Willecke 1874 C. Sharps Hartford .50/70 84 96-X 180-X 341-2X

6th Mike Nesbitt 1874 C. Sharps Arms .44/77 (Hvy) 84-X 95-X 179-2X 540-5X

7th Don Kerr 1874 C. Sharps Hartford .45/90 83 91 174 496-2X

8th Wes Davis 1874 Pedersoli Sharps .45/70 53 80-X 133-X 248-X

9th Phil Wiebe 1874 C. Sharps Hartford .45/90 46 53 99 266

Not Shooting In This Match

Tony Woore 125

Will Ulry 147

Jim Dickerman 170

Clarence Atchison 220-X

L to R, standing; Loco Jeff Ritter, Phil Wiebe, Lynn Willecke, & Wes Davis

Kneeling, Jerry Mayo, Mike Nesbitt, Don Kerr & Bob DeLisle

Lyman’s Digital Borescope

By Rick Hamilton

As the “Land Down Under” fades from the view of my plane window, the

unpleasant realization of the 14 hour plane ride back to LA sets in. It was a

four hour flight from LAX to Omaha, followed by a five hour drive home.

What better time to write!

My first time of looking through a borescope was at Dick Savages when he started mentoring me years ago.

It was a Hawkeye and it opened up a whole new world of the secrets of the bore and chamber for me. They

have a myriad of uses from detecting leading, condition of bore, throat, sharpness of lands, whether the bore is

actually clean, and more.

My main reason for wanting one was to check for leading. Looking at the price of the Hawkeyes, which are

an outstanding unit, I soon decided they were not in my price range at the time. Having read about the new

Lyman Digital Borescope I decided to do some research and the reviews seemed to be good. Midway had a

great sale at the time so I took the plunge.

Ironically, and the reason Australia jogged my memory to write this, the first Sharps bore I inspected also

happened to be my first Sharps, a Pedersoli 45-90 Quigley model. When the borescope arrived in the mail, I

quickly unpacked the borescope, plugged the power supply into the monitor, and plugged the inspection rod

into the monitor, read the instruction manual for a few minutes and we were ready to go.

The inspection rod is 20 inches long, so coming in from both muzzle

and breech end, you can inspect a 40 inch barrel, in falling blocks anyway.

The end of the rod has a 90 degree lighted mirror. The handle allows one to

rotate the rod in the bore. The inspection rod also has reference markings on

it to allow you to be able to go back to a particular section if necessary.

Land showing tooling marks

The digital monitor allows you real time viewing of the bore. One of the really nice features is the ability

to be able to take still pictures anytime you want with a push of the button on the monitor. It is saved on a

memory card that you can then insert in a card reader and transfer to a hard drive on your computer.

The first thing you need to do with any borescope is clean the oil from the bore of the rifle before using.

Oil is not good on mirrors in any borescope. Some reviews I have read suggest not using alcohol to clean the

mirror, just a cotton ball. I do use the spray cleaner that came with mine on a folded in half cotton cleaning

patch. I then grab the fold in the middle on each side and pull it through the mirror opening in only one

direction. This seems to work well to get any white squiggleys (dust specks) out of the viewfinder.

Next inserting the inspection rod into the breech, I slowly pushed the rod along while rotating it to check

for leading. Previously I had done what I thought was a deep clean and was not expecting to find any.

Surprise! I did find leading, plus my bore was not as squeaky clean as I thought. This led me to a complete

change in my cleaning procedures that now leave me with perfectly clean bores and no lead.

The rod needs a little manipulation in the .45-caliber to get the best sharpness and focus. It takes a little

practice. Some have used rubber oil seals over the inspection rod to help center it in the larger bores. The rod

is .20” in diameter and works well down to .22 caliber bores.

Some other uses of the borescope are internal inspection of cartridge cases, muzzle crown inspection,

checking for freebore, and rifling leade angles.

Another thing worth mentioning is that you have to remember what you are seeing is highly magnified,

both the good and the bad. I think you might be surprised that some of your bores may not be as pristine as you

might think, I know I found one that shoots extremely well but had some bad pitting in one area.

In conclusion the Lyman borescope is not a Hawkeye, nor is it priced like one. Having said that I think it

will do the intended job for a large number of Sharps shooters and is a good tool to have in the gun room. I am

very happy with mine and as stated earlier it led to a complete revamping of my cleaning procedures, which for

me more than justified the cost. The current price for Lyman’s Digital Borescope is $319.95. See Lyman’s

web site at www.lymanproducts.com for more information.

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses,” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government,

then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." – Plato

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your

government when it deserves it.” Mark Twain

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTS: by Mike Nesbitt .44/90 Sharps ROBERSON BRASS Let me admit that several weeks had passed between the time that I loaded and tried the Roberson brass

for the .44/77 before I tried doing the same thing with their brass for the .44/90. One thing that slowed me

down was the idea that testing more of the Roberson brass would be too repetitious and I wouldn’t have

anything new to say. That might be a fact but that was something we’d simply might find out. So this report is

being written “as we go” and my first step in trying the .44/90 brass has just been taken.

That first step, unlike the way I tried the .44/77 brass, was to anneal the necks of the .44/90 cases.

Then the new .44/90 brass was loaded, using 470 grain bullets from Lyman’s (discontinued) #446187

mold over 90 grains of Olde Eynsford 1F powder. That was when an interesting fact became apparent, the new

brass was thick enough in the necks that the loaded ammo could not be easily chambered. But they could be

chambered while using a cam tool, so they were taken to the range and fired. This was reported to Jeff

Roberson and he very quickly told me to return the brass where the problem would be fixed.

But I “disobeyed orders” and after

cleaning the brass, loaded them again but

with paper patched bullets. The paper

patched bullets are of a smaller diameter

than the grease groove bullets and I’d load

them into sized but not expanded cases.

That worked fine and the un-expanded

case necks held the paper patched bullets

very firmly, firm enough that the ammo

could be carried in a cartridge belt with no

problems.

The bullets used were from a custom

mold from an unknown maker, very flat

nosed, nose poured, with a flat base.

Those loads were tried on paper and they

certainly worked well enough for hunting.

One group of five shots was fired which

didn’t do too bad but I thought a better

target could be shot. So the other five were shot for group and it was better, probably by just one point.

Anyway, shooting these cases with the paper patched bullets

worked and they’d make good hunting loads.

Perhaps a tighter group could be shot using some 450

grain “slicks” from Accurate Molds’ 44-445P, a tapered

bullet. If so, loads with those bullets would become my

hunting loads for the .44/90. While I am pleased with the

performance these new cases are giving me, I’ll have them

with me at Quigley and Jeff Roberson will be there. If he still

wants them back, I’ll surrender them, maybe with a little fight.

Like I said about the .44/77 cases, Roberson brass is

very good but costly compared to drawn brass. Each case is

“custom made” on a lathe which means brass can be made for

specific rifles and not just for a cartridge type in general.

These .44/90 cases are priced at $8.34 each. But Roberson

has a very wide list of available cartridge cases and some of

them have optional headstamps. Custom headstamps are also Five shots with the paper patched loads

Available. Go to www.rccbrass.com to see all that they have to offer.

OCTOBER COUNTRY’S BUFFALO HIDE PLUNDER

Leave it to October Country to bring us somethings new. While these might not be completely new

items, because I told you about their Buffalo Runners’ Rifle Cover before, I hope you will agree that this is a

worthy update. October Country is now offering shooting pouches and gun covers made from buffalo hide.

For muzzle-loaders they make a medium sized buffalo hide

shooting pouch (which I like) and it measures 7 inches deep and

another 7 inches wide. The top of the pouch and the flap edges

are bordered with a dark suede leather that gives it a good

outline. Inside this pouch there is a ball pocket made of a

similar colored leather. The flap can be buttoned down with the

brown button that looks like it is turned from horn. The buffalo

leather used for the pouch is rated as 8 ounce and the same

weight leather is used for the buckle loop and the tongue on the

cotton webbing which is used for the strap. October Country

showed me another pouch made with the buffalo hide and it had

an un-bordered flap with a “natural” edge.

The buffalo hide is outstanding in the softness of the

leather. We can say that the buffalo hide is comfortably strong.

The price for one of these buffalo-hide shooting pouches is

about $80. (Yes, we could carry cartridges in those pouches.)

In addition to the shooting pouches, October Country is

also making rifle covers from the buffalo hides. The buffalo

hide gun covers are made with a 4-ounce leather, very soft, and

the covers are sewn together with the “fuzzy” side out. That

makes them look more like the covers are made with brain-tanned leather which adds the appearance by giving

it a more authentic look. The rather light brown color of the buffalo hide gun covers is referred to as “tobacco.”

These gun covers will completely encase the rifle and the end is then turned to close the case, held closed with a

leather tie.

It’s called the Buffalo Runner’s Rifle Cover and it would certainly offer good protection for a rifle.

These are made in two sizes; the shorter size fits rifles with a total length of 46” or less and the longer size is for

rifles up to 52”. Also, these Buffalo Runner rifle covers are made 2” wider than their muzzle-loading gun cover

to accommodate black powder cartridge rifles with their taller front sights. The rifle in the picture is my .44/90

Sharps which has a 32” barrel and there is more than enough room for that gun. Custom sizing is also available.

Prices for the buffalo hide gun covers are $125.00 for the shorter one and $135.00 for the longer gun cover.

If you’d like more information about these new buffalo hide pieces just call October Country at 208-

762-4903. October Country is located at 6272 N. Government Way, Dalton Gardens, Idaho 83815. And you

can look at their web site at octobercountry.com.

If you’d like more information about these new buffalo hide rifle covers just call October Country at

208-762-4903. October Country is located at 6272 N. Government Way, Dalton Gardens, Idaho 83815. And

you can also look on their web site at www.octobercountry.com.

BOOK REVIEW

SHARPS FIREARMS Volume I

by Roy Marcot, Ron Paxton, & Edward W. Marron, Jr.

This is the second book that Sharps rifle fans

and collectors have really been waiting for,

Volume I of the four volume set. We got our

‘sample’ with Volume II and now the awaited

and delayed Volume 1 is ready. And, just like

Volume II which was about the early cartridge

rifles and the Model 1874 Sharps, Volume I is

equally impressive. This “first” volume is about

the Sharps percussion era, 1848 to 1865.

Volume I is just a little larger than Volume

II, it also measures 10” X 12” but weighs 6 ½

pounds and has 440 pages which is about 60

pages more than Volume II. Those pages are

divided into 19 chapters and the first chapter, of

course, is about Christian Sharps and his patent

of 1848.

C. Sharps’ patent rifle is shown along with

some other guns made by Christian Sharps. A

lot of background is included in Chapter 1, more than I expected to see. That’s good history too, very

interesting. That interesting text and the excellent photography continues into Chapter 2 which is about the

Sharps Model 1849 Sporting Rifles. Only a few of the Model 1849 Sharps were made, about 175 rifles, most of

which had ramrods. That evolved into the Model 1850 rifle which were made by the same company as the

1849s. Real differences were seen with the Model 1851 rifles, with their internally mounted external hammers.

The next few chapters deal with the several versions of the 1851 rifles as well as the single-shot pistols

and pistol-rifles. Details and excellent photos about these guns can’t really be described. Then, beginning with

Chapter 8, we can start learning more about the Model 1852 rifles. Those were the first of the famous slant-

breech Sharps. The Model 1852 quickly evolved into the Model 1853 and Chapter 11 is dedicated to the Model

1853 Sporting Rifles which I believe are very beautiful. A half-round barreled ’53 Sporting Rifle in .44 caliber

was own by George Armstrong Custer. Information and photos of the slant-breech rifles and shotguns continue

through Chapter 12. Nowhere else have I seen so much information or photos of the slant-breech Sharps.

The next chapter is about the Model 1859 Sharps, the first of the “straight-breech” rifles. Following

chapters include some special notes about the Model 1859 Military rifles made for Colonel Hiram Berdan,

which had double set triggers, and the Model 1863 and 1865 rifles and carbines. Confederate copies of the

Sharps rifles are also given space, again with tremendous photos. The later chapters are some of the most

interesting and they deal with the ammunition and loading tools for the percussion Sharps rifles.

If there is any book that is more impressive than last year’s Volume II, this is it. While Volume I

actually should have come out first, just to be sequential, let’s just be delighted that it is here now. This volume

most certainly covers the entire percussion era of the Sharps firearms.

Hardcover with dust jacket, the retail price for Volume I is $100.00 plus $10 for shipping and insurance.

Orders can be sent to C. Sharps Arms by calling 406-932-4353 or by email at info@csharpsarms.com. Books

can also be ordered from the authors, which will include an autographed plate, by mailing with checks (made

out to Northwood Heritage Press) to Roy Marcot, 12655 E. Horsehead Road, Tucson, AZ 85749. If you have

any questions regarding an order, call author Roy Marcot at (520) 906-0716 or email roymarcot@msn.com.

LYMAN’S #313249 BULLET MOLD FOR THE .32 S&W Mainly for the fun of it, and shooting this gun is a lot of fun, I’ve been “popping” at close range targets

with an Uberti copy of the Model 1849 Colt Pocket revolver. It has been showing me that it is quite the little

gun. In order to “update” this .31 caliber revolver to something that might have been found in camp on the

buffalo ranges, I ordered the conversion cylinder from Buffalo Arms that allows the use of .32 Smith & Wesson

cartridges. If this sound interesting to you, please read on and get “the rest of the story.”

Along with the new cylinder, I ordered 100 pieces of Star Line brass for the .32 S&W. Naturally, some

loading tools for the little .32 S&W were also on the list. Lee Precision makes a 3-die set for the .32, with a

carbide sizing die. The bullet I wanted to use in the .32 S&W was Lyman’s #313249, the original Ideal bullet

made for the little old .32. It took me some time to get one but it was certainly worth the wait. And I got it with

a .314” diameter sizing die and the proper top punch.

Just one bullet from this new mold was weighed, 83 ½

grains. The Lyman catalog lists that bullet at 85 grains and it

poured out just a little bit lighter with the 25-1 lead-tin alloy I

was using. The new mold was pre-heated by resting it over

the lead pot while the lead melted and it dropped good bullets

right from the first try. They were sized and lubricated with

some BPC black powder lube from C. Sharps Arms.

In order to find a good black powder load for the .32 S&W,

I referred to my copy of the Lyman Handbook #29. (Every

black powder reloader should have one of those!) There the

old factory black powder loads for the little .32 were listed at

only 7 grains. Because I had no way of compressing the

powder

charge (although a way could be made) I tried my first

black powder loading, using Olde Eynsford 3F, at just 6

grains.

Even the charge of 6 grains was a little too much.

My next loading using black powder in the .32 S&W cases,

the amount of powder was dropped to just 5 grains. With

that much powder, the bullets can be seated very nicely.

There is still some slight compression of the powder, so

there is no air space, but the bullets do not get expanded

during the seating process.

Those new bullets were loaded in the Starline cases

over 5 grains of Olde Eynsford 3F powder and taken to the

range. A small target was posted at just 10 yards and the

new bullets were tried for their first “burst of five.” Those

grouped rather well although hitting high, as this Pocket

Revolver does. Next another target was posted and five

more shots were fired while kneeling with one arm rested

across by knee. Those grouped better, due to the steadier hold.

Now the Lyman #313249 bullets are part of my “standard loading” for the .32 S&W, still using it with

the 5 grain charge of Olde Eynsford 3F powder. For any reloading of the old .32 S&W cartridge, with black or

smokeless powders, I certainly will recommend using the bullets from Lyman’s 3313249 mold.

Shooting this small revolver with the conversion cylinder is really a pleasure. In fact, I haven’t used this

gun with the percussion cylinder since trying it with the .32 S&Ws. What duties this gun will serve for now is

rather hard to say, it is primarily a fun gun and shooting it with the light black powder loads simply makes

shooting it even more fun. Historically, there were some conversions for the old Colt .31s but those mainly

focused on using the .32 rim fire cartridges. While using the 1849 Colt copy with bullets from the Lyman mold

in the .32 S&W cylinder, we can experience a little of that history and have a lot of fun at the same time.

MORE THAN JUST NEW RIFLES

By Mike Nesbitt

We all know that C. Sharps Arms has a fine reputation for

making new reproductions of the Sharps Models 1874, ’75 & ‘77, plus

the Hepburn, and 1885 Highwalls and Low-walls. What isn’t as well

known is that they actually do much more. A lot of custom work that

also goes on at the C. Sharps Arms shop in addition to shooter services

which are simply not mentioned in their catalog. Let me mention some

of these custom services and I’ll show you some photos of rather good

examples.

While the C. Sharps Arms catalog is devoted to new rifles which

they make, the ads in appropriate magazines such as Black Powder

Cartridge News and The Single Shot Exchange do mention custom firearm restoration, color case hardening and

bluing. Those ads also include the statement “Specializing in Remington Rolling Blocks.” Maybe I can

elaborate just a little on what they do because I think they do an outstanding job.

And, you’re the first to hear

about this, I bought an old

“round top” #1 Sporting Rifle

that was what we might call a

parts gun, a junker. I wanted it

restored to what it might have

been in its original days, a

.50/70 with a rather heavy 28-

inch barrel. At C. Sharps Arms

the gun was given a properly

profiled new barrel along with

one of the fine Rough & Ready

rear sights from Montana

Vintage Arms. Now the rifle is

rebuilt although I haven’t seen

it yet. I’ll pick the rifle up on

This close-up shows the casehardening on the .50/70 my way to Quigley next month.

This is a good time to mention how C. Sharps Arms is now doing their own contouring on rifle barrels.

That means they buy barrels as blanks from Green Mountain (just to name one maker) and profile those barrels

in their own shop. Doing so allows them to make a barrel more accurately contoured like the originals were

whether they are copying an original Sharps rifle, or a Remington or a Winchester. For those of us who

appreciate authenticity, that’s a real bonus.

They will also contour a barrel provided by the customer to the shape and weight that the customer

specifies. This can be for a project to be completed at home or for a special job being done in the C. Sharps

Arms shop. They will also sell specially contoured barrels by Green Mountain or McGowan, made for the

special rifle the customer has in mind. Profiling barrels falls into restoration and rebuilding so well that I’ll

show a good example of a restoration job that included several of the individual services C. Sharps Arms

provides.

My old friend Lynn Willecke found a fine Remington Hepburn that had been previously converted to a

small game or varmint rifle in .22 Hornet. The rifle appealed to my pal but not the caliber. So, it was taken to

Here’s the restored Remington Hepburn “Short Range Rifle” in .40-50 Bottleneck

C. Sharps Arms with the idea of rebuilding it back to an authentic caliber as well as giving it the proper “old

time” profile. A new barrel was the first thing on the list for this Hepburn and a .40 caliber tube by Green Mountain

was selected. The new barrel was contoured to become a half octagon/half round barrel, 28 inches long with a

weight and size appropriate for a Short-Range target rifle using the Hepburn action. The caliber selected was

the .40/50 Bottleneck. That barrel was completely contoured, fitted and finished before being added to the

receiver. Of course, this only mentions the work done to the outside of the barrel. It was chambered for the

.40/50 in addition to being fitted for the extractor. The outside or exterior of the barrel is still mainly what we

can see or examine, and the photos included here of the finished rifle will actually “say” much more than

anything I can describe.

In addition to the shaping and fitting of the barrel, C. Sharps Arms did a very good job of finding wood

for the forearm that is a pretty good match for the rifle’s existing butt stock. It would have been very natural to

fit the usual Remington cast steel nose cap to that forearm but the rifle’s owner wanted something just a little

more custom on this gun so an ebony nose cap was made in the same shape as the steel forearm tip. That’s just

another example of the custom restoration work that can be done at C. Sharps Arms.

Custom finishing on the rifles’

actions also needs some attention here.

On the standard rifles made by C. Sharps

Arms the finish on the actions and usually

the steel butt plates is done by color

casehardening. Let me say that their color

case hardening is very good and very

colorful. For an example of their standard

color casehardening please look back at

the picture of my Remington in .50/70.

Another good example is the rolling block

they restored for me a couple of years ago.

This is in .44/77 caliber and C. Sharps

Arms did all the metal work after the new

barrel was made by Oregon Barrel

Company. With the help and talents of C.

Sharps Arms, the military rolling block

was rebuilt to be very similar to a #1

The restored .44/77 showing its color casehardening Sporting Rifle.

Of course, there are other finishes that can be applied to the action and steel hardware of rifles according

to the customer’s tastes. One outstanding finish is called French Grey and this is, putting it simply, color

casehardening with the colors polished away. The result is an attractive “silver grey” color that reminds you of

nickel plating. I have one rifle with the French Grey finish on the action and butt plate, that’s my 1885 low-

wall in .44/40. You might say that .44/40 is “right out of the catalog” with specific options but the French Grey

finish is available for finishing custom rifles as well.

Mike’s C. Sharps Low-wall in .44/40 with the French Grey receiver and butt plate

But the most striking finish on the actions and other steel parts, in my opinion, is done by “pack

hardening.” This is a time-consuming process where the color casehardening is carefully done along the

contours of the parts, leaving the color “outlined” by the silver-grey areas that become the “border” of the pack

hardening. Once again, pictures can show this in a much better way than I can describe it.

This is Mike’s “old” .44/77 with the pack hardened receiver

My favorite Model 1874 Sharps, by C. Sharps Arms, in .44/77 was ordered with pack hardening and it

shows that finish very well, being coated with a clear sealant which brightens the colors and increases the

contrast. The sealing of the pack hardening was generally discontinued because some shooters were cleaning

their rifles with smokeless powder solvents that would remove the clear coating. I don’t use such solvents, and

my black powder rifles generally don’t taste any smokeless powders, so I’ve not had that problem and my

.44/77 Sharps has seen more than a few years of rather constant service. No peeling of the coating can be seen.

Another good example of pack hardening without the clear coating can be seen in the pictures of the

Hepburn that was commented on

previously. Many will comment on

how the non-coated pack hardening

looks “older” and therefore is more

appropriate for a restored rifle. Either

way, pack hardening is a finish on the

rifles’ actions that several shooters

really appreciate. Prices for these services are available

from C. Sharps Arms and because

every job can be somewhat different,

those prices are subject to the specific

work being ordered. They also will to

restoration work on the old repeating

rifles like the ’73 or ’76 Winchesters.

They do reserve the right to turn down

any work, if an old rifle is unsafe to

restore. To contact C. Sharps Arms

simply call them at 406-932-4353 or

email them at info@csharpsarms.com.