My newest and last Sharps rifle

I finally broke down and had Shiloh build me a rifle, rather than buying off the rack or off Gunbroker. By going through one of the two dealers in the U.S. who deal directly with Shiloh I was able to get this one built from scratch in 5 months instead of the usual 24+ months.

I designed this one from the ground up as a hunting / carrying / practical rifle. My competition 45-90 weighs something like 13 pounds, and the length of it and the Big Fifty, combined with the weight, makes either of them very difficult to carry through the woods for any length of time. I wanted something lighter and faster, but I also wanted a proven caliber.

So here are the stats:

Saddle Rifle (cheekpiece and straight pull stock)
Hard rubber shotgun butt
Hand select walnut
Pewter forend cap (cuz it's pretty and it protects the stock when shooting off cross sticks)
Barrel is 26" heavy half octagon
Standard German silver blade front sight
Semi buckhorn rear sight
Weight is 10 lbs 1 oz

Now the kicker: it's in 50-70 Government, which sends a 450-grain lead bullet downrange at 1,260 fps. This caliber has taken every animal in North America, including both Kodiak and polar bear, elk, moose, and back when it was a relatively new cartridge, it was the first of the big "buffalo" rounds.

So far I have fired about 50 rounds through it, and it's getting dialed in. I probably won't hunt with it, but I like having it. Nobody else has ever owned it, and when it was just hunks of metal and wood, there was a tag with my name written on it.

Shiloh's offerings are at http://www.shilohrifle.com and Bill Goodman is one of only two authorized dealers: http://www.shiloh-ballard.com/

And here she is. I'm going to come up with a name for this one. Something catchy.



I know I've been MIA for a while, but rather than talking about guns and such, I've been working with them, learning, loading, researching, and shooting. Lots of new things going on around here.

She's a beauty Free Stater.
What load did you come up with?

Hey, Quigley. I'm actually using the traditional military loading, though I'm moving through powder granulations to find the best fit of power, accuracy, and fouling control. I started with 70 grains of FF with the military pointed round point bullet, and next I'm going to go to the 1.5 F powder make by KIK in Eastern Europe. It's made with the good alder charcoal, and in my 50-90 the fouling is very fine and very light. After that I'll go to the recommended FG.

So far, the FF shoots well, but I think I need to go more traditonal, but I'm a little low on FG in the bunker. The FF fouling is manageable, and for a hunting rifle it's not as much an issue as with something at the range. (I'm shooting the first midrange match of the Fall at Bogue Chitto next Saturday, and I'll go through 75+ cleaning patches during what is essentially two full stages of fire totaling 72 rounds.)

Sounds like you're getting there with it. Be sure and post some more pics when you can.
As for that KIK powder...I'm sitting here with about 12 lbs. of the 3f that I've been meaning to get out and try forever. Gonna burn it in my longrifle and revolvers. Course may give it a whirl in my 45-70 too.

I have other loads I'm working on, and today I'm hoping to go to the range again. This time it'll be the Big Fifty, though, which I'm working with a lot, using a Gibbs designed paper patched bullet and 100 grains of 1.5 FG or FG. This is actually the original factory loading, with the 50-90 designation coming some time later. It's also the load Billy Dixon was using at Adobe Walls when he knocked an Indian off his horse at 1,534 yards. (Betcha that guy was surprised as heck, not to mention being in considerable pain from the broken arm.)

I have somewhat broken from tradition with the Big Fifty, though. Montana Vintage Arms has a new scope which is not yet in their catalog, a faithful reproduction of the 19th century Winchester A5/B5 series, using beefed up external adjustments. Mine is an early one, 15" long in 4X with a modern centerless mil-dot reticle. Unlike the 28" I have on the 45-70, this is a "hunter's" scope. At some point I may put a set of mounts on the 50-70, but the more I think about it, the more I want to keep the new rifle just the way it is.

As an aside: while getting the 28" adjusted for mechanical zero I found out that my 45-70 load and the scope/rifle combination are perfectly capable of 1 MOA at 100 yards. In the target below, the upper right group of four rounds is a bit over 1 inch. The fifth round was fired after adjusting the front mount for mechanical zero. If it hadn't been as hot as Hell or West Texas, I could have trimmed that group some more.



And here's a shot of the new MVA scope. As I said, it's not yet in their catalog, but they've sold several to people who heard the rumors and didn't know how to take no for an answer (and they took a whole bunch of them to Raton this year as well.)

Nice set-up for sure.

That's a gorgeous rifle, congrats.

When my van gets thru suckin' up all my play money...I gotta get me one of those. Classic beauty with some ooomph.

I'm going to come up with a name for this one. Something catchy.

How bout Ma Bell?...Reach out and touch someone. LOL

SilentHitz wrote: How bout Ma Bell?...Reach out and touch someone. LOL

I like it

Beautiful gun, that is some nice wood and that pewter really is a nice touch. Ya did good!

F_S, you have a WINNER there. CONGRATS ! ! !



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Now thats Purddy,

Cool! Now you just to get to the woods and take a deer with it. After season opens!

J.B.

Sweet rifle!!

Great looking rifle

... not that is a RIFLE!!!!!!!

beautiful shiloh Ma belle is what i would stick with!

Here's the 26" Saddle Rifle in full recoil. The load was a 450-grain paper patched bullet over 72 grains of FFG, over powder wad, lube cookie, and top wad.