Rifle Thread- For You Hunting Afficionados

[Mistress]

O.K. guys- does anyone know what the caliber(sp) is on a "Sharps" rifle? Add anything you'd like. Preference for rifle and why.

[aklim]

The military Sharps rifle (also known as the Berdan Sharps rifle) was a falling block rifle used during and after the American Civil War. Along with being able to use a standard percussion cap, the Sharps had a fairly unusual pellet primer feed. This was a device which held a stack of pelleted primers that flipped one over the nipple every time the trigger was pulled and the hammer fell. This was much easier to operate from horseback than individual percussion caps.

The Sharps Rifle was used in the Civil War by the U.S. Army sharpshooters known popularly as "Berdan's Sharpshooters" in honor of their leader Hiram Berdan. The Sharps made a superior sniper weapon of higher accuracy than the more commonly issued muzzle-loading rifled-muskets. This was due mainly to the higher rate of fire of the breech loading mechanism and the fact that the quality of manufacture was superior. It was produced by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company.


Sharps military carbine
Sharps 1863 Carbine .50-70 Calibre antique original
Enlarge
Sharps 1863 Carbine .50-70 Calibre antique original

The Carbine version was very popular with the cavalry of both the Union and Confederate armies and was issued in much larger numbers than the full length rifle. The falling block action lent itself to conversion to the new metallic cartridges developed in the late 1860s, and many of these converted carbines in .50-70 Gov't were used during the Indian Wars in the decades immediately following the Civil War.

Sharps sporting rifles

Sharps made rifles in sporting versions from the late 1840s until the late 1880s. After the American Civil War, converted Army surplus guns were made into custom rifles, and the Sharps factory produced Models 1869 and 1874 rifles in large numbers for the commercial buffalo hunters and frontiersmen. These largebore rifles were manufactured in some of the most powerful black powder cartridges. Sharps also manufactured special long range target versions for the then popular Creedmore style of 1000-yard target shooting. Many modern Black Powder Cartridge Silhouette shooters use original and replica Sharps rifles to shoot metallic silhouettes cut in the shapes of animals at ranges up to 500 meters.

Type: Rifle, Carbine
Place of origin:
Service history
In service: 1859-1875
Production history
Designer: Christian Sharps
Designed: 1859
Number built: +100,000
Variants: Single set trigger (regular army)
Double set trigger (United States Sharpshooters)
Specifications
Weight: 8 pounds
Length: 47 inches (rifle)
Cartridge: caliber .52 475-grain projectile with 50-grain cartridge, later converted to 50-70 US gov't.
Action: Falling Block
Rate of fire: 8 - 10 shots per minute
Muzzle velocity: 1200 ft/s
Effective range: 500 yards
Feed system: 1 round
Sights: open ladder type

[Carleton Hughes]

Originally Posted by Mistress

O.K. guys- does anyone know what the caliber(sp) is on a "Sharps" rifle? Add anything you'd like. Preference for rifle and why.

Odd question. The original Sharps falling block was percussion. After the civil war the metallic cartidge versions were the weapon of choice among Buffalo hunters and long range shooters on account of the super-strong action,45-70 45-110,50-70 50-110 and many other custom calibers. Sharps long range target rifles were consistent winners at the Creedmore target range near here in the late 1800's

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by Carleton Hughes

Odd question. The original Sharps falling block was percussion. After the civil war the metallic cartidge versions were the weapon of choice among Buffalo hunters and long range shooters on account of the super-strong action,45-70 45-110,50-70 50-110 and many other custom calibers. Sharps long range target rifles were consistent winners at the Creedmore target range near here in the late 1800's

Mistress knows nothing of firearms and I stuck my nose in the Humidor thread and something came up (no pun intended) about Dove hunting and well there ya go....a lesson is in order

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by Mistress

Mistress knows nothing of firearms and I stuck my nose in the Humidor thread and something came up (no pun intended) about Dove hunting and well there ya go....a lesson is in order

Mine's a .45-70 govt. and makes a hole the size of a dinner plate when it exits.

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by John Doe

Mine's a .45-70 govt. and makes a hole the size of a dinner plate when it exits.

Holy Crap! Is that anything like the damage a "talon" bullet can do?

[diametricalbenz]

I forgot about that....the whole black talon hooplah awhile ago. Boxes were going for $50 each here when the supplies were dwindling. I guess people thought black bullets were worse than copper jacketed ones. The Glasers will do much more damage if you're not firing through some other medium other than the target.

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by Mistress

Holy Crap! Is that anything like the damage a "talon" bullet can do?

Apples and oranges, Mistress. Black talon just refers to the coating and set up of the bullet slug--you could get them in many calibers. The .45-70 is just a big, shoulder pounding bad sob.

[Carleton Hughes]

Hello Mistress {so what happened to Siduri?}

Here are some pics of a few nice Sharps military and sporting rifles,although the site's in German the images are great.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sharps.de/images/examples/exa011.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sharps.de/sharps_auktion.html&h=148&w=500&sz=11&hl=en&start=40&tbnid=nFnJub78tlVeaM:&tbnh=37&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsharps-borchardt%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26hs%3DLj%26lr%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26sa%3DN

[John Doe]

Great site. If I ever learn to take care of my things better, I may explore getting a real Sharps. And a Parker .28 ga. side by side

[Carleton Hughes]

Originally Posted by John Doe

Great site. If I ever learn to take care of my things better, I may explore getting a real Sharps. And a Parker .28 ga. side by side

When you're ready you can begin windowshopping here.......http://www.gunsamerica.com/

Originally Posted by Mistress

Holy Crap! Is that anything like the damage a "talon" bullet can do?

Talon's are not that bad, the reason they were voluntarily taken off the market is the sharp edges were cutting through surgical gloves. I use a bullet puller and use them in my muzzleloaders.

[Carleton Hughes]

Originally Posted by MedMech

Talon's are not that bad, the reason they were voluntarily taken off the market is the sharp edges were cutting through surgical gloves. I use a bullet puller and use them in my muzzleloaders.

My ballpuller is just a glorified woodscrew brazed into a brass fitting to keep it centered in the barrel.

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by Carleton Hughes

Hello Mistress {so what happened to Siduri?}

Here are some pics of a few nice Sharps military and sporting rifles,although the site's in German the images are great.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sharps.de/images/examples/exa011.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sharps.de/sharps_auktion.html&h=148&w=500&sz=11&hl=en&start=40&tbnid=nFnJub78tlVeaM:&tbnh=37&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsharps-borchardt%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26hs%3DLj%26lr%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26sa%3DN

The name change was due to a request from the peanut gallery...we aim (pun intended) to please

Originally Posted by Carleton Hughes

My ballpuller is just a glorified woodscrew brazed into a brass fitting to keep it centered in the barrel.

You hit the mark, accurate muzzleloading is 99% proper seating of the bullet. I am fortunate to have a neighbor that can do anything with a metal lathe, he makes custom jag's for all of my bullets, even shockwaves with are the biggest PIA in the world to seat properly.