Well Thanks as usual Steel Horse for the kind words! And Don, I'm real glad to hear about your IAB in 45-110. Did IAB make it in that caliber or did you start with a 45-70 and have it reamed to 45-110? I'll bet those loooong 45-110 cartridges get some attention at the range since they look a little like ICBM's! I would imagine that that additional powder capacity would be a big advantage when your hunting or shooting out at those real long distances. I have often wondered about how much additional recoil you get from those over the common 45-70's, but I guess if you have enough weight in the rifle it wouldn't be too bad. I'd love to hear some more about your rifle and it'specs. Barrel length, weight, double set triggers, ect.
Now I have to admit that I have never even seen a Montana Sharps in person, so I can't judge their quality of fit and finnish compared to mine. The only other Sharps that I have actually held was one of the Pedersoli rifles, and while it was a little nicer than my IAB in that department, it wasn't a whole lot nicer. Wood to metal was a little tighter, and some of the metal was a little finer in the polish department. My barrel has a kind of a frosted bead blast finish as opposed to a fine polish, but while that bothered me a little when I first got it, I now look at it as an advantage in that it probably won't show up minor dings and scratches as much as a finely polished barrel. Apples and oranges. The only other thing as far as metal finish goes is that when the block is up in battery, the sides of the block are finished pretty rough, with a verticle grinding pattern like it was finished on a pretty corse grit of paper like maybe an 80 or 120 grit, than left in the white. Would have looked nicer if they had gone to maybe a 220 grit or so. But after touching it up with some cold blue, it's hardley noticable, and since the sides don't seem to be bearing surfaces during the cycling of the action, it doesn't affect the smoothness of the action. Which by the way, is pretty smooth.
The only other thing I wasn't real happy with as far as the finish goes, was the wood finish that was on it when I got it. I think the Italian's seem to prefer wood to be a little glossier than I like. So I stripped it and rubbed in a couple of coats of linseed oil which gave it a more subdued warm look which I prefer.
Overall, I think these are well finished rifles. I've owned a lot of guns over the years, and although I'm not rich, I've had some nicely finished guns. But I would still have to say that this is nicer than anything else I've owned as far as new guns go. I did once own a Winchester Model 1907 .351 Semi Automatic rifle, and I always thought that if I had owned it when it was new, it probably would have been the most finely finished rifle I would have owned. It wasn't new when I got it, but it was in real nice condition, and you could just tell that it must have been a gem when it first left the factory. But if you go into a gun store and look at what's leaving the factories now, you will have to spend some big bucks to get the quality of fit and finish we have on our IAB's. By the way, I got my IAB Sharps used for $550. in close to new condition.
As far as the scope goes, some of my previous posts have outlined what I did to my mounts to get them much improved over what they were when I received them. The scope is fine as it comes, and it really does look cool! Good clear optics and probably as good as the original Malcolm's were. A lot of people suggest getting the mounts made by one of the American makers, and for serious competition, they may well be right. I'm still getting the hang of this stuff, but I can tell you that I did have to put some time and effort into getting my mounts to work as good as they do. On the other hand, it was a good education and let me get a lot more familiar with the way these mounts work. I basically look at these mounts as a pre-assembled kit. Take them apart, work on them, polish them, file them to get the components to fit together correctly, and maybe you will have something. Only time and use will tell how servicable they will be in the long run. But I wouldn't be supprized if I end up upgrading the mounts eventually. The only negative about the scope is the small size of the opening for your eye. You have to work at holding the correct position to get that sight picture. On the other hand, I have read that that same atribute pretty much eliminates parellex.
Well, as I said, the weather has been very mild for this time of the year in this part of the country. But maybe God will smile on us up here this year and allow us to skip a severe Winter this year. Otherwise, I guess it's time to try my hand at reloading until we get to the Spring. I'll keep my fingers crossed, and if it stays warm, I'll keep you all posted about my progress with my IAB Sharps. Did I mention that I love this rifle?
Bony Notches
PS - Does anybody know how big a deal it is to change from single to double set triggers? I have a single, but I would love to have my trigger break at a couple of ounces like the proverbial glass rod. If I could just swap out one trigger package for another, that would be great!