New to shooting a Sharps...

[Tall Dark Slim]

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Last weekend we had a grand Gathering On The Mattaponi where after a serious day of shooting, side matches broke out. Not knowing what to expect I showed up to the long range match with my main match rifle (a '73 with powder puff loads). I did ok with that placing second to a better skilled field. The idea was simple: at the beep try to hit the gong at 100yds five times as fast as you can offhand.  Enter a generous cowboy: Bucksaw Bob with an 1874 Sharps replica in .45-70. He shot it very well and it was awesomely powerful on the gong(he later told me of the efforts they had taken to build the load for it). As soon as his turn was done he comes up and asks if I'd like to try his rifle. I told him I had never fired a Sharps before so he'd have to walk me thorough it. After a cooling and instructional period I was allowed three sighters and in no time had the thing running ok. The record run initially took sixty seconds and change for five hits which I was able to get down to forty and change with a little technique help. Another cowboy was really making some beautiful shots at blazing speed with a high wall, but for some reason couldn't connect on the fifth shot. He would have fried me good too as he was a smooth and speedy loader. So at the end of the day, I had won something at my first multiday shoot with a rifle I had never before fired. Special thanks to Bucksaw Bob for the rifle and ammunition, that was above and beyond any expectation I could ever have had. Dang it now I want a Sharps.

[PJ Hardtack]

TDS

Yep, know whatcha mean ....  got five Shilos in the rack and am trying to convince my wife that I really need a sixth. So far she ain't buyin' it. Two lonesome Rolling Blocks only get shot occasionally and the Trapdoors even less.

Load development for hitting a 100 yd gong ought not to present any major difficulties. It's hard to come up with a load that doesn't shoot well in a 45-70; smokeless or BP. The market is flooded with good bullet designs and the repop Sharps are gettin' better all the time.

[Kent Shootwell]

Yep, there's only two kinds of people. Them that have a Sharps and them that want one. Good luck on picking your first!

[Tall Dark Slim]

TDS

Yep, know whatcha mean ....  got five Shilos in the rack and am trying to convince my wife that I really need a sixth. So far she ain't buyin' it. Two lonesome Rolling Blocks only get shot occasionally and the Trapdoors even less.

Load development for hitting a 100 yd gong ought not to present any major difficulties. It's hard to come up with a load that doesn't shoot well in a 45-70; smokeless or BP. The market is flooded with good bullet designs and the repop Sharps are gettin' better all the time.

Oh I know what you're saying about 100 yard gong loads, but these were sub MOA loads. The shooter was minute of gong and where the sight lifted the bullet struck, everytime. I'll be following suit with a Shiloh at some point. Gotta keep those dollars in American pockets when you can.

[PJ Hardtack]

Again, I knowhatchamean ...., but the people that import the Italian repop Sharps, Colts and Remingtons keep most of us in the game - and they need jobs to feed their families, pay the bills, etc.

I'll never own a 'Colt' other than my 2nd Gen '51 Navy and 3rd Model Dragoon due to cost,  and even they were not scratch-built by Colt. A pal has a Uberti-made 'Gemmer' Sharps that is an eye popper. He got it the same time I got my latest Shiloh and I was almost embarrassed by the comparison.
I got a little better wood-to-metal fit and the famous Shiloh cachet, but he certainly doesn't need to feel embarrassed about his Gemmer.

[rbertalotto]

You summed it up nice............Sharps, HighWall, Roller..........all much fun to load for and shoot. I had a Shiloh that some one wanted WAY more than I did and paid me a ton of cabbage a few years ago for it.

I now have a Pedersoli that is much more accurate than the Sharps ever was.  This thing shoots anything I load into it well.

[Dusty Morningwood]

Pedersoli really stepped up to the plate when it came time to impove the barrels on their SS rifles.

[PJ Hardtack]

Even amongst Shiloh owners, there is a definite 'elitism'. I get kidded about my Farmingdale-produced Sharps as opposed to those with the 'B" prefix in the serial number. Then I point out the [Old Reliable] logo on my 'Farmers' that the Bryan-made Shilohs do not have.
I've got a mix of both, and I'll put up my 'Farmer' '63 carbine against anything being made today in Big Timber. And if anyone ever offers you a '74 made by C.Sharps with a Badger barrel - jump on it!

As for "...keeping dollars in American pockets ...", the newly adopted FBI HRT Sniper Rifle is the FN-produced SPR A3G; albeit with a clone of the pre-64 Winchester M70 action at $2615 a pop. So much for the US gov't "... keeping dollars in American pockets ..."

BTW - the motto of the FBI HRT is Servare Vitas" - "To Save Lives". Tell that to the wife of Randy Weaver of Ruby Ridge, Idaho ....

[Tall Dark Slim]

So while there are a few knowledgables on the line...
I'm looking for something that'll shoot my 475 gr spitzer and would like to know If I should go Shiloh or C Sharp? Do I get to pick the twist? Total weight 14 to 16 depending on rules of games. I'm a complete noob to ultra long range but am looking at the MVA soule xlr, but am unsure if I need to go with the space gun front sight. I like the combination sight that mirrors the Lyman no 5, but have my doubts as to it's practicality. What are the game legalities that I should be aware of? I'm envisioning mostly smokeless right now.

[Blackpowder Burn]

I've heard nothing but good about both companies.  From a personal standpoint, though, I own a C Sharps 1875 carbine in 45-70.  I bought it because the 1875 model is so much less expensive than the 1874's. And as PJ says, it does have  a Badger barrel. While I never intended this to be a target rifle, I have been consistently amazed at its accuracy.  I have only the No. 2 tang sight (replica of a Lyman) and the last time I took it to the range it produced a 5/8" 3-shot group at 100 yards with Dick Dastardly's 400 grain Big Lube bullet and 56 grains of Swiss 2Fg. 

I can't ask for any better than that.  In fact, because it has so exceeded my expectations, I plan on ordering a good vernier tang sight for it and stretching it out to see what it will do.

[PJ Hardtack]

TDS

Shiloh will discuss ROT with you, depending upon your needs. If you intend to hunt, it will be slower; if for BPCR silhouette using 550 gr bullets, it will be faster. I don't know the policy of C.Sharps - just ask them.

I had a C.Sharps '75 'Business Rifle' in 45-70. It's one of those guns I should have kept .... :>( Shot better than my current Shiloh BR. Had the C.Sharps tang and globe front. I swapped it off because of it's straight pistol grip. Replacing it with a PG/cheekpiece stock would have been smarter. A pal has one so set up and he won't part with it. He likes the lighter hammer fall of the '75 action.

You will be waiting a few years if you order a Shiloh unless they've had a cancellation; C.Sharps may have one ready to go. Again - give them both a call. Buying from a dealer/speculator will get you what you want right now; at a premium price. You pays you money - you takes you choice.

Shiloh's warranty is off if you shoot smokeless in a calibre other than one intended for smokeless, like the 30-40 Krag. I've never heard of a '74 action coming apart, but nothing is fool proof in the hands of a fool. Frankly, shooting anything other than BP in a buffalo rifle is almost an abomination. Cleaning the brass is a PITA, but it's part of the game and you get that big voice ''Boom!" and all the smoke ..... Otherwise, what's the point?

There are all kinds of good sights out there right now. How much money do you want to spend? Look at a few and shoot them if possible.