Well Ranch 13,
You are right about 20 rounds not being much, and I will certainly be putting a lot more through it assuming it holds up. On the other hand, some of the horror stories I've read relate instances of rifles failing within the first few shots, and so far mine has passed the initial tryout. Now these Sharps rifles are certainly new to me, but firearms in general are not. My previous experience has been that if I have a bad piece, the problems show up pretty quick. And that isn't just with .22's, but also with centerfires that generate enough stresses and pressures to cause failures fairly quickly.
Like I said, these Sharps rifles are indeed new to me, and they may have design issues that cause problems not usually encountered with other rifles. Obviously, you can't prove a negative and the fact that I haven't experienced a failure in the first 20 rounds only proves that it hasn't happened yet, not that it won't happen in the next 20 rounds. I can only keep a close eye out for potential problems by checking my rifle and fired cases and hope that I got a good one and not one of the "It's Always Broke" ones.
It seems to me that since my examination of the rifle reveals a properly reamed chamber with smooth walls, good mechanical fit of the mating components, and an overall appearance of a rifle that was manufactured with reasonable attention to detail and quality, any potential problems would probably relate to things that can't be seen. Aspects of manufacture relating to the quality of the steels used and their heat treatment are issues that, while it's possible to test some of these qualities, usually are discovered through use. Thats why we pay attention to things like fired cases, changes in tolerances between mating components, etc. If we start to notice such changes we start to keep a closer eye on things, and if these changes are substantial or happen over a short period of time, we stop using the rifle and have it checked by someone who has the skill and equipment to make an assessment and suggest repairs or replacement of components in question.
Reviewing the posts regarding the IAB Sharps rifles, it would certainly seem that while some people have obviously gotten dogs, other shooters have gotten rifles that they are very happy with. And some of the satisfied people are people who have been around the block more than a few times with various Sharps rifles. When I read about things like long chambers and broken firing pins, it seems obvious that quality control at IAB has been problematic in the past. It would be very interesting to cross reference dates of manufacture with problem rifles. Most companies that have found quality control problems and taken the time and efffort to rectify these problems, usually don't want to revisit their problems. They often find that once the problems are corrected, it doesn't cost them any more to do things correctly. My point is that quality control doesn't usually fluxuate up and down that much once ithe ssues are resolved. So I'm going to make the assumtion that there were problems up to a certain point in time, and that for the most part, rifles made after that time will be of better quality. My guess is also that my rifle was maybe manufactured after the issues were resolved.
That being said, if someone can advise me as to how to determine when my IAB Sharps rifle was made, I would be happy to share that info. And if we can make that determination, we should determing when all the problem rifles were made and see if a time line developes. This would be a useful tool for anybody who might consider buying a used IAB Sharps in the future.
I will hopefully be at the range this weekend again, and will let you all know how it goes. I for one, still believe that the dream of the good usable "Cheapo Sharps Rifle" is a definate possibility, in my case, with the IAB which Isn't Always Broke. I'm rarely accused of being an optimist, but in this case I think my optimism will continue untill I have a reason to change it.