[soonerfan66]

Been looking and drooling over some gun porn lately . I am not able to buy either one right now but can someone explain about the 2 and if you have shot one or both . I have a Trapdoor which I love but looking at 45-110 or even maybe the 45-120 . Why the 45-120 ? WHY NOT !!! i like the look of the Sharps but both are nice . Getting excited just talking about it !!!!!

 

[mudman35962]

Been looking and drooling over some gun porn lately . I am not able to buy either one right now but can someone explain about the 2 and if you have shot one or both . I have a Trapdoor which I love but looking at 45-110 or even maybe the 45-120 . Why the 45-120 ? WHY NOT !!! i like the look of the Sharps but both are nice . Getting excited just talking about it !!!!!

go to c sharps site and drool some more. they have both, and more. enter at your own risk!

rick

 

[soonerfan66]

BEEN THERE DONE THAT !!! Many times !!!! Sweet stuff .

 

[Grizzley1]

Me, I'd go for the 1885, but then I already have a custom made Sharps. Why settle for two of the same if I could have one of each

 

[sharps4590]

I've never had an 1885 but have two Shiloh's and have owned three total. Sold the one I bought back in the 80's for an obscene profit. The '85 is the stronger of the two BUT, all the better Sharps of today are a lot stronger than the originals. How much I can't say but it's significant. The '74 Sharps is obviously the older of the two designs. Some say the center hammer of the '85 doesn't effect your sight picture and that the big, side hammer Sharps does because of the off center torque. Those who say that are either a lot better shot than I was when competing or they're trying to justify their '85 over the '74. I never found that to be true.

I can give you one good reason to stay away from the really big Sharps cartridges, if you're going to shoot black powder and if you're going to shoot those historical old cartridges, there's no other propellant to use. Fouling control. I've owned and shot all the 45's except for the 45-2 7/8, what you're calling the 45-110. Once you go over about an 80 gr. charge of black powder you need to be adding a grease cookie or two. Even the heaviest bullets don't carry enough lube to keep the fouling soft and give you a nice lube star at the muzzle. Another reason could be recoil, if that's a problem. It's significant even in a 10 - 12 lb. rifle. The weight of the powder charge is a factor in calculating free recoil and in felt recoil. Add the heavy charges to generally at least a 500 grain bullet and recoil increases. Now, it isn't that sharp, snappy, biting recoil of smokeless powder. Many have described it as a big push...to include me but, with those long cases and heavy bullets it's a pretty massive push. There's a reason the competitive shooters got away from even the 45-70 and 540-550 grain bullets 15-20 years ago.

 

[soonerfan66]

There is just something about them old black powder cartridges . The 450/577 for my Martini Henry , 577 for my Snider even my 43 Mauser and the rest . I get a thrill when I am reloading for them . Maybe cause the process with the grease cookies and discs , filler when called for , it's more hands on .?!. . For me it's just more fun when reloading the cases. I like reloading for my smokeless loads but it's not the same for some reason . And those big brass torpedos all nice and shiny !! I AM SUCH A GUN NERD !!!!

 

[sharps4590]

I know exactly where you're coming from. I still have a 45-2.6 in a Ballard 1 1/2 but I don't shoot it often. It has a barrel like a deuce and a half truck axel and is just an awkward rifle. It's NOTHING like the Ballard, #5 Pacific in 38-55 I SHOULD have bought but noooooo....I had to have the big cartridge. Of the BP cartridges I have, t he 11.15 X 60R double and Montana Roughrider Shiloh in 45-2.4 see the most use. There is a really sweet Johann Outschar in 9.3 X 2 7/16, (because I don't know how many millimeters is in 2 7/16 inches), in the safe. I sot my best open sight group at 100 yards with that rifle and a BP charge and cast bullets.....5/8 of an inch for 5 shots. Plain ol' blind, dumb luck, once in a lifetime never happened before and will never happen again. I think I have a picture of it.

 

[sourdoughjim]

Been looking and drooling over some gun porn lately . I am not able to buy either one right now but can someone explain about the 2 and if you have shot one or both . I have a Trapdoor which I love but looking at 45-110 or even maybe the 45-120 . Why the 45-120 ? WHY NOT !!! i like the look of the Sharps but both are nice . Getting excited just talking about it !!!!!

I have not owned either the Sharps nor the Winchester High-Wall, but much prefer the look and practicality of the High-Wall. This one belongs to a friend on another forum. It is a High-Wall in .45-120, but it is his safe queen. Note the barrel length.

Over 25 years ago I became enamored of the .45-120 Sharps cartridge (in your words, why not?). I procured a Remington #5 Rolling Block (smokeless powder action) chambered for 7x57 (7mm Mauser) made in 1902 for the Uruguay military. I rebarreled it (34") for .45-120 and added fancy walnut furniture from Reinhardt Fajen in Missouri, added a globe front sight and a tangent rear sight, and set it up like Creedmoor rifle. I obtained new 3-1/4" brass from some outfit in Montana and used paper-patched 500 grain bullets. It set me back a small fortune, even back then. I sold it about 2003 at less than break even price, not even considering elbow grease time. Sorry, I lost all photos a long time ago.

IMO, had I done my homework better, I would have opted for the .45-110 Sharps Straight with the 2-7/8" case. It takes a long barrel to burn 120 grains of FFg BP in a .45 caliber bore, and with a shorter barrel, the power/ballistics of the .45-120 are really not more than the .45-110. The .45-120 was never offered as a caliber in any Sharps rifle, and only made its debut after the buffalo herds had long been decimated. I believe it to be a cartridge designed for the long-distance target matches (Creedmoor and the like) near the end of the 19th century.

Don't take my word for it. The following items are from The New Sharps Cartridge Loading Manual (C. Sharps Arms Company, 1986). It goes into very much detail about why one should stay away from it for practical use. The recoil alone should give one some pause.







Here is a link to download the entire manual (free) with much load data/history on all Sharps cartridges.

https://www.csharpsarms.com/cartridge loading manual.pdf

Good luck with your endeavors!

Regards,

Jim

 

[soonerfan66]

Thanks for the info Jim . Sadly with me remodeling our kitchen past few months (Mrs, soonerfans Christmas present) . Best I am going to be able to do is rewatch Quigley Down Under a few more times . I am not sure but have read one of the advantages of getting a larger case like the 45-90 , 110 , 120 is you are able to use reduce loads . I am not sure I agree with all that , guess you get the look but can not beat yourself up . Be like in the movie he really used 45-120 for 45-110 and in Wanted Dead or Alive he carried 45-70 rounds on his belt but never saw him shoot one . I am not sure what I will do when and if the time comes for me to get serious about looking for one .

 

[sourdoughjim]

soonerfan66,

At least download the Sharps .pdf manual so you have it on your machine. I am not sure how long it will be available for free before the site may or may not be taken down.

This is off-topic, but I am 68 and I have long since left the long gun realm and concentrate upon replica Italian C&B revolvers, primarily Confederate versions. I use Pietta 1851 Navy .36 revolvers as donor guns and combine stock Pietta parts to create them: Schneider & Glassick, Griswold & Gunnison, Augusta Machine Works, Columbus Firearms Manufacturing Company, Leech & Rigdon, Rigdon & Ansley, J.H. Dance & Brothers, and am working on a George Todd.

My Dance and Rigdon & Ansley with a 12-stop-slot cylinder.

Regards,

Jim