Sharps Borchardt

[Guy Miner]

Dad never could get this one to shoot well, although the bore looks great. It's a 45-70, all original. These were made from 1878 - 1881. I've got some ideas re the handloads.

I also need to clean it up a bit. Suspect that Dad may have used black powder in it. Bore looks good, but out in the light of day, I can see some rust here and there.

Guy

 

[3 Meter Para Bellum]

Wow, neat! I've considered getting a replica of an old Sharps before. I like old rifles like these.

 

[JD338]

Guy,
Very cool rifle that's rich in history.
Are you going to run hard cast bullets through it?

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

I'm thinking more of a softer cast bullet. Something that will obdurate, and fill the bore.

No need for hard cast here, it's going to continue to use low velocity ammo. Similar to factory specs I believe.

We shall see. Might be a long term project.

Guy

 

[JD338]

Check out Rimrock Bullets.
https://rimrockbullets.com/xcart/

JD338

 

[ShadeTree]

Cool old rifle. Any idea of the timeline of when it was made?

 

[Guy Miner]

Cool old rifle. Any idea of the timeline of when it was made?

They were made only from 1877/1878 - 1881 from what I've read. This is a military version, civilian versions for hunting and/or target competition were also made.

Guy

 

[Guy Miner]

I'd love to take some kind of game animal with it. Whitetail? Bear? Buffalo... Something.

Meanwhile, I've got to get it cleaned up a bit and shooting straight. Dad's efforts ended up with the bullets going sideways through the target and pretty awful accuracy... I'm thinking that his lead bullets didn't fit the bore well.

Guy

 

[truck driver]

Try paper patching a lead bullet. I would also slug the bore since it could be over sized if the slugs were key holing. The older guns prefer lead bullets over jacketed bullets.