My first Shiloh Sharps

Talk with other Shiloh Sharps shooters.

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Huckleberry
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Huckleberry »

I hope to have it by Friday in my hands. 32” barrel. Montana roughrider. I plan on using it to hunt. Boar, deer, elk, moose and bear.
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Lumpy Grits
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Lumpy Grits »

Huckleberry wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:42 pm I hope to have it by Friday in my hands. 32” barrel. Montana roughrider. I plan on using it to hunt. Boar, deer, elk, moose and bear.
Pictures are a must. :lol:
Bet the clock has stopped........ :P
Gary
"Hav'n you along, is like loose'n two good men"
BFD
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by BFD »

Huckleberry wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:42 pm I hope to have it by Friday in my hands. 32” barrel. Montana roughrider. I plan on using it to hunt. Boar, deer, elk, moose and bear.
Okay, you are off the hook - for now... :)

It will certainly be a fine hunting rifle. That is what I use mine for. As for good bullets for that purpose, there are a lot of them. I can recommend several, but they are all paper patched bullets . If you are interested in that, I'd be glad to help. Otherwise, there are many others here that can recommend grease groove bullets.
Dennis Armistead
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Dennis Armistead »

Huckleberry wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:42 pm I hope to have it by Friday in my hands. 32” barrel. Montana roughrider. I plan on using it to hunt. Boar, deer, elk, moose and bear.
Huckleberry, I'm sure that you've read a lot of information on loads etc. Loading for these types of rifles can be very rewarding or very frustrating. Knowing your shooting/reloading background would be a big help as to load development. If you already do some reloading/casting you're ahead of the game already. You have an excellent caliber in that rifle. Plenty of information out there for it. I would recommend shooting black powder/lead bullets. The only rifle I hunt with now is a 74 Sharps in 45-70. My pet load for hunting if you're interested is this:
1. Starline brass, annealed,trimmed,de burred,primer pocket reamed, flash hole prepped, FULL length sized
2. Swiss Powder 2FF, 64.0 gr.
3. .030 over powder fiber wad, .0015 over primer wad (I use patching paper) .0015 under bullet wad
4. Federal GM150M pistol primers
5. Lyman 457125 Govt. bullet 500 gr. cast 40:1 Pan Lubed with SPG

After full length sizing I expand the neck to .456 the length of the bullet. Seat the bullet so all grease grooves are covered.
Load up 15 rounds and shoot on paper at 100 yards. See if this load will group good enough for what you need. If not than change something and try again, but only change 1 thing at a time. A chronograph is useful but not really required for hunting loads in the 100 to 200 yard range. Look for good fouling control at the muzzle. I don't wipe the bore or blow tube when testing hunting loads because that's not what I will be doing when hunting. I want to make sure that I can get multiple rounds fired with out loading problems. Hope this little bit of info helps on a hunting load that works very well for me.
Dennis
Experience trumps intelligence every time.
BFD
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by BFD »

What Dennis said is good advice, though I never do more than chamfer Starline brass. It is too uniform and well made to need any of the rest in my opinion, but that's just my opinion.

I would skip the paper wad over the primer or under the bullet wad too. I have not found them useful, personally, and as you are just starting out, keeping it as simple as possible might be desirable.
Huckleberry
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Huckleberry »

For now, I was planning on shooting factory ammo. Hornady Lever 250 grain because I don’t know anything about reloading. I received my rifle today. What a piece. Magnificent. What sights do you recommend for hunting? I am guessing 200 yd shots at most. I like the tube scopes.
Dennis Armistead
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Dennis Armistead »

Huckleberry wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 4:49 pm For now, I was planning on shooting factory ammo. Hornady Lever 250 grain because I don’t know anything about reloading. I received my rifle today. What a piece. Magnificent. What sights do you recommend for hunting? I am guessing 200 yd shots at most. I like the tube scopes.
Ok...honest reply. I'm sure the twist rate of your barrel is 1-18, so if you're gonna shoot jacketed smokeless rounds than go with the 405's. As far as hunting sights go the factory iron sights are great. Some shooters replace the silver blade front for a copper penny sight for better viability in low light and less glare. If you plan on using a scope than I highly recommend the MVA Winchester "B" series scope with the #1 mounts. Mine has the centerless mill dot reticle, 5x magnification. Just look up Montana Vintage Arms. Just remember that if and when you decide to shoot black powder and lead cast bullets to get every bit of copper out of your barrel first. The two don't mix.
Dennis
Experience trumps intelligence every time.
BFD
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by BFD »

I sort of agree with Dennis, but with a few modifications.

Personally, I find it hard to imagine a hunting rifle without a vernier rear sight, and this one if the best of the best
https://montanavintagearms.com/product/ ... ang-sight/

Get and extra eye cup and drill it out to about 0.09" and keep it handy for low light days. This is especially true if your eyesight isn't as young as it used to be. Front sight needs to be a screw-down globe sight like a Lyman 17, but that won't fit the dovetail so see this guy
http://www.distantthunderbpcr.com/DTPages/DTProduct.htm. Get a crosswire insert, a post and bead, a plain post, and a few aperture inserts.

Ammo - what Dennis said, but you can reload Blackpowder easily and without many tool at all. You don't even need a reloading press. A set of Lyman 310 tong handles and dies will get you down the road with store-bought lead bullets. You can kill every mammal that walks with ammo loaded from those simple tools while sitting at your kitchen table. But shoot the smokeless while you sort it out.

Pictures man. We are all waiting :)
Huckleberry
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Huckleberry »

I received a mesg from someone not recommending using Hornady leverevolution ammo. Previously, I was told this is good stuff. Any amok help will greatly appreciated. Gona try several factory ammo loads first. Then decide on sights or scope.
BFD
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by BFD »

Huckleberry, the only thing to do is call Shiloh. If that ammo is a problem, I am sure they will tell ya.
Woody
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Woody »

The brass for Hornady Leverlution Ammo is shorter than SAMMI spec of 2.1 inches. I don't have any on hand to measure, so I can't tell you how much shorter.

Woody
Richard A. Wood
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pacecars
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by pacecars »

Buffalo Arms sells .45-70 ammo loaded with lead bullets and black powder. If I didn’t reload I would go with that
Real gun powder is black.
SFogler
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by SFogler »

Buffalo Arms sells .45-70 ammo loaded with lead bullets and black powder. If I didn’t reload I would go with that
X2 I would definitely start with the Buffalo Arms black powder ammo. Their 45-70 ammo is as cheap as some of the smokeless loads and just as accurate. Buy some along with some Swiss BP and some lead bullets; all available from Buffalo Arms. Shoot it and reload the BACO cases. I did that when I started out. I thought about smokeless because I have loaded smokeless all my life and knew how. I had booked a buffalo hunt and then decided I wanted to use a Sharps instead of a hi-powered rifle. I decided an iconic animal should be shot with an iconic rifle and they used black powder. I won a bid on the most beautiful rifle I had ever seen at an on-line auction - a Shiloh Sharps 50-90. The hunt date was fast approaching by the time I got the rifle and I did not have much time to figure out black powder reloading before my hunting date. I shot some of the Buffalo Arms BP ammo to get things started; and as it turned out, it was very easy to load some ammo and go to the range and test it and get sight settings out to 200 yards. I figured out how reload black powder before I burned up too many of BACO's loads and I used my own reloads on the hunt. I used the barrel sights on the Shiloh to 100 yards with the tang set to 200 yards. I shot the buffalo with no problem and I got addicted to black powder. Don't be afraid to get started on black powder and reload - it is not hard and I enjoy it way more than smokeless.
Buffalo Hunt 1 (18) (600x800).jpg
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bobw
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by bobw »

Woody wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 4:45 pm The brass for Hornady Leverlution Ammo is shorter than SAMMI spec of 2.1 inches. I don't have any on hand to measure, so I can't tell you how much shorter.

Woody
This is on the money. Don't buy this ammo if you are going to build your brass supply for bp loading. Waste of time and money. bobw
bobw
High Desert Hunter
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by High Desert Hunter »

I have 3 rifles chambered in 45 2.1, my Sharps is a #1 with MVA front and rear sights and a 34" barrel, I cast and load black powder rounds for it, an amazing amount of joy. My other two are more modern, one is a Ruger #1, the other a short barreled Marlin 1895, in those two I shoot mostly 415-420 grain bullets with wide meplats for tissue damage, I load them just about 150fps faster than the equivalent BP load with smokeless powder, the 45/70 doesn't need speed to be effective. I will tell you there are a multitude of smokeless rounds available, many with 400+ grain lead bullets, I will also tell you that the Hornady Leverevolution brass is 0.10" shorter than standard, this is to compensate for the flex tipped bullet and cartridge OAL. A sure killer for years now, with a jacketed bullet is the old Remington 405gr JSP, it was a buddies go to in Alaska when I lived there, used it on bears, moose, and caribou, all to great effect. Have fun with your new rifle, hope you get to shoot yours more than I do mine these days, it is truly a satisfying experience!
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