My first Shiloh Sharps

Talk with other Shiloh Sharps shooters.

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Eric Johanen
Posts: 236
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:27 pm

Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Eric Johanen »

For a hunting rifle one can not beat a Lawrence or semi-buckhorn rear and a copper penny or best a Stephen Broud Hartford front sight. Once you learn how to use them 200+ is easy to hit with. Tang sights are a pain on a hunting rifle. They catch and snag on everything. I have great results out to 200 or a bit more with barrel sights. Have had good hits at 400 but still need to get the 500 yard worked out. A shade over 200 is my limit for hunting as the trajectory is just too hard to judge and hit under field conditions on critters.
BFD
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by BFD »

I'll disagree about the tang sights, Eric, and just keep using them. I can stack up plenty of dead animals killed with tang sights, and I put them on all of my rifles except a flintlock. Preferences are personal, and both types of sights work just fine.
They definitely do not "catch and snag on everything". At least, mine do not.

If anyone wants to try a tang sight - maybe for the additional precision, maybe for the repeatable adjustability, maybe for the sake of their eyesight, do not let the internet talk you out of it. Chances are, you can accomplish whatever you wish using a tang sight with a little careful planning.
Eric Johanen
Posts: 236
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:27 pm

Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Eric Johanen »

I should have said for hunting in the northern woods. Places can get pretty thick and shots are limited to around 100 yards for the most part. If you are hunting the wide open tang sights are hard to beat. Tang sights allow for more accurate sighting and are a advantage but in the thick stuff they do tend to catch on vegetation, If I was hunting in the open I'd use a short staff tang sight like those from MVA. In the thick and dim woods a silver or steel blade are very difficult to see. Polished copper penny or bronze blade show up well. The best I've ever used is a ivory bead of good size on a Winchester Model 95 in 30-40. Showed up nicely in the twilight and against the brown/grey body of a whitetail.
Huckleberry
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Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2019 2:03 pm

Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Huckleberry »

Finally got some pics to share with everyone. You all have been great in helping me in this new passion. I am planning on hunting with it. Off on a Texas combo deer and hog hunt this November. For now, I will practice with the original sights. I would like to learn how to add a penny to the front sight.
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Eric Johanen
Posts: 236
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:27 pm

Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Eric Johanen »

Very nice rifle! Should be a great hunter. I usually use a BACO 500 grain RN Government bullet and 70.0 grains of 1.5 Swiss or OE in Winchester brass with a CCI BR2 primer and a .060 Poly wad. Great accuracy and kills game well. My friend uses a Lyman 420 grain FN also puts them on the ground. You should be able to hold the sight in a padded vise and tap the blade out. File the penny to rough shape and go for a friction fit and tap in place, finish filing to shape and install then finish on the range. Enjoy your rifle!
Dennis Armistead
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Location: Payson Arizona
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Dennis Armistead »

That is a nice rifle, congrats. The copper penny that I use on mine is from an old penny (more copper) and cut in half. Then smooth up the part you cut and tap back down in to the front sight slot. When at the range it will probably shoot low depending on the range. To adjust just remove the penny and file the bottom. Keep doing this until you reach the right height for you're range. Using this method you will keep the top round just like the old knife blade sights and the sight picture is great. Hope this helps. By the way, when I cut the penny I leave "in God we trust" at the top. Adds a nice touch.
Dennis
Experience trumps intelligence every time.
johnl
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:59 pm

Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by johnl »

Dennis Armistead wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:50 pm By the way, when I cut the penny I leave "in God we trust" at the top. Adds a nice touch.
Dennis

Hey Dennis

Great idea. I’m looking for a 1874 US penny to mount with 1874 at top.
Dennis Armistead
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Dennis Armistead »

johnl wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 4:44 pm
Dennis Armistead wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:50 pm By the way, when I cut the penny I leave "in God we trust" at the top. Adds a nice touch.
Dennis

Hey Dennis

Great idea. I’m looking for a 1874 US penny to mount with 1874 at top.
Ebay... cost's a buck.
Experience trumps intelligence every time.
johnl
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:59 pm

Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by johnl »

Dennis Armistead wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 4:47 pm
johnl wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 4:44 pm
Dennis Armistead wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:50 pm By the way, when I cut the penny I leave "in God we trust" at the top. Adds a nice touch.
Dennis

Hey Dennis

Great idea. I’m looking for a 1874 US penny to mount with 1874 at top.
Ebay... cost's a buck.


Thanks
Dennis Armistead
Posts: 337
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Location: Payson Arizona
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Dennis Armistead »

Welcome
Experience trumps intelligence every time.
bobw
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by bobw »

Don't bother with spending the money on the 1874 penny, because no matter how you cut it , it will be either vertical or upside down. But by all means use a pre 1982 penny for its high copper to zinc ratio. these buff out with a coat sleeve easy enough in the field for extra reflection morning and evening low light periods. The mettalurgy of the penny change happened in june of 1982. The newer ones weigh at 2.5 grams and the pre 82 ones at 3.1 grams the idea of course was to save money on the copper content. At one time copper in a penny (pre 1982) was worth 2.6 cents when copper per pound was high. those Indian head penny's aren't any brighter than just pre 82. 95/5 copper to zinc then, now 95 zinc to 5 copper. Bureaucrats don't give sh*t how much anything costs and that' why the country has a big deficit and national debt. In the fall of 2010 when I got the call on the readiness of my All Business rifle with the Loomer chamber for 45-2 7/8" I headed to Big Timber to pick it up. Did the paper work and paid for the other things I wanted there. I had 50 rds of ppb loads and a date up on the mountain BLM plot where the locals shoot. For my loads the silver blade and semi buckhorn shot high, so I cut down the penny to a height of apprx .345" and went from there. I also oriented mine to have " In God We Trust" on top. Some day when I get bored(after I retire) I will file down and buff out the "One Cent" on the other side and have it engraved with my Initials ,or maybe "All others Cash", or "Molon Labe" or whatever I think is trick enough then. Bill Bagwell who we all call Rdnck I believe is the originator of the Shiloh penny frt sight idea. bobw
bobw
Kurt
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Kurt »

Stephen Borud made me a Hartford front sight for my Hartford hunting rifle that just plain works in all conditions. It's made with a bronze insert that is wide enough for me to see.
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Woody
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Woody »

My circa 1882 Winchester 1876 has some kind of coin inserted for a front sight. It is not copper, silver, or german silver. The only clue is the radius of the arc of the parent coin and the milled rim. It appears to be polished brass, but it does not tarnish. Needless to say, coins have been used for a long time.

Woody
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rdnck
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by rdnck »

Bob--Thanks for the flowers.I got on to the penny in the early 1980s when I read about it in "Tough Trip Through Paradise" by Andrew Garcia. I replaced the silver front blade on my pet Hawken with a penny, and immediately saw what a difference it made. All my hunting rifles were immediately converted. I showed it to Josh Amerine and he sent a bunch of Indian head pennies to some folks on the forum that wanted them. Sadly, Josh lost his life in an automobile accident some time back, but he spread the idea around quite a bit. The Indian head does not work as well as a wheat penny because it is too thin for a tight interference fit into the Shiloh sight base, and it does not reflect light as well as the wheat penny. Shoot straight, rdnck.
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Coltsmoke
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Re: My first Shiloh Sharps

Post by Coltsmoke »

GOLD Woody, GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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