Opinions on this are welcome

Support for the 1863 shooter. Discussions of powders, loads, bullets, etc.
Post Reply
KL
Posts: 117
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:26 pm

Opinions on this are welcome

Post by KL »

I am considering acquiring a 63 full length military rifle in 54 caliber with double sets if the company will make such a rifle in a DS version.

I know for certain I do NOT want a carbine and NOT the full military version in 50 caliber. This is not a criticism of either one. Having shot those in the past, I would like to try something else.

Your thoughts and advice would be appreciated.
holdover
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2010 11:23 am
Location: SW VA

Post by holdover »

I have been shooting a shiloh '63 military rifle in 54 cal for over 10 yrs. it is a very accurate rifle and always brings home the medals if I do my part. Mine is a single trigger one and it is adjusted to about 3 pounds. I shoot N-SSA and a set trigger is not allowed. I am sure that you will enjoy a '63 military, and the fit and finish of a Shiloh is unbeatable..

I also have a '63 carbine and enjoy that as well
User avatar
Free_Stater
Posts: 1032
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:50 pm
Location: Brooklyn, Mississippi

Post by Free_Stater »

You could always buy the 63 Sporter, with any options you'd also find in the 1874s.

Personally, I'd opt for the Military Rifle. Like Holdover, I like the single trigger on my Farmingdale MR, and it's got probably the most crisp, clean breaking of any rifle I own. And yes, the Shiloh quality is there in every part.
When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.
Todd Birch
Posts: 2133
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:01 pm
Location: Somewhere in the Cariboo ....

Opinions

Post by Todd Birch »

Free_Stater

NEVER aks for opinions .... They're like (_*_)s - everybody has one!

I own both a MR and carbine (both Farmingdales) in .50. Matches up with my 50-70 MR. All with single triggers.
I also own a '63 Sporter with 'B' prefix, DSTs in .54 which I would part with in a heart beat for another rifle in .50; percussion or cartridge. There is nothing that a .54 can do that a .50 can't do with less powder and lead.
The chamber of my .50 percussion models hold 60 grs. The chamber on the .54 easily digests 100. Do the math .....

Historically, the MR was nominally in .52, so a modern .54 (.544 as cast) bore is over size and a .50 (mine are sized .512, .515 from the mould) is pretty close.
Seller's book says .520 bore, .542 grooves. Bores over .5225 were not converted to 50-70, but relined.

I was at the range today with the .54 Sporter which turned out to be a bust due to the gusting wind. I did some off hand shooting at 50 yds and packed it in.
On the way home, I checked out a side road for bear sign and found a bear! He was 150 yards off and I stalked to 50 yds. Now I had a good look at him and as usual, bears look a lot smaller up close. I figure 200-225 lbs max - 'barely a bear'.
I could have popped him easily with the '63 (NEI 'ring tail'/75 grs FFg) but let him walk. I had our new Toyota 4x4 truck, no gear for handling him and I was 20 miles from home.
I missed a chance to kill a bear with a 'paper' Sharps, but it wasn't worth it to me just to say I had done it. I must be gettin' old or I let my hunting ethic get the better of me.
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"
User avatar
Free_Stater
Posts: 1032
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:50 pm
Location: Brooklyn, Mississippi

Post by Free_Stater »

Todd, I was doing something even worse than asking for opinions, I was giving one. :-)

I wouldn't feel unarmed in the woods around here with my MR; of course, there aren't usually any bears, but there are whitetails, and that big slug should put one down pretty well.
When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.
Todd Birch
Posts: 2133
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:01 pm
Location: Somewhere in the Cariboo ....

Re: Opinions on this are welcome

Post by Todd Birch »

Two people have told me about a large black bear in the area where I got one two years ago, about 1mile from where I'm sitting at the mo' ....
I'll have a look-see later today. Just got back from our annual club work party and I'm a little tired. If I put down a large bear today, he'll sit overnight like the last one. My wife assisted me with that one before going to school that day; what a gal!
When we got there, a bald eagle was eating the gut pile and blithely ignored us as I skinned out the b'ar. A sow with two cubs also ignored us, just 75 yards away. I kept the 50-70 handy ..... ;>)
Now it's a choice as to what rifle to take ..... my 45-70 Trapdoor or the big .54 '63 .....
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"
User avatar
Free_Stater
Posts: 1032
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:50 pm
Location: Brooklyn, Mississippi

Re: Opinions on this are welcome

Post by Free_Stater »

I'd go for the 50-70. Somehow the Sharps just seems more like a bear rifle, while the Trapdoor is the kind of thing I'd carry for wild Injuns. :shock:
When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.
Southron Sr.
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 3:50 pm

Re: Opinions on this are welcome

Post by Southron Sr. »

True Story about a Shiloh Sharps Military Rifle.....

About 5 years ago there was a Gun Shop located just a short distance down the road from my farm here in Middle-Georgia. I was always dropping by to pick up .22 ammo, shotgun shells, clay birds, cleaning supplies, etc. It was a family owned business and I got to know everyone that worked there.

One day I walked in and there was a new person working behind the counter. He told me that he was the "Gunsmith." He was in his mid-thirties and personable enough. Well, a couple of weeks later I dropped by the gun shop to pick up some gun oil. The next day was the beginning of muzzleloading deer season here in Georgia. As the "Gunsmith" was waiting on me, I asked him if he was planning on getting a deer with a muzzleloader.

His eyes lit up and said: "I sure am!" My next inquiry was: "Well, what kind of muzzleloader are you going to use?" (I was kinda figuring that he would be using a modern In-Line muzzleloader.) Well, he told me to wait at the counter and he was going to get his muzzleloader from out of the back room and show it to me.

He returned with a Shilo Sharps military rifle and handed it across the counter to me.

My response: "You can't use this Sharps-it is a breechloader!"

He smugly responded that he had "converted it into a muzzleloader."

It was then I took a closer look at the breech. The action was RUSTED so badly that the trigger guard/lever was literally "frozen in place!" There was no way to open the action of that Sharps!

What was so amazing to me was that idiot "Gunsmith" could care less about the fact that his Sharps was rusting up.

A week or so later, I dropped by the gun shop for something and the "Gunsmith" was complaining that he had had a great shot at a buck-but he couldn't get his Sharps MR to fire!

Well, shortly after that that gun shop went under. I don't know what happened to that idiot "Gunsmith" and his "Rapidly Becoming A Relic" Sharps MR.
Todd Birch
Posts: 2133
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:01 pm
Location: Somewhere in the Cariboo ....

Re: Opinions on this are welcome

Post by Todd Birch »

Southron

I'm sure that was the fate of a great many percussion Sharps rifles over the years. It is not a lazy man's gun when it comes to cleaning!
I know of a Shiloh .45 carbine here in Canuckville that was sold with the flash hole cleanout screw snapped off and frozen in place. It had to touch home base in Montana for repair. I've had one seize and it was coated with an anti-seize compound!

My hat is off to the historic soldiers that cleaned their Percussion Sharps rifles under combat conditions when they themselves were tired, dirty and hungry.
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"
User avatar
Free_Stater
Posts: 1032
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:50 pm
Location: Brooklyn, Mississippi

Re: Opinions on this are welcome

Post by Free_Stater »

For want of anything else to do this afternoon, I think I'll pull my block out and give it the once over. There's no problem, but I like to do this with all my guns from time to time.

To sum up my 63, though, I'll take the minimalist approach: Pull trigger, shoot loud, shoot straight.
When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.
Post Reply