Last evening I had the opportunity to handle and fire two 10 year old 30" Shiloh #1 Sporters in .45-70, one with a heavy octagon and one with the standard octagon. WOW! I'm hooked worse than I knew. Craftsmanship was top notch! We shot 405 gr. lead cowboy loads, and something hotter, all smokeless. I wish one of them would shoot black powder. One gentleman is considering selling his heavy #1, but it's not quite what I would spec out, so I'm torn- great Shiloh now, or perfect Shiloh after a year wait...... course, I've been invited to shoot Greg's Shiloh again in the meantime. He even offered to let me BORROW it!
In shooting offhand, my general feeling is I like the standard octagon best. It shoulders and points very naturally and comfortably. The heavy octagon is noticably heavier to me.
I still need to nail down barrel length, I'm torn between 30" & 32", but not for any reason other than looks. I imagine a 32" standard octagon would be real nice, I know it will add some muzzle weight. I'm concerned too over the posts discussing fouling towards the ends of longer barrels.
My biggest dilemma however is the stock. The shotgun stock with pistol grip & cheekpiece was very comfortable. But I prefer the lines and appearance of the plain military stock/buttplate. I know the angle of the two styles is different; how much increase in felt recoil and muzzle rise could I expect?
As it stands, I lean towards:
Hartford model in .45-70
30/32" standard octagon, semi-buckhorn sight
standard grade wood preferably DARK reddish
bone/charcoal pack case hardening
brass escutcheons and polished screws
But I'll think on it. If the previously mentioned gentleman wishes to sell his #1, that's a hard chance to pass on. He's kept it up, I'd give it +95%
Any thoughts or personal preference/experience are welcome! Especially if you've shot both style buttstocks.
Thanks,
Dave
