POLISHED VS. STANDARD BARREL FINISH

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N1TKS
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POLISHED VS. STANDARD BARREL FINISH

Post by N1TKS »

Is there a photo example of the standard barrel finish versus the polished finished on the Shiloh website?

Thanks.
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whoop-up country
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Post by whoop-up country »

About the only ones I could see is the Carbine, or Military rifle. The regular finish is quite dull, which can be an advantage when the sun is bright. I think the finish is quite durable. It looks fine with most rifles. It looks kind of strange on a rifle that has extra fancy wood or better.
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Seth Hawkins
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Post by Seth Hawkins »

Shiloh's polished barrel is just that - polished. Whomever does the polishing is a master. I can find no waves or ripples in mine. The bluing has a sort of translucent look to it. Like it's wet. It does shine like a mirror when sunlight hits it. The standard finish is much duller - almost textured. The standard finish is probably more durable and practical - especially for a hunting rifle that will see it's share of poor weather.
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TLTweet
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Post by TLTweet »

Can anyone comment on which finish is most like what would have been on a Sharps barrel in the 1870's?
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Post by deerhuntsheatmeup »

Both finishes would have been on rifles. It depends on if the rifle was for the killing fields, or the target range, as to how it was finished out. Also, then same as now, rifles were ordered in all different configurations. In reading the Seller's book, I found a rifle that caught my eye, and it was a target rifle, so I copied it when I ordered my "Rusty" rifle.

Hope this helps

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Lazer
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Post by Lazer »

Even dull octagonal barrels have a problem with "sun flash" in a hunting environment.... if the rifle is for hunting, I sure wouldn't order a polished barrel.

L
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Post by Marathonman »

TLTweet wrote:Can anyone comment on which finish is most like what would have been on a Sharps barrel in the 1870's?
All the original rifles I've owned and even more that I've handled most closely match the polished barrel of today. I've seen nothing EVER looking like it was orginally a matte finish barrel. As far as I have been able to determine in the last 40 years of handling these magnificent rifles is that none were finished for a specific purpose such as hunting. All had a polished barrel but somewhat less quality than what you see in a fine Shiloh today.

Think of it this way for a moment. It is impossible to recreate a 100 percent accurate New York style pizza at 10,000 feet elevation in Leadville Colorado. Same goes today of recreating a fine Sharps barrel exactly like it was 140 years ago. Can't be done period...

If you want to get close then order the polished barrel.
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Post by Marathonman »

Lazer wrote:Even dull octagonal barrels have a problem with "sun flash" in a hunting environment.... if the rifle is for hunting, I sure wouldn't order a polished barrel.

L
I respect and understand about sun flash but have never lost an animal because of it that I can remember. Granted I have not hunted whitetail which may be more spookey. I have successfully hunted mulies, elk, antelope, black bear, buffalo, Alaskan brown bear, and all kinds of varmit and small game. When I used to bow hunt I worried a lot about sun flash but then again I was trying to get well within 50 yards. I once killed a record book antelope with a flintlock. That buck watched me resharpen the flint twice after the rifle missfired at 40 yards. The third time he was leaving when I dusted him. Most of the problems I see with hunters (myself included) is waiting too long to take the shot. I suppose a rifle with zero sun flash might give you a little more time in some situations. I don't think it matters much and wouldn't hesitate to hunt with a shiny Hartford style Shiloh Sharps.
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Post by Marathonman »

One last comment and then I'll shut up.

I actually like the standard barrel finish Shiloh puts on their rifles. The above posts might indicate otherwise... :?
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Post by Orville »

When it comes to hunting in my experience, the polished barrel or not is just another misguided worry. I agree with Marathonan, all the original Sharps I have seen and handled, they all had polished barrels like Shilohs are today.
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Post by Parley Baer »

Well, I have both on my Shilohs. It is a personal preference but I prefer the polished barrelys myself.
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Post by pete »

Well as anybody else who has hunted much I've spooked game. Now whether any of those times was ever caused by a shiny rifle barrel or not, it definately could have been.
But one thing I do know for a fact is that I've seen several examples of reflections coming off the shiny rifle barrels of other hunters in the near and far distance. Unless deer, antelope etc. have glare eliminators in their eyes they've seen it too.
Now I doubt those guys were walking around thinking how cool it was that their pretty rifle barrels were shining across the country side, they didn't even know it was happening of course.
I hunted with my Lonestar rolling block with a shiny barrel until I had it bead blasted and reblued. Now the finish is like the standard Shiloh finish.
The original Sharps sporters that I've seen seem to be somewhere between the standard and polished finish. Target rifles seem to have been polished more.
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Post by TLTweet »

Thanks fpr the input. I'm partial to the shiny stuff myself, and did not spec it out as a hunting rifle - though I might give that a chance at some point. I figured the polished finish might dull with age and lose some of the mirror-like brightness. I love the look of original, well-preserved bluing on antique rifles. The matte finish just didn't seem like it was going in that direction. As it was pointed out, maybe what I'm thinking of is actually somewhere in between.
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Re: POLISHED VS. STANDARD BARREL FINISH

Post by captpetryusn »

I was on a bench shooting with vernier tang soule sight/globe front sight (MVA) at 200 yds my 1874 heavy half Shiloh sharps long Range Express. As the sun rose to the noon position and clearly sending rays to my barreI, I started to get a fuzzy looking pin in my globe front sight. In addition, I started shooting right of the bullseye. did all the checks for wind, eye piece opening, ETC.... to no avail. For the HELL OF IT..... I stuck a piece of blue masking tape to the barrel from the spirit level attached to the globe running about 8 inches up the barrel. The pin was once again sharp and my bullets were hitting much closer to my POA back to the left.. It definitely was a glare OR a heat mirage coming off the barrel. You chose.............
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Re: POLISHED VS. STANDARD BARREL FINISH

Post by SchuetzenDave »

Polished 1874 Shiloh Sharps barrel.
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