My Shiloh Journey
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 12:52 pm
A couple of months ago, I started a thread here to ask a specific question about the differences between a couple of Shiloh models (that thread is available here: https://www.shilohrifle.com/forums/view ... =2&t=26718). In that thread, I mentioned that I’ve been around here for a while, but finally ordered a Shiloh rifle (shall I say “my first”?) and now I’m in the waiting period and making the decisions regarding the details. Although my other thread was initially just one question, it of course led to further discussion of the various options that I’m considering. I thought that, as I continue with this journey, I should create a more generic thread.
Again, my overarching goal for this rifle is for a fairly standard or typical rifle that could be found on the hunting grounds during the early days of the buffalo hunt. I don’t plan on any serious competition or hunting with this rifle—it’s more for the experience. I may make a couple of departures from the most common features chosen due to personal preference, but at least I want something that was available in those days. This is all just in case I step into a time-warp and end up on the buffalo range. I don’t want to have my fellow buffalo hunters looking at me like I’m someone from the future or something.
Since I last wrote under that thread, I’ve done some more specific reading in these pages and I’m still learning. One of the main things that I’ve learned is that every once in a while, someone like me comes along and starts a thread about the “typical buffalo rifle”, saying that they are planning on having Shiloh make them one. Then starts the discussion, which is often very similar to the last discussion. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here, so I’ll try to avoid questions that have already been asked and answered.
At this point, I don’t have any burning questions but I wanted to bring you up to date. It seems that people here like to discuss these rifles and offer suggestions, so I want to give everyone a chance to join in.
I’m over a year away from needing to finalize my decisions with Shiloh, but I’m still kind of locked in on a couple of decisions anyway. One of those is caliber. I considered all of the early Sharps calibers, but I am kind of drawn to .44-77 for this rifle. The fifty calibers were also in the running, but several aspects of the .44-77 was attractive to me. A major downside of that caliber, of course, is the availability of brass. What I intended to do was to watch the market and see if I could come up with a good supply of .44-77 brass during this waiting period. If it got down to the wire without any good options, then I’d lean towards one of the other calibers. Well, Buffalo Arms formed brass came back in stock and I decided to order some over the weekend. I wanted to make sure that I’m set for a while, so I ordered 200 pieces. That kind of locks me in on caliber. Of course if some compelling reason comes along in the next year for me to change my mind, I can likely sell the .44 brass, but I think that I’ll stick with it.
The other decision that I’m (sort of) locked into for now is the rear sight. I managed to come up with one of the Distant Thunder sights that mimic the early Sharps tang sights. Now that I have that in hand, I’ll likely use that with this rifle, at least for the time-being.
As for the other details, I’m planning on a Hartford Model with a (somewhat less common) 32” polished heavy octagon barrel. I’ll ask for the 7 degree chamber leade. I’ll just get the standard wood with a military buttplate. I’m going to ask for fireblued screws and a semi-buckhorn rear sight. For the front sight, I’m debating between a globe (like Shiloh’s #111), a standard blade or maybe an MVA Beech/Beach-type combination sight. I may ask for a blade sight even if I get one of the others so that I can try both.
That’s where I’m at in my journey so far. In the meantime, I’m spending a lot more time here reading and learning about bullet designs for this caliber, loading tricks, and of course the history. Thanks again to all of you for the input and guidance that you’ve offered based upon your experience!
Griff
PS-- The Google custom search link that someone else created has been a huge help in my research. It's available here: https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=008826067 ... oagmmgcm6g
Again, my overarching goal for this rifle is for a fairly standard or typical rifle that could be found on the hunting grounds during the early days of the buffalo hunt. I don’t plan on any serious competition or hunting with this rifle—it’s more for the experience. I may make a couple of departures from the most common features chosen due to personal preference, but at least I want something that was available in those days. This is all just in case I step into a time-warp and end up on the buffalo range. I don’t want to have my fellow buffalo hunters looking at me like I’m someone from the future or something.
Since I last wrote under that thread, I’ve done some more specific reading in these pages and I’m still learning. One of the main things that I’ve learned is that every once in a while, someone like me comes along and starts a thread about the “typical buffalo rifle”, saying that they are planning on having Shiloh make them one. Then starts the discussion, which is often very similar to the last discussion. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here, so I’ll try to avoid questions that have already been asked and answered.
At this point, I don’t have any burning questions but I wanted to bring you up to date. It seems that people here like to discuss these rifles and offer suggestions, so I want to give everyone a chance to join in.
I’m over a year away from needing to finalize my decisions with Shiloh, but I’m still kind of locked in on a couple of decisions anyway. One of those is caliber. I considered all of the early Sharps calibers, but I am kind of drawn to .44-77 for this rifle. The fifty calibers were also in the running, but several aspects of the .44-77 was attractive to me. A major downside of that caliber, of course, is the availability of brass. What I intended to do was to watch the market and see if I could come up with a good supply of .44-77 brass during this waiting period. If it got down to the wire without any good options, then I’d lean towards one of the other calibers. Well, Buffalo Arms formed brass came back in stock and I decided to order some over the weekend. I wanted to make sure that I’m set for a while, so I ordered 200 pieces. That kind of locks me in on caliber. Of course if some compelling reason comes along in the next year for me to change my mind, I can likely sell the .44 brass, but I think that I’ll stick with it.
The other decision that I’m (sort of) locked into for now is the rear sight. I managed to come up with one of the Distant Thunder sights that mimic the early Sharps tang sights. Now that I have that in hand, I’ll likely use that with this rifle, at least for the time-being.
As for the other details, I’m planning on a Hartford Model with a (somewhat less common) 32” polished heavy octagon barrel. I’ll ask for the 7 degree chamber leade. I’ll just get the standard wood with a military buttplate. I’m going to ask for fireblued screws and a semi-buckhorn rear sight. For the front sight, I’m debating between a globe (like Shiloh’s #111), a standard blade or maybe an MVA Beech/Beach-type combination sight. I may ask for a blade sight even if I get one of the others so that I can try both.
That’s where I’m at in my journey so far. In the meantime, I’m spending a lot more time here reading and learning about bullet designs for this caliber, loading tricks, and of course the history. Thanks again to all of you for the input and guidance that you’ve offered based upon your experience!
Griff
PS-- The Google custom search link that someone else created has been a huge help in my research. It's available here: https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=008826067 ... oagmmgcm6g