don't know whats come over me, but I have been "itching" for one of these lately..

Is Pedersoli the only company making these now or are there others? and Opinions please! Thinking 45-70 or 45-90 but even the 45-110 would be considered..

Talk me into it... or out of it..

Frank, the Pedersoli is the one to have, if you aren't looking to spend the $2K-$4K for a Shiloh or C Sharps. Everyone into BPCR will tell you to get a 45-70...easiest to load for, least tempermental, plentiful and cheap components,etc. I just saw a Pedersoli for a great price. I'll see if I can find it and PM you.

Damn...found it, but it was sold :-(

Your savy enough to get a 50-140 and deal with its so called problems or whatever, and it will warm your soul, because the next step is a Bison hunt, it,s just the natural route, once you get the Sharps bug..There is just something about shooting a bif bison bull with a sharps, its the only way for the nostalgic of us'uns..

40-65 is one of the best and most accurate due to the high BC of 400 grain bullets. I have a pistol grip, silhouette model FS. PM me if interested. Soule sights on it. Like new.

My opinion only:
- If you want the finest fit and finish go with a Shiloh.
- If you want serviceable and functional at 1/2 the cost go with a Pedersoli.
I have had both and still have my Shiloh’s.

Target/Silhouette shooting? .40-65, .40-70 Straight, or .45-70
Target or Hunting? .40-65, .45-70, .45-90
Hunting and just having a ball? .45-110 2-7/8” or .45 3-1/4”, .50-90 2-1/2”, or a .50-140 3-1/4” Punkin’ Chucker.

Just be aware that the .50 3-1/4” can be tough to get cases sometimes, and the Sharps 1874 “may” need opening the feed trough to get the long 3-1/4” .50 to chamber.

Of course there are other fine and fun chamberings, original and otherwise, in .40, .45, and .50 depending upon your interest, budget, and reloading skills.

If you are a stickler for history and original chamberings just remember that the Sharps company did not have the 3-1/4” cartridges while they were in business.

My favorite caliber is the 45-110,if you handload? it will do it all for you,hunted Elk & Bison with my Shiloh Sharps,it was fun,gotta make a confession though,I have never used BP in my Sharps

quote:

Originally posted by Bill73:
My favorite caliber is the 45-110,if you handload? it will do it all for you,hunted Elk & Bison with my Shiloh Sharps,it was fun,gotta make a confession though,I have never used BP in my Sharps

.45-110 2-7/8” mine too!

quote:

Originally posted by Redstone:

quote:

Originally posted by Bill73:
My favorite caliber is the 45-110,if you handload? it will do it all for you,hunted Elk & Bison with my Shiloh Sharps,it was fun,gotta make a confession though,I have never used BP in my Sharps

.45-110 2-7/8” mine too!

That would be similar to 458 Lott capacity?

quote:

Originally posted by Mike McGuire:

quote:

Originally posted by Redstone:

quote:

Originally posted by Bill73:
My favorite caliber is the 45-110,if you handload? it will do it all for you,hunted Elk & Bison with my Shiloh Sharps,it was fun,gotta make a confession though,I have never used BP in my Sharps

.45-110 2-7/8” mine too!

That would be similar to 458 Lott capacity?

It should be close if not the same,I do not push it that hard though,I think my Elk load was a 535 gr cast @ 1800 fps,the Lott is another favorite of mine

I have a Pedersoli in 45-140 with the long/heavy octagon barrel (34 inch?) and a 6x long tube scope. I was looking for a 45-110 but found the 45-140. It is a very accurate rifle with little recoil due to weight. I understand why the buffalo hunters took a stand and shot from one place as this rifle is like trying to carry an artillery piece. I took a really nice Bison with it at about a 120 yards using a 535 grain lead bullet. The Bison never moved. Just stood there for about 10 seconds and fell over. The processing plant found the bullet under the skin on the opposite side. Bottom line, the Pedersoli is not a refined as a Shiloh or C Sharps but it is quite adequate as a hunting rifle. Unless you just like the larger cartridges I would suggest a 45-70 as loaded ammunition, cases, etc are easier to come by.

For information, the 45-120 is almost identical to my 450 Nitro Express and many of the 45-120 loads that use smokeless powders also work in the 450 Nitro Express. Some of the 45-140 loads actually regulate well enough for feral pig hunting.

I have handled Pedersoli 1874s. Nice gun, but not close to the same league as a Shiloh. And you pay for that Shiloh quality.
I have two shilohs, 1874s, model #1. One is 45-70, the other 50-70. I do informal target shooting and a little hunting with them. The 45 has taken elk, buffalo, and antelope. The 50 only a hog so far. It will be deer hunting next week.
I shoot smokeless powder which is real bad according to the die hard black powder guys. But it works well for me.
One other thing, if you spec and order a Shiloh, there is a long wait time. I’ve had mine a few years but I believe the wait was over a year then. You can find used ones on GB and there’s a guy called Bill Goodman that is some sort of quasi dealer of Shilohs. He usually has a few in stock and months out delivery.

I have owned 3 Shilohs and still have a highly customized #1 in 45-70. I bought 2 custom carbines from Bill Goodman (great man to deal with); one in 45-70 and the other in 50-70. I let a good friend buy the carbines for his children as graduation gifts. All of them have been very accurate and have never been fouled by smokeless powder. You can't go wrong with a Shiloh Sharps.


Safe shooting...…….LL

Of course the Shiloh is the best quality but it also costs at least twice as much and does not shoot any better. Last Shiloh I ordered was a 40-70 straight and it was a 4 year wait.
As for the large cases, do not think you can load these rifles like a 458 Lott or anything like that. The large capacities are for Black Powder only. If you are shooting smokeless, then the smaller cases are all you need, or can make use of. If you are loading a 45-120 like a 450 Nitro, then you are taking a risk.
And if you only want to shoot smokeless out of a Sharps, why bother. Just get a #1; Sharps are made for BP and there is no substitute for it. It's not just velocity.
As for killing Bison; I have killed 4 of them. Bison are not killed with energy, they die when they want to even with a heart with a hole in it or blown lungs. Unless you bust their shoulder, which would not be smart.

My favorite Sharps is my custom, 45-2.4 , with a heavy Badger barrel, it will hold 75 grains of BP with a 550 grain bullet. The way Sharps were made to be shot.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Of course the Shiloh is the best quality but it also costs at least twice as much and does not shoot any better. Last Shiloh I ordered was a 40-70 straight and it was a 4 year wait.
As for the large cases, do not think you can load these rifles like a 458 Lott or anything like that. The large capacities are for Black Powder only. If you are shooting smokeless, then the smaller cases are all you need, or can make use of. If you are loading a 45-120 like a 450 Nitro, then you are taking a risk.
And if you only want to shoot smokeless out of a Sharps, why bother. Just get a #1; Sharps are made for BP and there is no substitute for it. It's not just velocity.
As for killing Bison; I have killed 4 of them. Bison are not killed with energy, they die when they want to even with a heart with a hole in it or blown lungs. Unless you bust their shoulder, which would not be smart.

In my case, velocity has nothing to do with using smokeless. I load at similar velocities to BP. The cleaning required with BP is not what I’m interested in doing. Glad you enjoy using BP.
And I doubt Kirk at Shiloh is going to stop selling to us smokeless guys.

quote:

Originally posted by df06:

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Of course the Shiloh is the best quality but it also costs at least twice as much and does not shoot any better. Last Shiloh I ordered was a 40-70 straight and it was a 4 year wait.
As for the large cases, do not think you can load these rifles like a 458 Lott or anything like that. The large capacities are for Black Powder only. If you are shooting smokeless, then the smaller cases are all you need, or can make use of. If you are loading a 45-120 like a 450 Nitro, then you are taking a risk.
And if you only want to shoot smokeless out of a Sharps, why bother. Just get a #1; Sharps are made for BP and there is no substitute for it. It's not just velocity.
As for killing Bison; I have killed 4 of them. Bison are not killed with energy, they die when they want to even with a heart with a hole in it or blown lungs. Unless you bust their shoulder, which would not be smart.

In my case, velocity has nothing to do with using smokeless. I load at similar velocities to BP. The cleaning required with BP is not what I’m interested in doing. Glad you enjoy using BP.
And I doubt Kirk at Shiloh is going to stop selling to us smokeless guys.

dpcd,
Respect your opinions a lot,I have never shot bp & probably never will,loading smokeless in a Sharps of modern manufacture is not rocket science,I had the pleasure of owning three Shiloh Sharps,I have only one now in the 45-110,I have two other single shots,a Browning 45-90 with Badger barrel & a 45-90 1878 Al Story replica Borchard,I have shot a lot of rounds through my Sharps,it was a lot of fun,hunting the Sharps was a great experience,I have no real desire to replace any one of these beautiful guns with a Ruger#1,the Ruger is a great gun but it sure ain't no Sharps .
If someone wants a Sharps? I say go get one & shoot it with whatever powder you like,I shoot smokeless in mine & won't judge you if you don't

quote:

Originally posted by df06:

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Of course the Shiloh is the best quality but it also costs at least twice as much and does not shoot any better. Last Shiloh I ordered was a 40-70 straight and it was a 4 year wait.
As for the large cases, do not think you can load these rifles like a 458 Lott or anything like that. The large capacities are for Black Powder only. If you are shooting smokeless, then the smaller cases are all you need, or can make use of. If you are loading a 45-120 like a 450 Nitro, then you are taking a risk.
And if you only want to shoot smokeless out of a Sharps, why bother. Just get a #1; Sharps are made for BP and there is no substitute for it. It's not just velocity.
As for killing Bison; I have killed 4 of them. Bison are not killed with energy, they die when they want to even with a heart with a hole in it or blown lungs. Unless you bust their shoulder, which would not be smart.

In my case, velocity has nothing to do with using smokeless. I load at similar velocities to BP. The cleaning required with BP is not what I’m interested in doing. Glad you enjoy using BP.
And I doubt Kirk at Shiloh is going to stop selling to us smokeless guys.

I don’t follow this stuff very closely so I might have this wrong. I seem to remember reading that for target work the reduced smokeless loads were top stuff for the close range but velocity variation put them out for the 1000 yards when compared to black powder loads.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Your savy enough to get a 50-140 and deal with its so called problems or whatever, and it will warm your soul, because the next step is a Bison hunt, it,s just the natural route, once you get the Sharps bug..There is just something about shooting a bif bison bull with a sharps, its the only way for the nostalgic of us'uns..

Ray, whatever I get, a bison hunt is definitely under consideration!

Thanks to everyone that replied. I appreciate all the information!