I have been thinking about buying a Uberti 1885 Highwall in .45/120 and would like to know if anyone here has had experience with them.

Any comments, for or against, would be appreciated.

I have one in 40-65win
And it's a great buy for the price.
The firing pin is slightly offset, to low, the triggerpull was a bit heavy, replaced some springs and it was ok.

I have a 45/70 32" BBL love it ! as for the workman ship I'll give it an 8, wood to metal is poor and they used a filler , It don't shoot lead worth a I still love the old guns of yesteryear, Want a real single shooter get a Rem/Roll/Blk or a Sharps & 45/90 is better on your body .

You actually have two questions: What about Uberti? and What about the .45-120?

Do yourself a favor and buy a .45-70 or .45-90. Maybe a .45-100 in a heavy gun and then load it like a .45-90. Most people end up not liking the .45-120.

Several years ago, in a long discussion with the fellow who makes Badger Barrels, who also shot on one of our international black powder teams, the following pearl was given to me: .45-100 is about the practical limit as far as a really good cartridge is concerned. I don't know about all of that personally, but my .45-90 is about all I want on my shoulder.

Having shot a .45-120 with 535gr bullets in a long heavy Sharps; the 1885 isn't going to be heavy enough.
You want a 13-14 pound rifle to be able to shoot targets with a .45-120 all day. I know a fellow up north that acctrually shook his Uberti Sharps in .45-120 apart from target shooting with it.

Geo. has the right idea. Smaller cartridge.
Also BELL isn't makeing .45 Basic brass anymore so I'm not sure where you would be able to get brass for it. I'm sure somebody is making it, I just don't know who.

The Uberti highwalls that I've personally seen looked pretty good. Fit and finish is OK, especially for the price, and they appear to be a pretty close copy of the original. Darn things seem to shoot real well, too...a guy I know regularly kicks my butt on the silhouette range with one in .45-70.

That said, those rifles typically weigh right at 9-9.5 pounds, with sights. With the stock design, and steel crescent buttplate, it will get your attention right quick, even with the "small" .45-70. The .45-120 is a notorious kicker, and will be down-right painful, in that rifle/stock configuration (For Sale, with a box of 19 shells...). The -120 also has a reputation as being hard to get to shoot well with blackpowder (fouling issues), and IMHO the case is just too durned big to play well with smokeless.

If you're still interested, Buffalo Arms Company has everything you need to shoot these old guns, brass, bullets/moulds, dies, etc.

Greg

I do happen to own a 45-120, myself, NOT my next-door neighbors-wifes-sisters-hairdressers-paperboys-uncles-best friend Wilbur; but my very own 45-120. Have had it for seven or eight years now, and shoot it occasionally. Because, it does kick, has so much case volume that it needs verrrrrrrrrry slow burning powders and heavy bullets, and even in a 12 pound rifle it kicks! I agree that a 45-70 is THE perfect round to start with. You can load 400gr jacketed bullet to 1800+fps, Lasercast makes 300. 405, 430(gc), and 500gr bullets for dinking around (although I killed a 2100 pound bison bull at 200+ yards with one of the 500gr...one shot, down in 5-6 seconds never got back up, dead in 30 seconds. 120 brass is expensive, ditto dies. That said, there is something to be said for the eye candy factor when you show up at a shoot or the range with one. Fifty of my favored 537gr Postell bullet loads of 120gr of 2f black or the same volume of Hodgdons 777 in a Mills belt is a L-O-A-D.
Buy a 45-70, you can always rechamber to 45-90 or 120.
regards,

Rich