C. Sharps Arms Co., Inc.

Transcription

1 Edition Published by C. Sharps Arms Co., Inc. page 3 The Hepburn from C.S.A., page 3 Manufacturers of A WORLD FAMOUS SERIES of Classic Metallic Cartridge Rifles and Classic Sights P.O. Box 885, Big Timber, MT Pnone: Fax: csharps@ttc-cmc.net *

2 THE AMERICAN SHARPS SHOOTERS Publisher: C. Sharps Arms Co. Inc., John R. Schoffstall President Mike Nesbitt Editor (miken54@aol.com) Dakota Dick Savage - - Field Contributor (honodick@centurylink.net) Dangerous Don McDowell Field Contributor (ranch13@hotmail.com) Table of contents: The Hepburn From C. Sharps Arms by Mike Nesbitt page 3 Outstanding Products 7 Old West Centerfires by Bob Gietz 12 My Visit To C. Sharps Arms by Allen Cunniff 16 Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. Mark Twain

3 THE HEPBURN FROM C. SHARPS ARMS By Mike Nesbitt One of the sweetest shooting black powder cartridge rifles to cross my path lately was a Hepburn rifle, a single shot falling block, as made today by C. Sharps Arms Company. That rifle was my focus recently for some very excellent shooting. To put it simply, this rifle has just about everything a BPCR shooter could ask for. In 1879 Lewis L. Hepburn was working for Remington (as superintendent of the Mechanical Department at the Remington plant as well as being a member of the Creedmoor International Shooting Team) and he patented a new action for single shot rifles. This new action was considerably lighter than the Model 1874 Sharps and, because of weight restrictions which limited a rifle to just ten pounds when used in the Creedmoor matches or in international competition, shooters were looking for lighter weight actions. With a lighter action, more weight could be put into the rifle s barrel which was desirable for greater long range accuracy. Remington quickly realized the advantages of Hepburn s design and they put his rifle into production in The Hepburn rifle incorporated a rebounding hammer (also patented by Hepburn), so the shooter never needs to put this rifle on half-cock unless the hammer was being lowered from the full-cock position. Even though the rebounding hammer is a good safety factor, the shooter still needs to cock the hammer before taking the shot. The self-cocking hammer did not appear until just a few years later in the Browning/Winchester single shot called either the Highwall or Low wall, depending on the choice of the action. Rather than using an under-lever, like the Sharps where the trigger guard is lowered to drop the breech block, the Hepburn uses a side lever. That lever is located on the right side of the receiver where it is very handily used by the shooter s thumb. (Let me say now that C. Sharps Arms also makes their Hepburn in an optional left-handed version with that actuating lever on the left side.) Putting the lever on the side of the action actually is a very convenient location and it makes the rifle very easy to use, perhaps that can be important for shooting in timed events such as the NRA Black Powder Silhouette matches. While I am rather well trained on using Sharps rifles, the side-lever Hepburn more or less adapted to me very quickly. C. Sharps Arms Company makes their version of the Hepburn available in a very wide range of chamberings, from.22 Long Rifle all the way up to the big.45 Sharps with the long 2 7/8-inch case. Actually, I m sure you can order one for the longer.45/3 ¼-inch case if you really want it. And that wide list of chamberings can also include the powerful.405 Winchester which would make a fine big game rifle. My guess is that the most popular cartridges being used in these rifles today are the.40 and.45 caliber black powder rounds that go along with the long range silhouette matches and other BPRC shoots. The rifle I got to shoot and run through its paces was chambered for the.40/50 Sharps Straight cartridge, a fine black powder number that was certainly a pleasure to shoot. Cartridges; 38/55,.40/50 SS,.44/90,.45/70 &.50/90

4 The.40/50 Sharps Straight is somewhat in the same league as the.38/55 Winchester and the.38/55 is another excellent choice for a cartridge in any black powder single shot rifle. While reloading ammunition for this Hepburn in.40/50 I used powder charges that could be paralleled with loads in a.38/55. This is one black powder cartridge that I did not try to duplicate the old original loadings, at least I didn t try very hard. For one thing, the old original loads used bullets of.403-inch diameter while the new.40 caliber black powder rifles use bullets measuring.408-inch. That difference is enough that ammo loaded for the old rifles simply will not perform in the newly made guns. Likewise, the rates of twists in the newly made barrels generally have faster rates of twist than the old barrels. This is because of the popularity of using heavier bullets these days than what were used in the 1870s and later. Please take this statement as a general comment, not just about the.40 caliber black powder cartridge rifles but for all of the BPCR shooting done today. For today s doin s, heavier bullets are more or less the norm. Shooting this rifle was a most pleasant experience. That began while shooting 300 grain bullets loaded over 45 grains (by volume) of GOEX s Olde Eynsford 2F powder. Those loads chronographed at just a comfortable average of 1125 feet per second but they gave great tin can accuracy. I wanted tighter groups than that and I got those nice tight groups while using 370 grain bullets which are usually reserved for the.40/70s or.40/90s. Even so, with just 40 grains of Olde Eynsford 2F those 370 grain bullets flew very true, giving me the groups that I wanted and expected. All of the loads used in this rifle were assembled with one of John Walters.060 veggie wads under the bullets. I ve been using those wads almost exclusively ever since my first try with them. This simply means that I ll be mentioning those wads again. To get some, contact John at thetinwadman@cox.net. What rate of twist this rifle s barrel has, I don t know. That was never measured. What I really cared about was quickly realized with the 370 grain bullets. At the same time let me point out that if a rifle is ordered for either of the.40/50s be sure to specify that one of the slower twist barrels be used to tailor the rifle to those shorter bullets. Now let me completely describe this fine rifle. It is the Hepburn, what C. Sharps Arms calls their Model 1879 Target and Sporting Rifle. This one was listed as being in.40 caliber (any). That means its chamber could be re-cut to take any of the larger.40 caliber cartridges. This rifle was equipped with a 30-inch part octagon-part round barrel, standard American walnut stocks, with cheek rest, ebony nose cap on the forearm, and a pack-hardened receiver and buttplate. (Pack-hardening is a very colorful casehardening at extra cost.) It has a globe front sight with various apertures plus a spirit level (very handy for long range shooting) and a mid-range Soule tang sight mounted just behind the hammer. The price tag for this beauty, just so you know, was shown at $ These rifles can be purchased without sights which brings that tag down by over $500.

5 Let me add that the Hepburn rifles from C. Sharps Arms are all equipped with double set triggers contained in what appears to be a trigger guard similar to that for a single trigger. At no time did I ever feel like there was not enough room in that trigger guard for both triggers. And shooting with the set trigger was fantastic. The Model 1879 Hepburn, which was originally produced by Remington from 1880 to 1907, is often called the last great rifle of the Golden Age of Single Shots. To say this is a fine rifle is simply putting it mildly. To some shooters it looks a bit awkward in its profile but that is immediately erased when you hold it and aim it offhand. That s when this rifle just seems to become a part of you. For more information contact: C. Sharps Arms Company, P.O. Box 885, Big Timber, Montana 59011, or call them at And they have an on-line website at: We have the best government that money can buy. Mark Twain

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7 OUTSTANDING PRODUCTS: Arizona Sharpshooters by Dangerous Don McDowell Steve Rhodes down in Phoenix needs very little introduction to serious BPCR competitors, especially if you have competed against him, but how many of us know that he s also an accomplished craftsman and he offers a small but seriously useful set of hand-made products. Steve produces a really handy Delrin wiping rod in several calibers, complete with removable wood handle, so a bore guide can be attached, and also has a properly sized cleaning jag milled onto the business end of the rod. Also among the Delrin products are cleaning jags. I had never used the cleaning jags before but while cleaning up the old bore of a.50 caliber Hartford Sharps that left the factory in 1872, I was using one on loan from our old friend Doc Munson. The jag has a real good shape with grooves to grip the patch, and proved when pushed thru that grungy old bore, with 2 ½ inch patches from Proshot, that it is every bit as tough as a brass jag and it might clean even better. Another thing that Steve produces is a selection of cartridge seaters made from aluminum. These things can really save the day, and keep you from wanting to spend money on a Freund conversion. They are available for 74 and 75 Sharps, 1885 Winchesters, and the famous Hepburns. These cartridge seaters are offered with a straight handle version for iron sight shooters, and a bent version for scope shooters. (Those scopes do tend to get in the way.) That bent handle scope shooter model is especially handy when loading cartridges with the bullets touching the lands and there is precious little room to reach in there and push with your thumb. Check them out at www. Arizonasharpshooters.com. STEVE LAMB MANUFACTURING DECAPPING TOOL by Mike Nesbitt While doing some shopping at Buffalo Arms one of the SLM de-capping tools was added to my line box for punching the dead primers out of.50/70, 50/90 Sharps, plus.50/95 and.50/110 Winchester brass. I had seen these tools in use by other shooters but hadn t gotten one for myself. Now I probably won t be found without it. It s a hand-held small tool that will quickly de-cap fired cases and it also has a primer pocket scraper for cleaning any crud out of the empty primer pockets. The tool itself is made of aluminum and the replaceable de-capping rods are made of steel. The de-capping rods are made for specific calibers and Buffalo Arms lists tools for.32/40,.38/55,.40/65 (which just might work for the.40 caliber Sharps cases too),.45/70 up to the /8ths, and for the.50 caliber like the one I have. These are caliber specific because the decapping rod centers in the mouth of the case. Maybe someday a.44 de-capping rod will be made. The price of these tools is $62.40 and the rods sell for $ See them at Buffalo Arms on their web site at wwe.buffaloarms.com or call them at

8 ACCURATE MOLDS #44-385M by Mike Nesbitt Let me admit it, I seem to talk about Accurate Molds quite a bit. One reason for that is because the bullets from those molds perform for me. Lately I got to try another one and I mean only try. A friend of mine, Lynn Willecke, ordered a.44/77 and when it came time to select a bullet mold he picked a bullet from Accurate Molds that I don t have. (There s nothing unusual about it, I actually have only a few molds from Accurate.) What he selected was one of the double cavity molds for bullet #44-385M. This newer bullet differs from #44-400B just a little, mainly it has a shorter nose with a wider flat point. More specifically, #44-385M has an overall length of 1.04, a meplat (flat nose) of.26, a as cast diameter of.446 and a nose diameter of.433. That compares closely with #44-400B which has an overall length of 1.1, a meplat of.204, an as cast diameter of.448, and a nose diameter of.433. There are some tiny differences in the lube grooves but the most noticeable difference between these two bullets is in the nose. The new bullet is just about 15 grains shorter, just enough lead for half of a.22 Short bullet, at the nose. And that new bullet, as cast by Lynn with 20-1 alloy, weighed an even 390 grains, lubed. After Lynn sent me eight of the bullets he had cast and lubed, I loaded five of them for my.44/77, using 75 grains of Olde Eynsford 2F (by volume) and compressed that down with a Walters.060 veggie wad just far enough that the bullet s crimp groove, which was also filled with BPC lube, was seated within the case neck. Those fiver loads were quickly taken to the firing range where the target you see in the photo was posted at just 50 yards. All five shots were fired without taking a look at where the first shot went. As you can see, the group is a bit to the left but not bad at all. This bullet is certainly worthy of more work and at longer ranges. After seeing the group, I checked the rear sight on my rifle and, yes, it was sitting a bit to the left. I only made a mental note of that and then switched to another rifle for more shooting. Perhaps you have had similar experiences; all of my shooting on that day went a bit to the left at both 50 and 100 yards. That must be mentioned because it certainly wasn t the bullet s fault. In fact, I m already dreaming up ideas about how good this new bullet would be for general shooting and for tagging big game at moderate ranges. A heavier bullet would probably be desirable for long range work but for shooting and hunting out to, let s say, 300 yards this bullet should do just fine. You can bet that I ll be asking for more of them but Lynn will probably be shooting a lot of them himself. Another reason why I mention Accurate Molds quite a bit, in addition to their outstanding bullet molds, is their outstanding customer service. Outstanding products with outstanding service is really hard to beat. For more information or to place an order, just follow your computer to Or write to Tom Ellis, Accurate Molds, P.O. Box 315, Salt Lake City, Utah He does not like using his telephone but he does promise to reply to all s within 48 hours.

9 C. Sharps Arms Co. #11 Catalog by Mike Nesbitt The new catalog comes with a red and gold sticker on the cover that loudly proclaims the 40 years in business and we should all agree that is something brag about. In recognition of this milestone I have ordered a new rifle but I ll wait to tell you about it after it makes the trip to my hands as well as to the range for shooting. You can also order a copy of this new catalog by , to or by telephone to Even if you don t order a new rifle, having one of these 40 th anniversary catalogs will be something to hang on to for those years to come. It had to happen, C. Sharps Arms has just released a new catalog. Actually, it is about time. Their #10 catalog served for a good number of years. Now the #11 catalog is the one to look at and this one is just a bit special because it is being issued during the 40 th anniversary for C. Sharps Arms, 1975 to Prices have gone up but only in some cases. One price that has risen is the price for the catalog, C. Sharps Arms is asking $2 for this #11 catalog and you can get one by sending $2 to C. Sharps Arms, P.O. Box 885, Big Timber, Montana Of course, be sure to send them your address too. Lyman Re-Introduces Bullet Mould #457130, The Collar Button by Mike Nesbitt Short-range bullets have always appealed to me, probably because I m just a rabbit hunter at heart. But those short-range bullets and loads give a big-bore rifle a whole new character as well as a widely expanded range of use. On top of that, shooting the shortrange bullets is simply a lot of fun. And the shortest of the short-range bullets, to the best of my knowledge, is the Collar Button for the.45/70. This strange and very unique looking bullet weighs only 145 grains when cast and it was designed to weigh the same as a.457 round ball. The original purpose for this bullet was to give our troopers some good shooting practice during inclement weather because they d shoot their.45/70s with this bullet loaded over only 5 grains of black powder. And, with that load, they d do their shooting right inside the barracks!

10 My shots with the Lyman collar button bullets worked real well. The bullets were seated deep enough to cover the BPC lube in the bullet s groove. Those collar buttons were seated over only 7.5 grains (by weight) of loose Olde Eynsford 3F powder, that s 2.5 grains more than the old indoor load. It's rather unusual to hear about black powder loaded loose in a cartridge case but this is a special application and this load works very well. The rifle had a very light report and that quiet boom was followed by a rather loud snap as the blunt little bullet punched through the paper target at 25 yards. Two rifles were taken for shooting with the collar button loads. The first rifle tried was my favorite lightweight Sharps Model 1874 by C. Sharps Arms, a.45/70 with a 28" barrel. The second rifle was a Browning Model 1886 carbine and that gun used the collar button bullet nicely but only when single loaded. Of course, both of those.45/70 rifles were sighted in for much heavier loadings. And, in order to satisfy my widening curiosity, the chronograph was set-up to record the velocities with these 7.5 grain loads. Five shots were recorded for velocity from each rifle and, I know this will take your breath away, they both had an average speed of 429 feet per second! The extreme spread of velocities gives good indication of inconsistent burning of the powder. If we were working up a long range load that extreme spread would not be tolerated but for this light load it is simply a characteristic we should be aware about. My next step was to load more of the collar buttons but over 10 grains (by weight) of the Olde Eynsford 3F powder. These were tried only in the Sharps, mainly to take advantage of that rifle s peep sight. And, while holding the front blade halfway into the black, the 10 grain loads performed very well on the target posted at 25 yards. The last shot in that little group was the one seen low and to the left. A blow-tube was not being used and maybe some fouling was setting in. But the first few shots went right where they should have and I m very pleased with the way the collar button is hitting. The 10 grain loads had an average velocity of 559 feet per second and they still sounded like a.22 Short when being fired. Also, the 145 grain bullet fired a 559 fps carries an energy of 100 foot pounds which is more than what a serious small game hunter needs. What the collar button does is to greatly increase the range of use for rifles of.45/70 or similar caliber. There is no better load for introducing a youngster to shooting the black powder cartridge rifles and the light collar button loads make these otherwise big booming rifles excellent for small game. More shooting with the collar button will be done in this neck of the woods. In future stories I hope to include grouse and rabbits, maybe even with some interesting recipes, which might be gathered while on big game hunts with our black powder.45/70 rifles. You will find Lyman products in just about any sporting goods store or if you want to contact Lyman more directly, perhaps to request their catalog, write to them at; Lyman Products Corporation, 475 Smith Street, Middletown, Connecticut You can also visit their website at As a final comment about these light.45/70 bullets, let me just say they are a lot of fun and "Small game, look out!"

11 ARMED PATRIOT DRONE T-SHIRTS C. Sharps Arms Armed Patriot Drone T-Shirts. Logo reads, I AM AN ARMED PATRIOT DRONE, CONTROLLED BY GOD. These Tee s are 100% cotton, available sized Medium, Large, and Extra Large. Colors, either red or blue. Price $15.00 plus postage. To get your shirt send orders to or call C. Sharps Arms, P.O. Box 885, Big Timber, MT Pnone: You can also order these shirts from our web site at These new shirts do make a timely statement. Let s spread the news by declaring our loyalty and faith.

12 OLD WEST CENTERFIRES 2014 SEASON FINALE By Bob Gietz The last remnant of Sharps shooters gathered at the Black Powder Range on September 6th to competitively get a stand and conclude accumulating scores towards the seasonal aggregate. Doug Simpson and Kent Dunn were back on the present list, Kent to observe, Doug to aggravate the bargain hunters with his recently acquired Taylor s Sharps. Dave Dolliver and Doug Simpson managed the scoring, Bill Wirtaanen was also a range visitor. Reliable Tony Yaklich was on hand to keep the coffee pot filled. Order of fire was 50 yards, 10 rounds fired from a sitting position over cross-sticks, double-bullseye buffalo with 5 rounds scoring on each bullseye. Two additional shots were fired offhand at the 50 yard steel hanging turkey. At 100 yards we fired 10 rounds sitting over cross-sticks at a regulation 200 yard bullseye target plus another two rounds fired offhand at the 75 yard hanging steel turkey. Those added offhand shots were scored at 10 points per hit and they are indicated in an added column in the scoring list below. We might also note that while only four shooters felt competitive enough to join in the fun for this final shoot of the year, all four of them used rifles from C. Sharps Arms. And those Allen Cunniff fires his C. Sharps.45/70 at one of the offhand targets rifles were all 1874 Models except for Mike Nesbitt s Model 1885 Highwall in.40/70 SS caliber. However, for the offhand shooting, Mike put the Highwall down and used his faithful Model 1874 by C. Sharps chambered for the.50/70 cartridge. This is John s.50/70, a grand 1874 round barreled sporting rifle Another.50/70, the one belonging to John Weger, did an outstanding job because John had the highest score, by just one point, on the 100 yard targets. John, as you might note, had the 2 nd highest score on the paper targets. If he had connected with his first two offhand shots our list of winners would be in a different order. Results, in order of the day s Aggregate Score were: Name Rifle & Caliber 50 yd. 100 yd. Offhand Total 1. Allen Cunniff 1874 C. Sharps Arms 45/ x x 2. Mike Nesbitt 1885 C. Sharps Arms 40/70SS 98-4x x 3. Don Kerr 1874 C. Sharps Arms 45/ x x 4. John Weger 1874 C. Sharps Arms 50/70 93x x

13 Mike s.40/70 SS Highwall by C. Sharps Arms Club prizes were awarded for the top three in the daily match in addition to the awards donated by C. Sharps Arms. Then seasonal aggregate prizes for all places were provided by C Sharps Arms which were a variety of Sharps-themed prints and merchandise items. Seasonal aggregate scores were a total of all shooting done in our matches for 2014 which were: Name Calibers Used Seasonal Aggregate Score 1. Allen Cunniff.45/90 &.45/ x 2. Mike Nesbitt.44/77,.50/70, &.40/70 SS x 3. Don Kerr.45/70 &.45/ x 4. Will Ulry 1874 Shiloh Sharps.45/ x 5. Kent Dunn Pedersoli Sharps.45/ x 6. Bob DeLisle Pedersoli Sharps x 7. John Weger 1874 C. Sharps Arms.50/ x 8. Ron Folty 1874 C Sharps Arms.45/70 273x 9. Adam Sampson 1874 C Sharps Arms.50/ x 10. Tim Sampson Pedersoli Sharps.50/ Fran Huntington 1873 Trapdoor.45/ Just before the awards were presented we had a shooter s meeting where a discussion was held about what to do for next year. Everyone agreed that we should do more shooting. In response to that, next year we will hold six matches, three on the 200 yard range and the other three on the 100 yard black powder range. More offhand shooting will be included. The yearly aggregate scoring will include the best five daily scores for each shooter, which will allow a shooter to miss one of the shoots and still be competitive for the yearly or seasonal awards. Offhand shots at our shorter ranges can be continued with the thicker silhouette targets for 100 yards. Inspection of the 50 & 75 yard silhouette targets showed no damage attributed to the black powder buffalo guns. It was all in fun and we certainly all had fun!! To the left is a photo of the four shooters who turned out for this last event of the season; kneeling are Mike Nesbitt and John Weger, standing are Allen Cunniff and Don Kerr.

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15 MY VISIT TO C. SHARPS ARMS By Allen Cunniff Opportunities sometimes present themselves with little notice and often lead to unexpected outcomes. When Mike Nesbitt suggested taking a weeklong trip to Forsythe, Montana, to attend the 2014 Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match, he also remarked that his travel plan included a visit to the C. Sharps Arms factory and showroom in Big Timber. The chance to experience the Quigley match appealed to me greatly. As it turns out, although I scarcely realized it at the time, the visit to Big Timber would be the highlight of my trip. I had been shooting a black powder cartridge rifle for a little less than a year, and every event was and is a learning experience. Our local shooting club near Olympia, Washington, has a small but enthusiastic coterie of BPCR shooters and hosts several bullseye shoots each year at our limited ranges of 50, 100, and 200 yards. Another facility in Eatonville, Washington, hosts black powder NRA Silhouette matches at ranges from 200 to 500 meters. As a beginning shooter, I had but one rifle I used for all disciplines; and it is a Shiloh Sharps 1874 Hartford in.45/90 with straight stock, 34 heavy barrel, and a smooth buttplate. Although it is an accurate rifle off the bench or across sticks, it has always been rather awkward when shooting offhand due to its barrel-heavy balance and neutral grip. Between the various local events, we spend a lot of time and consume a lot of powder working loads and establishing sight settings. These local experiences have been invaluable as sources of shared tips and suggested solutions for the problems endemic to beginning shooters, but the opportunities for realizing the potential of BPCR shooting is limited by ranges available. The experience offered at the Quigley shoot included its longer ranges and, more importantly, a larger community of enthusiasts with countless hours of experience. The journey itself offered the opportunity of putting day to day concerns behind and partaking in extended conversation focused on shooting, poetry, and the history of the American railroad. Part of the conversation involving shooting inevitably turned to the question of What will your next rifle be? Following my limited silhouette shooting experience, my hypothetical rifle would necessarily include a shorter barrel, pistol grip, and checkered buttplate. However, I was most emphatically not in the market for a new rifle, thank you very much. Big Timber is not exactly a sprawling metropolis. Although as a compact ranching community, it contains a surprising collection of amenities. The Fort, a local convenience store, includes a surprisingly robust sporting goods section. Local eateries served excellent food and were meeting places for local ranchers. Most significantly to the black powder enthusiast, Big Timber carries the distinction of being home to both Shiloh Sharps as well as C. Sharps Arms manufacturing facilities. During our visit, there was a steady stream to both showrooms as competitors and their families who, like ourselves, were on their way to Quigley. Our first stop was the showroom/museum/manufacturing facility of C. Sharps Arms. That s rather easy to find, just look for the covered wagon. The showroom is an eclectic A row of Model 1874 Sharps carbines

16 mixture of photographs, rifle parts, library, reloading components, and RIFLES!! A collection of wood and steel combined in timeless style, an impressive array of models spanning much of the C. Sharps Arms catalog (and visible on the C. Sharps Arms website) from stock to richly crafted custom models. This tempting display gives the visitor easy opportunity to closely examine the quality and artistry the goes into the production of the C. Sharps arms as well as providing visual comparisons of the various and numerous models. We were greeted by Nancy Schoffstall, wife of C. Sharps founder John Schoffstall, who graciously welcomed us and spent no small time fielding our many questions. John arrived later and introductions were made, Nancy then asked if I would like a tour of the production facility and introduced me to a young shop worker by the name of Pat Dulin who proceeded to guide me step by step through the production processes at C. Sharps Arms. Pat introduced me to each of the craftsmen working on the guns in the shop. While I won t name them individually in these short notes that doesn t mean they aren t worthy of being mentioned. I was highly impressed with their work, tools and techniques, especially the stock fitters. Those gentlemen really know what they re doing and, of course, the fit and finish of the rifles John Schoffstall with Highwalls & Low walls behind him Throughout the tour of the facility, I was highly impressed with the craftsmanship and stewardship shown in each step. Rifles and components at C. Sharps Arms are crafted in house, using a combination of modern technology and good old fashioned hand-craftsmanship. The manufacturing process is a model of efficiency, where raw materials removed in each step are utilized in subsequent processes. The Model 1874 receivers are machined from forged billets of steel, and the scrap steel removed is used as raw material for making successively smaller components such as springs, extractors, and screws, until there is virtually no waste material. Receivers are shaped using electrical discharge machining and high tech mills. High tolerance barrels, now generally made by Green Mountain, are chambered and hand fit to the receivers. Fore-ends and buttstocks are meticulously proves it. Pat Dulin at his bench shaped from English walnut and hand fitted to each rifle, resulting to the trademark wood to metal fit characteristic of C. Sharps Arms rifles. Sights are made and assembled on site, barrels blued, receivers case hardened, wood finished...the scope of the process and quality of work is impressive to say the least.

17 From start to finish Following the tour of the facility, Mike motioned me over to a display case on the front wall Sharps Arms even makes their own sights and pointed to one of the rifles. It was something special, a an early C. Sharps Arms Bridgeport model in 45/70 with half-round 30-inch barrel, pistol grip, fancy walnut stock and checkered buttplate. I had to remind Mike that I was not in the market for a new rifle, although with less conviction than before. At that point, John Schoffstall recognized the opportunity and got into the game. While I think I heard the theme from Jaws playing in the background, John began throwing numbers at me. I soon realized one thing: unwavering resolve has a very short half-life. By the end of lunch, I realized that the fight was over and was soon in possession of the rifle I had described the day before. My prospects had changed in short order I was now headed to Quigley with a second rifle in a second caliber. With no ammunition on hand, John graciously offered the use of his reloading bench that afternoon to allow me to put together enough ammo to shoot my new purchase at Quigley during the practice or sight-in. I was and remain impressed with the customer service provided by the staff of C. Sharps Arms. They freely gave of their time and resources and offered wellbased recommendations on choices. I was especially impressed with the quality of their product and their commitment to excellence, showing efficiency without shortcuts, highest standards of quality of production and materials, knowledgeable workers and craftsmen who take great pride in their work, and a genuine commitment to the history and traditions of the great Sharps rifles. Needless to say, this visit set the stage for an enjoyable and fulfilling Quigley experience. Although I used my time tested.45/90 during the competition, I had the opportunity to practice with my new.45/70 rifle and received many complements from other shooters on its appearance. I took advantage of the many opportunities that presented themselves during the trip and as a result came away with a much greater reward than I anticipated. Allen Cunniff with his new Model 1874 Sharps.45/70

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