Target Sports

BLACK POWDER: 'BUFFALO GUN' BOASTS ACCURACY

Created on 14th May 2009

DAVE FROGGETT reviews Pedersoli's 1874 Sharps, which is as business-like as the original

IF YOU say the words "Buffalo Gun", most people who have any idea about the subject instantly think of the Sharps Rifle. The gun was a development from the breech-loading percussion rifle which had seen service in the American Civil War and had become famous for its accuracy - particularly in the hands of Berdan's Sharp Shooters.

The new cartridge version soon became affectionately known as ‘Old Reliable' and was the rifle that became synonymous with power and long range accuracy. It was, however, also instrumental in the destruction of the mighty buffalo (bison) herds of the American plains which is where the term Buffalo Gun came from.

Test gun

The test rifle is Pedersoli's version of the 1874 Sharps Sporting Standard in 45/70 calibre. The straight hand walnut stock is pleasantly oil finished and is chequered on both pistol grip and forend. The cheekpiece is fairly low with a flat top. The rifle is provided with double set triggers, an open ladder rearsight and a German silver foresight. These can be replaced with a number of sighting options including the various Creedmoor tang sights and globe front sights - even a version including a spirit level.

The standard versions have the standard drop to heel but some competition models are available with a straighter stock to improve prone shooting position. The test rifle has a steel ‘crescent'-style butt plate and Schnabel forend.

The octagonal barrel is well finished and blacked while all the other metal work is attractively colour-case hardened. The overall feeling is of a sturdy, well finished rifle with no frills - very business-like, as was the original Sharps Sporting rifle which it approximates.

Billy Dixon et al The Sharps legend has been perpetrated by many feats of long range accuracy, but few greater than that of Billy Dixon. The ‘town' of Adobe Walls had been rekindled as a trading post which mightily annoyed the Native Americans - particularly as the majority of the trading was done with buffalo hunters, settlers and prospectors travelling through the Texas panhandle.

A combined force of Comanche, Cheyenne and Kiowa warriors (estimated in excess of 700 strong and led by Comanche Chief Quanah Parker) attacked the 28 inhabitants of Adobe Walls. Previously the chief had convinced the warriors his medicine would render them impervious to the white man's bullets. The 11 who lay dead after the first assault would disagree. The warriors retired to a ‘safe distance' and Billy Dixon, already renowned for his prowess with the rifle, decided to try his hand. Borrowing a 50/90 Sharps from the saloon owner he shot a Kiowa warrior off his horse. Two weeks later US Army surveyors measured the distance at 1,538yd! Lucky shot? Unlucky Indian? Dixon never argued otherwise but it is one of the stories that fuel the legend of the mighty Sharps. Pedersoli even commemorates the man who made the shot by naming one variant of its reproduction after him. The repro has an oil-finished chequered stock and forend, German silver forend cap and tang sight. It is offered in 45/70 and 45/90 with a 34" tapered octagon barrel.

Hollywood has done its fair share of Sharps propaganda too. Many will remember Burt Lancaster as Bob Valdez the Mexican constable who makes a shot at "closer to one thousand," but surely Tom Selleck as Mathew Quigley in Quigley Down Under must have the ultimate PR title - especially as competitions, associations and even another Pedersoli reproduction Sharps rifle now carry the Quigley logo. The 34" barrelled Pedersoli rifle has the patch box from the Infantry Model and saddle ring from the cavalry model combined with the German silver forend cap of the premium grade guns. It is available in a range of calibres from 45/70 to 50/90 including Mr Quigley's 45/110.

Stock

The stock's length of pull is 14" to the front trigger. The crescent butt plate is wide at 1½" and 5" tall which helps distribute recoil to the shooter's shoulder. Let's face it, recoil is a factor. With 405gn bullets and a case full of powder anybody who says 45/70 doesn't recoil much hasn't shot one. However, with reasonable loads, the recoil is manageable and not harsh. If you keep your right thumb out of the way of your nose and maintain good shoulder contact the venerable old cartridge is quite pleasant to shoot. The crescent butt plate fits in one position in the shoulder, which is great - if it's the place you want! Get it wrong and the corners dig in unmercifully. To this end many of the Pedersoli Sharps replicas have flatter shotgun-style butt plates (eg the Silhouette version) which I find a better choice than the crescent version as it allows a little more flexibility.

Barrel

The 32" barrel is octagonal, stepping down quickly from 1¼" to just over an inch at the breech then tapering to 7/8" at the muzzle. The barrel is rifled with six grooves with a 1 in 18" twist making it suitable for heavy, long bullets up to about 550gn. Pedersoli takes a great deal of care with its barrel manufacture. The tubes are first bored and then the barrel's interior is highly polished. This means the tops of the lands will have a high degree of finish and reduce leading. After rifling, the bore is lead lapped, again to produce the smoothest, most uniform bore possible. But because lapping can slightly enlarge the bore at the breech and muzzle, Pedersoli cuts nearly 6" from the barrel after lapping. In addition, the barrel is checked and straightened if necessary at three separate stages during the process.

The rifle has no ‘Hartford Collar' - a recessed ring just in front of the junction between the barrel and action. However, there appears to be one included on some of the deluxe versions illustrated in the new edition of the Pedersoli catalogue.

Cleaning

Another reason I like the Sharps action for black powder cartridge shooting is that it is easy to clean. Pushing the small button at the front right hand side of the action allows the loading lever hinge pin to be rotated and withdrawn. This allows the whole breech block to be easily removed and cleaned up. The barrel can be cleaned in a separate operation and the external hammer means there is very little opportunity for fouling to get into the works.

Loads of smoke

The .45-70 cartridge (45 - 2 1/10) was first introduced with the Model 1873 single shot Springfield (using the 405gn bullet) and wasn't one of the original Sharps calibres. However, the versatility of the round and its military availability made it an obvious calibre to introduce and was quickly adopted.

The modern 45/70 cases have lower case capacity than the old (weaker) balloon head versions. Therefore, with black powder, about 65gn is all you'll stuff in at standard length using the 405gn bullet from the standard government loading for the Springfield.

For my initial loads I decided to go for ‘standard' components and acquired some GM ‘Hardcast' 405gn lead bullets from which I removed the lube and replaced it with SPG black powder bullet lubricant. Star-line brass was prepared with a CCI primer, 60gn of Swiss 3 delivered through a 24" drop tube. An over powder card wad with 0.1" of compression followed by the GM Hardcast 405gn lead bullet gave a smooth shooting, accurate black powder load - grouping around 5" at 200yd using the standard open sights supplied.

Although this worked out OK I'd prefer a bullet which would carry a bit more lube and a suitable cast bullet of a better alloy mix could perhaps be substituted. For longer ranges the 500gn bullets do a better job and can be loaded well out to the rifling as maximum cartridge overall length is not an issue in a single shot. However, the vertical sliding breech has no ‘camming' action and so won't assist in seating an overly long cartridge if the bullet bumps into the rifling. Also using coarser Swiss 4 (1½ FG) powder would probably assist giving a more progressive burn.

Smokeless zone

Although the Sharps does have a relatively strong action I like to keep pressures to sensible levels. With extravagant amounts of smokeless powder the 45/70 can be loaded to quite amazing energy levels but this involves jacketed bullets and strong modern rifles. Even if I'm not using BP I still prefer the lead bullets and the accompanying moderate velocities for which the cartridge was originally designed.

To this end a couple of interesting new powders are doing the rounds and have been specifically made for Cowboy Action shooting in the States and elsewhere. These are Tin Star by Vihtavuori and Trail Boss by IMR Hodgdon. They are relatively fast burning but are low density so they eat up the volume of the large ex-black powder cartridges nicely. I've never been a fan of small amounts of smokeless rattling around in big cases and have a nasty aversion to using fillers, so these new powders fit the bill.

Loads from 12-13gn of Trail Boss behind a GM Hardcast 405gn lead bullet were tried at 50m - the groups were all under an inch and velocities in the 1,050fps category. The best load came from 12.2gn which ran at around 1,036fps. The same loads gave about 1½" inch groups at 100yd - producing shooting which was both accurate and very pleasant.

No data is available for the Tin Star as yet for the 45/70. However, some experimental shooting has produced excellent results in line with the Trail Boss performance. I hope more data becomes available for these powders as they lend themselves favourably to cast bullet shooting and with these kinds of loads a friend remarked that, apart from the bark, it's like shooting a massive .22 RF!

I decided a bit more velocity would be in order at 100 and 200yd and settled on a load of 36gn of Vihtavuori N133 behind the same 405gn bullet. This gave good accuracy, in line with that achieved using Trail Boss at 100yd but running at around 1,400fps.

A change to Vihtavuori N135 behind the same 405gn bullet was not a pleasant experience. A charge of 44gn produced teeth-rattling recoil which was on the ‘ouch' side of stout - no matter how recoil-resistant you are it eventually tells on your ability to deliver the accuracy. My first three shots went into just over 5" at 300yd - however the next two opened up the group considerably, mostly due to me having had enough.

Good accuracy together with reasonable velocities came from 45gn of Varget, the best group running in at 8" at 300 yd.

A sight for sore eyes

The accuracy can be outstanding if you do your bit but the sight system will benefit from a few additions. As mentioned earlier, the standard Pedersoli Sharps comes equipped with a German silver blade foresight and a flip-up ladder rear sight. However, the aftermarket Pedersoli tang sights are highly recommended. They come in various versions with my particular favourites being the Long and Medium Range Creedmoor. These sights extend the sight radius and give relatively precise vertical and horizontal adjustments as well as making it easier to aim. In all they make the inherent accuracy of the rifles a bit more deliverable. If you need further adjustment an add-on eye piece will give you different
aperture sizes.

The frontsight can also be replaced by one of several tunnel foresight options. These come with combinations of interchangeable elements, spirit levels and windage adjustment - pretty much everything that would be available on a modern target rifle to allow you to optimise the sight system. Furthermore all the adjustments on the sights ‘lock up' so they can be trusted not to adjust themselves under recoil.

Beyond this, Pedersoli is now offering long and short versions of the Malcolm telescope sights. The sights feature external adjustments and certainly look the part of a 19th century scope but have better optical quality and are nitrogen filled, sealed tubes.

These will obviously give even more precise aiming but my guess is that the tang sight will be the choice of the majority.

Conclusion

I like Sharps rifles, and the Pedersoli repro is no exception. I think the Pedersoli in its various forms is the best value for money Sharps repro around at the moment. There are others, but the Pedersoli gives good build quality, competitive accuracy and reliable function at reasonable cost. Also they are generally available and have a good range of versions and finishes to suit most. They are largely in keeping with original models and can be accessorised at moderate cost. What more do you want? No, you can't have a herd of Buffalo...

Technical Specification

Model: 1874 Sharps
Make: Pedersoli
Calibre: 45/70 on test
Action: Single shot, falling block
Weight: 10½lb
Overall length: 48¾"
Barrel: 32"
Cost: £1,570

Contact: Viking Arms,
T: 01423 781500