Sharps .45-70 Carbine

[elhombreconnonombre]

On layaway via winning bid on GB. American Arms IAB Sharps Carbine.

Edited with a couple more pics and a question.

So were the original Sharps carbines equipped only with a sling rail for direct attachment to the swivel on the cross body sling and no ring?

 

[Crawdad1]

That is a good looking rifle, Elhombre. How do you feed it, paper cartridges and a percussion cap for ignition???

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

I've got an IAB percussion .54 Sharps that survived being used in reenactments for about 10 years, then was sold to me over a sutlers table at a reenactment of Morgan's raid in Georgetown, SW Ohio and has worked well with me rolling my own cigarette paper cartridges for another 10.

Do you already reload .45-70 or is this a foray into a new caliber?

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

C Daddie and EK
Brass .45-70. first experience with such animules...will be loading my own given the cost of store bought. Still lots to learn.

I had a chance last year before my heart attacks and bypass to buy a papercutter percussion Pedersoli Sharps, hopefully for GAF sanctioned competition. But was told only single shot brass cartridge rifles of the type manufacturered after 1866 were eligible. I vaccilated between getting a Springfield Trapdoor, Martini Henry and a Sharps. I found a MH, but it was an iffy KP copy. I found a Chiappa Leander McNelly edition in .50-70, but it was exorbitantly expensive, then Cimmaron quit selling them. I found this one in .45-70 which should be ok for a GAF impression of a Texas Ranger in the Las Cuevas War, where 30 Texas Rangers illegally invaded Mexico in 1875 to retrieve some stolen cattle, raided the wrong ranchero, eliminated all of the vaqueros, then discovered their error and were surrounded by hundreds of Mexican federal troops and Mexican paramilitary units.

Had it not been for the prescence of a company of U.S. Army cavalry on the Texas side of the Rio Grande supporting the Rangers withdrawal, and the fatalistic bravado of Capt. Leander McNelly, who was dying of tuberculosis, the small band of Rangers might have perished to a man.

It did spark a major diplomatic incident for which the U.S. govt. paid damages to Mexico and averted a real war.

 

[Crawdad1]

Oh brother, the caliber is in the title to your post.

From the pic it looked like a percussion Sharps.

 

[BHP FAN]

OK, NOW I'm just jealous...

 

[AJumbo]

I took my first elk with one of these, from Richland Arms. 85 yards, Remington 405gr. soft point, DRT. Wish I'd been able to talk the owner into selling it to me.

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

It will be 4 mo. until I see this carbine and determine if its a keeper or a "Its Always Broke" model. They apparently made both.

 

[Iggy]

It should have the ring.. the snap would booger things up pretty bad if just hooked into the rail.

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

Hunters take the rings off.

Too much noise potential.

You can get new carbine rings at several of the parts stores for a few bucks.

Nice '59 Iggy.

It even looks like all the Lawrence pellet feed parts are there.

 

[Iggy]

Wish it were mine. Just stock photos off the net to show the ring.

I have a Shiloh rifle in 45-70. I don't envy elhombreconnonombre if he touches that little carbine off with modern rounds.

The Cavalry reduced bullet size and powder charges in carbine rounds to reduce the recoil the tiny troopers had to endure with the light carbines.

 

[Jim Watson]

"The Cavalry reduced bullet size (No) and powder charges (Yes) in carbine rounds to reduce the recoil the tiny troopers had to endure with the light carbines."

The original load was .45-70-405, the carbine load was .45-55-405.

The .45-70-500 load did not come in until 1881 based on the ultra long range trials at Sandy Hook. The .45-80-500 in a 2.4" case was better but they did not want to have to change case and chamber length.

 

[Stony]

You will have a lot of fun with that one. The 45/70 is such a versitile cartridge you can just load them to whatever power level you want. I have a couple Shiloh's and they are a hoot to shoot. Mine mostly see smokeless powder since I don't compete with them anymore.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Nice Sharps carbine el. Hope it shoots well for you.
I have a Uberti trapdoor carbine that I like. I just wrapped the ring with a strip of buckskin to quiet it down. I load and shoot the Montana Precision 405gr hollow base or flat base bullets over 55gr of 3f Goex.

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

Bastrop Co. announced a $7.50 per piggie tail bounty. I sure would like to take a wild pig or two with a bp cartridge Sharps and show those airborne whirlybird ridin' semi-auto shootin' fellers how it was done way back when.

 

[Iggy]

45-70 is a heck of a fine round. Have fun.

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

The Ordnance Officer over on the CAS City/GAF forum approved my use of the .45-70 Sharps and my choice of a pair of single action percussion or cartridge/cartridge conversion cylinder single action six shooters, even though the Rangers were likely equipped with .50-70 Sharps carbines...close enough.
I think I am gonna like GAF competition, as it is single shot main battle rifle as the emphasis, with less emphasis on the revolver...basically a two gun (rifle and revolver, no lever action repeaters allowed), skirmish, advance, engage, move game...reloading from whatever you have on you, on the clock as needed to engage targets on the clock until are hit...no misses or skipped targets. It is not a super speed game with highly "race" tuned lever guns, saa's. and shotguns, but there are long range side stages.

They periodically have GAF type events down my way at Plum Creek near Lockhart, but the big events are the Departmental GAF and annual GAF musters out of state, since there is no GAF Department of Texas group as I can determine. I will likely be assigned to the Department of Missouri.
The annual muster in 2016 is slated to be a shoot based on the the Battle of the Little Big Horn (140th anniversary). The primary shooting stages will be based on the fight at "Renos Hill" and "Water Carrier's Ravine", plus a long distance event, likely based on the actions of one of the Sargeants (John Ryan) in Co. M under Reno's command. Ryan happened to be carrying his own personnel Sharps on the campaign, despite Custer's orders to travel light with a relatively small amount of cartridges per trooper on their person with the pack train carrying the bulk of their ammo and provisions. The sargeant broke up a group of of Cheyenne and Sioux warriors sniping at him and his men using his Sharps. He also testified that he buried Custer on Custer Hill. He resigned from the army before the end of 1876.