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This is the one I'm using right now. I don't have any pictures of it with the Soule Tang sight (just like Taylor's sights) and Sharps Globe front. For this picture it has an original Carbine ladder sight and silver blade front sight.

This was an "In The Rough" Italian 1868 Sharps milled-only, cast 4140 Action I had to draw-file, polish, then had finished in "Metal-Oy" - a hard penetrating finish - .007" deep I was told. I modified the hammer to appear more like a model 74 hammer. Anyway, it has a Green Mountain 35"X18" twist #3 1/2 heavy Winchester taper barrel and will do a bit less than 1" with jacketed bullets using smokeless and 1 to 1 1/2" with black powder, at 100 meters using 506gr. and 530gr. grooved lubed bullets and 61gr. 1F GOEX or 1 1/2F Swiss. I chambered it with my .458 2" reamer, to take a .45 1.9" case (shortened .45/70 case). Due to the throat, my OAL runs, depending on the bullet, from 2.6" to 3.0" in length, thus any load listed for Trapdoor Springfields are OK in this rifle, pressure wise, due to the BP firing pin.
The rifle weighs 12 pounds 8 ounces, which I think, is too haevy for competition in the States. If I shortened the bl. to 33", to the front sight, it would be OK.

This is a close-up of the action, as I finished it, with an original .50/70 modified 1859 barrel and sights. The barrel was originally a .54 cal percussion barrel, lined then chambered & converted to CF under contract to Sharps by the Government in 1867. It has 3 groove, nice shiny rifling and does shoot well, btw, but not well enough for match shooting, of course. The 42" twist lets it down, along with it's short sight radius.

Here is my Bro shooting his .50/90 Shiloh with a 28" McGowen, his match #3 taper 24" twist Barrel. Bro shoots a 600gr. Buffalo Arms mould, spitzer, with 91gr. 1 1/2 Swiss. It's running almost 1,300fps - and will group close to or right at an inch at 100 meters. This rifle weighs 11.5 pounds with sights.

I didn't have any ammo loaded for my own .45 1.9" Sharps at Rendezvous last August, so we both used Taylor's .50/90 rifle. Shooting was mostly offhand, with one cross-stick target - I think it was about 450yards. The rest of the targets ran 110yards to the first target at 650yards & all on steel plates or animal silhouettes. Another lad from our home town won first place with his Navy Arms rolling block .45/70 shooting 65gr. 2F GOEX and Lyamn #457125 bullet cast in WW alloy, while Taylor and I took second and third places. Yeah - I only got third - afterall, I couldn't really show up my brother with his rifle now, could I? It was a small match - maybe 40 competitors.
BTW- 91gr. Swiss boots pretty good with a 600gr. bullet, even in an 11 1/2 pound rifle.

Edited by Daryl_S (06/02/16 10:24 AM)

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