Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Little Sharps Rifle Mfg.

Talk about a neat gun, the little sharps rifles are a miniture Quigly Down Under in almost all rimmed calibers and of most interest to me are the 38-55 and 25-35 and the 30-40 Krag might be a good'un also..Cost $2950 but they also have an Italian Clone for $1250, in 38-55 and 45 Colt right now with other calibers to follow..I been thinking it is a must have in 25-35 for this old curmudgeon..

Anybody had one in their hands?

I picked up the Italian Charles Daly "Little Sharps" in 218 Bee about a month ago, along with the "Malcom" 3x scope.

It's certainly not the equal of the current American-made rifle in fit or finish, but it's not bad.

The extractor on mine was pretty floppy, and allowed the case rims to get caught between the extractor and the breech face. On the through-pin on which the extractor pivots,I installed a brass washer-shim between the extractor and frame. Now it behaves as an extractor should. I have not yet finished wringing it out for accurracy, but it seems to be working towards 1 moa.

Here's a link to a possibly helpful review: http://www.gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/This+Bees+A+Little+Sharp

--Bob

Sorry, I haven't tried one, but most of the reports I've seen have been favorable. If the reports you find aren't what you were hoping for, there's a fellow in Oregon who makes '77 Sharps replicas, and he's interested in building a 3/4 scale version. Since he builds his one at a time, the price is a wee bit more. To my eye, the '77 is a far more handsome rifle than the '74, but the '74 was far more common in the old west and so might be more to your liking.

What I would really like is a miniture 25-35 in a highwall thick side, half oct/half round 26 or 28 inch barrel and stuff it with 85 and 90 gr. bullets at about 2800 FPS...That would be a super nice gun and fun to hunt with.

I'll ask if he's made high walls the next time I talk with him.

Over on the ASSRA forums, a fellow mentioned that

Falling Block Works
P.O. Box 303
Rapid City, MI 49676
Attn. Leo Fix
231-590-7391

makes a small falling block similar to the Winchester. I have not contacted him. Some posts on the internet suggest this company is out of business.

I too am in the market for a light falling block. Great minds think alike: I'd settled (more or less) on the .25-35. Knowing the fellow in OR makes '77 Sharps and knowing about the Little Sharps led me to contact him. I like Ballards, but scaled down it simply couldn't take a case of that diameter at those pressures; a warm .32-20 would be about tops for it--a bit too wimpy for deer.

I have one of the Daly's in 30-30 and it's a sweet little rifle, was thinking, like you, about the 25-35. I don't have the optic on mine, and don't have the best vision, but I've managed a few 3 shot groups with mine that where under moa. With the trigger set you only have to think shoot and it does.

My only gripe is that the scaled down lever doesn't leave much room for a set trigger and it will also whack the front of your finger.

It would be nice if the tang sight had a mechanical type adjustment. Anyone know if there is something out there that will work on that rifle?

To each his own. I love traditional single shots, but have no interest in these scaled down versions of the Sharps, etc.

My point in posting isn't to be critical, but to say that what is needed is a reasonably priced 1885 low wall, with an original type mechanism including a good set trigger option. Seems that there are more high walls on the current market than low walls, the C. Sharps and newer Pedersoli coming to mind. There is little available between the Mirokus, which are not a true 1885 and not adaptable to set triggers, scarce originals, and very expensive replica 1885s such as the Ballards, commonly called "Ballwalls". The only one I am aware of is the Uberti, which gets mixed reviews and isn't offered as an action only.

One problem with using a big action for smaller calibers is that loading small rounds into a big deep action is awkward, the .22RF being the worst. Drop a cartridge short of the chamber and it gets "lost". Same with an extracted empty. Not a good fit, just plain awkward.

I've just made a case for the miniaturized Sharps after all, but I just don't find it appealing.

Paul

Not everyone wants to tote a 7.5 lb rifle when a 5 lb rifle will do. My Contender Carbine has the right heft for many uses, but I'm not wild about the action. I don't need a slavish copy of a particular action, but some actions have desirable mechanical features. The Ballard's silky smooth operation and very accessible breech face are an example. An exact scale replica can suffer from too small a trigger guard, etc., and so I see no need to scale exactly.

Good points, 2525. I've said this before, but I'd worry about continuing availability of spare parts for a reduced size replica. Just part of design evolution. Firing pin and lever spring in the case of the 74 Sharps.

Arms manufacturers, especially in the smaller specialized niches, tend to come and go.

Paul

I think the Little Sharps would be a nice gun, there are a lot of cartridges it could be chambered for. How about a 219 Zipper? I've always thought a mini Ruger #1 would be a neat gun chambered for smaller cartridges.

FWIW,

I love origional sized Sharps, but miniturizing them makes for a cramped arangement, IMHO.

That why god invented 1885 Low walls..

Nothing wrong with the Uberti made Low walls,IMHO, one of them in 32-20 or .22 Hornet would do anything a little Sharps would do in a slicker , more authentic package.

I have several orgional Winchester '85s in the safe, but amoung my most used rifles are my two Uberti made Cimmarron Low Walls- one in .22LR and one in .32-20.The only thing I felt the need to do to mine was a little trigger work and convert the action to full cock on opening.

The only thing bad about the Ubertis is they simply can't ship enough of them to meet the overall demand during the last 6 years. Most folks have never even HANDLED one and yet they are more than happy to pronounce them as "unworthy"..

So ... Uberti can build a perfectly good Colt SAA , Winchester 1873 or 1876 replica rifle but somehow when they built a low wall they have forgotten how to make guns..? Come on..pull the other leg, LOL

I have to agree with what jim said:

"I love origional sized Sharps, but miniturizing them makes for a cramped arangement, IMHO.

That why god invented 1885 Low walls.."

A bit of a tangent, but there's a thread on the Shiloh site about vintage .22 single shots. What caught my interest is a post about a full size Shiloh 1874 Sharps converted to .22 RF. I'd never heard of that conversion being done, but I'm sure it would be possible. A working extractor would be a bit tricky. Lots of Sharps shooters use .22 liner inserts, which are offset to catch the firing pin on the .22 rim.

Paul

http://www.shilohrifle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14257

I have handled one of the miniature Sharps at a local dealer, sorry I forget what brand. Everything was scaled down in proportion. It had double set triggers, and the silly triggers were so close together I had trouble getting my fingers between them - and I don't have thick fingers.

I too like the idea of a scaled down Ruger #1, or even just a Low Wall, but it is indeed a niche market. Seems like it would be tough for a gunmaker to ever amortize his design, setup, and tooling cost.

I need to look for another Browning Low Wall in .260 rem....

Actually, I did go back and look at it again this evening. It's a Taylor's, made by Chiappa and I think it's a miniature copy of the 1877 Sharps. (I am not a Sharps guru)Double set triggers, tang sight, .22 magnum caliber. $1100, which is kinda steep for a toy like that. The same gun in a Hornet, Bee... or even in .32-20 or .30-30 would be a lot more interesting, I think.

I don't see any low wall replicas on the Uberti sight? Is there somewhere else to look?

tex n cal,

The Charles Daly Little Sharps is available in quite a few chamberings, including 30-30.

If you could palm a standard basketball, the trigger guard would be a confining place.

K,

Cimmaron Arms and Talyors & Co both show the Uberti Made Low walls on their website..

They have always been backordered and usually hard to get, but overall, worth the wait and the price.

I think a mini #1 would go over good if they could keep the price fairly reasnable. That's why the mini sharps aren't real popular, the average guy like me isn't going to pay or can't pay those kind of prices. Somebody had to do the design, setup, and tooling on the original and every other new gun that comes out. There's all kinds of smaller cartridges it could be chambered for. I think the gun companies are missing the boat on guns sometimes. They should get on sites like this, gun mags., etc. and really interview the average joe shooter and find out what it is they really want, then make it. They bring out way to many new guns and cartridges that last a couple years then everybody loses interest. Myself, I would be far more interested in a mini #1 than the new "black gun" they just brought out. I believe there's a place for them but, getting to be way to many of them out there. Sorry, didn't mean to get off subject, just my opinion.

Thanks,

I was looking at the actual Uberti sight.

If it's any consolation, it took a little doing, and a lot of waiting, to get the Little Sharps I wanted also.