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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111 |
Keep the Vernier off your hunting gun. Not only are they fragile, but most importantly, they are too slow to adjust for different distances. BTDT. The standard barrel ladder sights, correlated with a laser rangefinder, are the way to go. An elk broadside at 400 yards is an absolute gimme with a ladder buckhorn sight and a blade front. I have taken numerous animals in Africa at distances in excess of 300 yards with barrel sights and blade front, including kudu, wildebeest, springbok, and blesbok. I have taken blesbok at 451 yards, and a springbok at 540 yards, first shot, with barrel sights and cast bullets. I have most of it on dvd. Learn to use the barrel sights, and you are way ahead of the game. if you ever get a wild hair to make a copy of that DVD id love to watch it
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,867
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2007
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The buckhorn from C. Sharps is not the one to have. Leave it alone.
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111 |
U have a suggestion as to where to get one from?
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,867
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,867 |
Check your PM and call me.
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,222
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,222 |
45/70 and elk are like peas and carrots
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111 |
sharpsguy got me squared away. Time to start practicing. Ya'll can post some sharps elk pics if you want though.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 12,651
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 12,651 |
Killed a 6x6 bull at 213 lasered yards with my Marlin .45-70 and a 350g North Fork FP launched at 2181fps. The bullet obliterated sections of the left front leg and near rib, shattered a far rib and came to rest under the hide. The bull never took a step. The day before I had killed a nice buck at 197 lasered yards, quartering away. Bullet exited and the fresh snow looked like someone had sloshed blood out of a bucket. The buck made a tight circle, took a few steps and went down forever.
Take your Sharps and have fun. Don't forget a sharp knife.
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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Joined: Dec 2006
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2006
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 13,938
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 13,938 |
Sounds like an exciting hunt! Doing it with a Sharps will make it so much more special.
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,597 Likes: 11
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,597 Likes: 11 |
What Ive done with similar armament, I REALLY recommend a jacketed soft point over the hard cast. If you insist on using hard cast, aim for bone. Thank me later. I have shot plenty and seen more big game shot with Sharps cartridges and people seem to think that these big bullets will knock a big animal down. Unless you brain or spine them, they won't go down right away. I have shot more than 70 elk with a 30-06 and 300 WBY, and continue to hunt elk with those cartridges as I don't want to lose an elk. This buffalo was 4 shoots and all but one passed completely through with 500 grain bullets. The lst shot was in the back of the head with a 405 grain hard cast...
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,253 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,253 Likes: 2 |
I'll be trying for cow elk this fall with a Sharps rifle and paper patch ammo, haven't decided which cartridge to use yet, shot a bedded 1800 lb bull Eland in the right ham in Africa last November at 60 yards with my 50-90 Sharps and a 750 gr grease groove bullet, he dropped his head and never moved after the shot, the skinner handed me the bullet from his left shoulder, near 9 feet of penetration, the bullet still weighs 743 grains, I was floored with that level of straight line penetration.
Busted a big old blue/black Sable bull at 99 yards too, bullet blew through him like he was made from a sheet of notebook paper.
Trump Won!
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111 |
Thats my plan gunner. Go after a cow or spike and maybe try and sneak in a mulie. Mr Bill got me squared away. Was on vac in mtns chasing trout and had to rush to ER yest morning with what turned out to be gall stones. Now laying in hospital after surgery. Gonna have a week or so off work so itll be time i can do some reloading
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,253 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,253 Likes: 2 |
Thats my plan gunner. Go after a cow or spike and maybe try and sneak in a mulie. Mr Bill got me squared away. Was on vac in mtns chasing trout and had to rush to ER yest morning with what turned out to be gall stones. Now laying in hospital after surgery. Gonna have a week or so off work so itll be time i can do some reloading Holy Damn! and happy healing Phoneman, hope your stitching holds up and heals in time for elk season.
Trump Won!
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,611
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,611 |
I have not used a Sharps for elk but, have used my Browning B-78 .45/70 for several. The load I used was a lead 510 gr. paper patched bullet running 1650 fps. The elk either dropped at the shot or made 5 or 6 steps Although that load worked very well still, I thought the bullet should have exited on broadside shots. Were I to do it again, I would maybe get the hardness up to around 12 bhn for more penetration but, since it ain't broke....... Here is a pic of the load and two recovered bullets from different elk.
Shew me thy ways, O LORD: teach me thy paths. "there are few better cartridges on Earth than the 7 x 57mm Mauser" "the .30 Springfield is light, accurate, penetrating, and has surprising stopping power"
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,275
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,275 |
Who has done it? I have a 45/70 sharps that I want to take out west. Looking at a cow/spike hunt in Utah on horseback. Never been out west or elk hunted, but thought it would mean more to kill one with the old sharps. I'm fine with tag soup but at the same time I want to make sure my equipt will do the job and not be chasing a wounded animal all over the mountains. I load 405 hard casts at about 1300fps. I have no doubt about putting one in the boiler room at 150 or less. Is this feasible, or do I need to just take my 375 h&h or 30-06 Yup, it's just a matter of knowing your limitations with the rifle.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 17,791 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 17,791 Likes: 1 |
Ranch, what kind of Sharps was that and what caliber??
Molon Labe
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,620 Likes: 1
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,620 Likes: 1 |
When sharpsguy speaks Sharps and bullets, consider him as "The Oracle At Delphi." He kindly invited me to his place a few years ago. I didn't know sheitfromshinola about Sharps, black podwer, paper patch bullets, etc. Within about half an hour, he had me hitting his steel ram...at five hundred yards with ladder sights and one of his copper penny front sights he affixed to my rifle. The next year I went buffler hunting with Evil Twin (who gave me the rifle as a retirement gift) and Doc Rocket in Wyoming. It was a classic hunt and a classic scene, right out of the 1870s. I lined this one up at a lazered 92 yards and shot him with a 485gr Parker Hale greaser. When I came off recoil, all I saw were four legs up in the air.
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,111 |
Jorge, Mr Bill and I have talked several times over the past few weeks about sharps and life and all sorts of things. He extended the same offer and I hope that maybe I can extend an AR duck hunting weekend a little further and head to texas and take him up on the offer. Its pretty awesome when someone is passionate about something and is willing to extend their knowledge to a newbie like myself. I hadn't had a chance to really try out the stuff he told me since I had emergency gall bladder surgery right after I talked with him the first time and didn't wanna rip something open. Just been keeping in practice with the old 22's. I gotta say, I do love the site and hope to one day make one of ya'lls meetups.
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,620 Likes: 1
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,620 Likes: 1 |
You will learn more from Bill in one hour than you will anywhere else in ten years.
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,275
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,275 |
Ranch, what kind of Sharps was that and what caliber?? Its a Taylors I bought about 20 years ago. It's typical Italian, has a very long chamber, so while it's stamped 45-70 it needs a case 2.25 or longer. The load that it uses best is 85 grains of 1f with a 500-540 gr paper patch bullet. Poor little raghorn dang near beat his shadow to the ground when that chuck of lead hit him about 204 yards from the muzzle.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
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