I read an article in the last "Handloader" magazine that said Phil Sharpe died under mysterious circumstances , so what were the mysterious circumstances ??????


Mike

Much of this is at best conjecture, and third-hand unnuendo.

Many people seem to think that the (financial) failure of his rifles caused his drinking to go beyond control, and that ultimately he took his own life. I hope not...he really knew what he was doing with both rifles and ammunition.

Fascinating work on the firearms themselves in DeHass' "Bolt Action Rifles."

What rifles did Phil Sharpe make???

He had a hand in the Schultz & Larsen rifles which came chambered in his 7mm Sharpe & Hart.

I've read that he was bitter about not having more say in the rifles development.

Phil Sharpe & Richard Hart developed the 7x61mm Sharpe & Hart.
The 7x61 S&H was a 7mm magnun cartridge that preceded the 7mm Rem Mag by about 10 years. When the 7 Rem Mag came out it made the 7 S&H obsolete.

Mike

Interesting topic. I have never been able to find out the when, where, and/or why Sharpe died.

The Gettysburg Times, Wed, Jan 25th, 1961
PHILIP SHARPE, BALLISTICIAN, DIES SUDDENLY

Philip Burdette Sharpe, 57, internationally known ballistics expert and author, died at 3:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Warner hospital where he had been admitted at noon after suffering a severe heart attack.
Mr. Sharpe lived along the Lower Tract Rd. in Liberty Twp., near Emmitsburg. He had suffered an earlier heart attack in 1957.
He was a veteran of World War II having served as a Captain in Army Ordnance, and since the war had lived near Emmitsburg where he imported custom made rifles from Denmark, did ballistics testing work and wrote technical works and fiction.
Active in Community
Before his initial heart attack he had been active in community affairs. He was a past commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars at Emmitsburg and a member of the Francis X. Elder American Legion Post there and of the Emmitsburg Lions Club.
He was also vice-president of the Outdoor Writers Association. Until recently he was a staff writer for the National Rifle Association in which he held a life membership. He was also a member of the Campfire Club of America. Most of his writing on been on ballistics and other technical subjects, but he also had done some fiction writing.
He conducted a business as an importer of rifles from Denmark, guns that had been designed to his specifications for cartridges developed by his own firm of Sharpe and Hart.
Burial at Arlington
Mr. Sharpe was born in Portland, Maine and was a son of the late Elias and Jennie (Clark) Sharpe. Surviving are his widow Marguerite Burby Sharpe, and two children, Phyllis and Philip Jr., both residing in Massachusetts. A brother also survives, Maurice, Cape Elizabeth, Me.
Mr. Sharpe was inducted December 22nd, 1942 and was discharged May 15, 1946, after having served as a captain in the ordnance department of the army. His overseas service was in the European theater where he was chief of the small arms unit in the enemy equipment intelligence service. After he returned to the states following the war, he bought a home near Emmittsburg and set up his business there.
Funeral services Friday morning at 10:30 o'clock at the Wilson Funeral Home in Emmitsburg with Rev. Philip Bower Emmitsburg Lutheran Pastor, officiating. Interment with military honors in the Arlington National Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home in Emmitsburg Thursday evening after 7 o'clock.
From the National Cemeteries burial locator:
SHARPE, PHILIP BURDETTE
CAPT 9392 TECH SVC UNIT ORD MAINT MDDIFT DET ABERDEEN PRO
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/16/1903
DATE OF DEATH: 01/24/1961
BURIED AT: SECTION 3 SITE 2417-C
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
C/O DIRECTOR ARLINGTON, VA 22211
(703) 607-8000

Obsolete is the wrong word here. It is still useful, and it is still in use. It was out competed by Remington to be sure, but it was not outperformed, and it was not made obsolete.

Yes , poor choice of word on my part , out competed that's better


Mike

Of Course.. DOOOHHH!!!

I knew that all along, but drew a blank reading this thread this morning.

Thanks for reminding me about the Sharpe and Hart cartridges..

I have noticed in my life that most wilcatters who design a cartridge and put their NAME on it seem to have rather large fragile egos..

Even if most of the design is borrowed from something or someone else.

The way I remember it, the velocities claimed for the 7X61 S&H were much higher than it could achieve. It was claimed that the shape of the case had some sort of effect. Chronographs became widely available about 1960 and revealed the round's real performance. The 7MM Remington had a greater case capacity and higher velocity.

Thanks for the obituary. It answers a lot of questions.

I hold him in high esteem as a ballistic authority and fire arm designer. I still refer to his writing and it is always informative.

If there were a hall of fame for this he would be in it with Mauser, Browning, Newton, Weatherby, Waters and others.

I used his Books early on im my reloading. Also considered having a 7x61 S&H built in the mid 50's but went with a 7mm Ackley Mag.
I think he left a pretty good legacy; a smart guy for sure.

It's been a long time since I read it, but I do not believe that he designed the 7X61 S&H. I seem to remember that while he was in the army in Europe, he found an experimental rifle chambered for this cartridge. He liked the looks of it and did development work on it and got Schutz and Larson to build rifles for it.

There were several modifications of the original rifle after it went into production.

The one he found might not have been belted. I do not remember the country or origion of the rifle and cartridge.

I found a signed and inscribed first edition copy of Phil Sharpes "The Rifle in America" in a used book store not too long ago. I was surprised to say the least. The inscription reads "Greetings Mr. Shooter". The book is very informative and I refer to it often when researching older rifles.

According to Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" Sharpe did indeed develop the 7x61 S&H (along with Dick Hart).

While serving in Europe during WWII he came upon an experimental French military cartridge which got him thinking about magnum 7mm's.

Waters claims the 7x64 Brenneke and the .280 Halger likely influenced Sharpe to an equal extent.

Waters goes on to explain that after several years of experiments and developmental work by Sharpe and Hart following WWII, the design and dimensions of the 7x61 were finalized and agreement was reached with Norma to produce cartridges and empty cases.

I had a 7x61 S&H built in '81 and it was my mainstay hunting rifle for 24 years. Very good cartridge and as has been alluded to, the Rem was a cheaper rifle than the Danish Shultze and Larsen with the 7mm Rem giving a 100fps or so better velocity. The 7x61 was on a hiding to nothing in those circumstance but that took nothing away from its effectiveness.

Von Gruff.

somehow I feel this signature line bears repeating in this particular thread.... RIP....

My father's best friend lived as a neighbor to Phil Sharpe. He told me that there used to be some grumbling about the noise from his shooting house but that overall he was well liked in the neighborhood. He gave me a stash of .30 M2 Ball ammo that supposedly came from Sharpe's estate which I promptly shot away in my '03 Springfield. (Kids. What are we going to do with them?!) He said Phil didn't suffer fools lightly but would always find time to talk guns with someone who knew what he was talking about.

Phil Sharpe also was responsible for the the .357 magnum if I recall.

The 7x61 S&H was purpose designed to get the optimum velocity with 4350 powder, the slowest powder available to the public until after WWII.

Post War the 4831 powders became available and were suitable for a slightly larger cartridge. Then later even more slow burning powders suitable for magnum cartridges were produced.

A +P version was produced by Norma in an effort to revive the cartridge but it couldn't compete with the mass appeal of the 7mm RM and the lead the 7mm Weatherby had. Europe was flooded with Magnum 7s, H&H, Halger, Dubiel, Ross, Vom Hofe, Shuler etc.

A good cartridge exactly in between the 280AI, 7mm WSM and 7mm RM and still useful now.

Good info Tejano but the improvements Norma made to the 7x61 S&H went beyond merely loading it to a higher pressure.
Norma completely redesigned the case construction by thinning the case walls .005" and reducing the thickness of the web a full .020" while still maintaining the same outside dimensions.
This resulted in an increase of capacity of ~5 grains or roughly half of it's 10 gr deficit to the 7mmRM.

Personally I prefer the 7x61 Sharpe and Hart if only because it has a way cooler name than the 7mm RM.

He was a stange duck. When I got my driver's license in 1957, I drove to Emitsburg to buy one of his rifes in 7x61 S&H (this was before the 1968 laws and I had saved lawn cutting and paper route money for the purchase).

I walked into his office/shop and said that I'd like to buy one of his rifles and was soundly booted out. It seems that it was just too much trouble to write up a sale of a single rifle - "I only sell multible guns or I'd be spending my whole day doing one at a time" - or someting to this effect. Not exactlly a warm and fuzzy man.

IIRC there was a Rifle or Handloader article a couple of years ago which gave him some credit for the 7.62x51mm also.

Sorry to hear that djs. A young guy does not need to hear rude stuff like that!

Good to see that your still with the rifles and enthusiastic.

I read Sharpe's book way back and felt that he oversold his 7mm. He was indeed 'sharp' however not that easy to read.

"I only sell multible guns or I'd be spending my whole day doing one at a time" -

One of the prime reasons the shooting sports dont gather more enthusiasts and the general public isn't particularly fond of gun owners or supportive of their rights.

Wasn't Elmer Keith involved in the 357 design also?

As was D. B. Wesson. Apparently Sharpe did a lot of the lab work. Keith a lot of field work. It seems to me that what Keith intuitively knew Sharpe proved or attempted to prove.

Re: The improved 7x61 S&H,
Quoting information from memory is hazardous.

The improved greater capacity case was called the S&H Super 7x61. The original was conceived during WWII but didn't come out till 1958 when several factors were already working against it. The super version was sometime after the 7RM's introduction.

It is unfortunate that so many with extensive firearms knowledge were so poor at communication or even basic civility.

It seems typical of people who are driven in a specific field. They are obsessed and any intrusion is nearly intolerable. You see this with some artists, writers, scientists... Not an excuse, an explanation.

Hobie,

Thanks. Good info.
Mucho appreciated,

Don