Hello Rick,

Well, I finally done it, I reinstalled the Hoke sight and Distant Thunder front sight on that big 45-110 bull barreled '74 Shiloh Sharps I bought from You, cast up a pile of 570gr AA Smerker grease groove bullets from the mould you gave me with the rifle, I've shot the load with barrel sights before and knew the rifle liked that big bullet, but HOLY DAMN! not this much.

I ran a MOA comeups program with that big slug at 1381 fps, headed out to my range about two hours ago, I absolutely wore the steel gongs out in a pattern starting at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 hundred yards, then turned the moa's back down on the way back, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 100 yards, then repeated back up, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 hundred yards, it was ridiculously predictable, I couldn't miss, Good God that big 16lb rifle likes that bullet.

Thanks again for selling me such a big accurate hammer of a rifle, I found a hole in the oaks with my binocular and saw a rock up on the mountain 705 yards away, i'll hit it next time out!

Need a picture of that steel slamming 16lb Sharps, once the barrel cools enough to touch...Sounds like she’s a bad bitch in all the right ways. Congrats 😎

LOL, You bet Beaver10, not to brag but it's a beautiful rifle, lovely walnut and case colors, and right again, she is a 'bad bitch' , pm me a cell and I can shoot you some pics along with a 40 round culling belt loaded with 530gr paper patch bullets, the paper patch load is it's old barrel sighted hunting load, I shot all the 570's yesterday, need to cast and load about 100 more.

Good shooting, and nice to see that you appreciate the Hoke/Distant Thunder combo.

Not everybody follows the crowd.

Paul

Thanks Paul, I've been shooting barrel sights only for 8 or 10 years now, first go around with a Vernier tang sight, it was strangely easy, I have to admit to perfect shooting conditions yesterday too, it took the 1 mph wind in my face a few seconds to drift all the smoke back by me after the rifle belched it out more than 20 feet.

The Hoke/DT is a hell of a combo, I can also see there may be up to three different sight settings for the same range due to light, temp differentials and elevation, i'll only use this combo to keep the paint knocked off my gongs here at the house or maybe over at a few friends places that shoot steel, should be fun show and tell sessions, especially when capped off with a cold beer and something off the grill.

And Yessir, I must come by my basic loner status pretty naturally, have never followed the crowd, they're usually going the wrong way ; ]

Pics Posted for gunner500

Many Thanks Beaver10, you know, those hands back in the day with FAR more talent than I killed buffalo out to 1000 yards with these rifles, a hell of a testament to the rifles capabilities and men that used to run them.

That's a beautiful rifle gunner! Sounds like a lot of fun to shoot. I love big billows of black powder smoke.

Thank You Sambo, and you bet, plums of black powder smoke are indeed part of the fun, and if you've never heard it, a big charge of black powder fired from a Sharps rifle will about make you jump outta your skin in the woods, I damn near left the side of a mountain in Tennessee when EvilTwin and Sharpsguy cut loose with theirs, different times and years, but both occasions had me quietly studying the thick brush for hog movement when they both spotted their pigs and shot, BOOMMMM! what a rush.

It would take a Hoss like you to pack that thing, must less shoot it.

It does look great.

Sounds like you could give ole Billy Dixon a run for the roses...

DF

LOL DF, strangely enough at least at this stage in my life, acclimating to the rifles weight is pretty easy, one thing about it, when you lay it out for a shot, that big mama goes to sleep, especially when tripping a 6 oz set trigger, recoil is not bad at all at 16 lbs, i'll see how I do on that tailgate sized slab of rock at 705 yards up on the mountain before I start trying for a 1560 yard Billy Dixon shot.

You can do it with that big .45-110, just about a perfect long range gun.

This is from a Billy Dixon shoot. 3 hits out of 8 on three mounted steel Comanches at 1500 yards, strong left wing pushed my shots to the right. .45-70, 435 gr. paper patched bullet, 80 grs. Swiss 1 1/2.

Note the elevation on the Hoke. I've since obtained an extra long range Hoke but, regrettably, my long range shooting days are over, so I'll never get to use it. Old age has caught up with me.

Paul

Too cool.

Thanks for sharing.

DF

OUTSTANDING!!

The one on the bottom probably would beat it:

Untitled by Sharps Man, on [bleep]

Shooting a 720 grain bullet!

I have the same add-on pistol grip on my .22 low wall. Treebone ebony? Not only adds a nice touch, but very functional.

Paul

DANG! that's some good stuff Paul, I'd love to go to a Billy Dixon shoot, would be a blast to ring one out that far, and yes, you have that vernier cranked up there, glad to hear you have done it instead of having wished all your life and didn't.

Thanks Sharpsman, I'm about halfway there, IIRC you pointed out a water trough at what I thought was 1000 yards across that Red River bottom land and said I could hit that when I learned how to run that rifle the day I bought it from you.

HMMMM:

.458 diameter and 570 grains at 1381 fps vs .512 diameter and 720 grains at a guessed 1365 fps, bet they'd be running close to neck and neck, with the momentum part of the equation going to the Big 50.

If it were any more fun it'd be illegal.

Another fun BPCR shoot was one that was held regularly at Ackley, Iowa when I lived in that area. An offshoot of an SASS club, it, involved various steel targets out to a 1000 yard buffalo. Perhaps the most fun was a "herd" of smallish steel buff, 25 in all, at random distances, about 100 to 300 yards, IIRC. It was a timed event, so you had to load, shoot, and reload as fast as you could, including your fouling management. Had to have a good handle on your hold over/under as no time to adjust sights. Like I said, almost too much fun to be legal. Unfortunately, the untimely death of one of the owners of the spread led to it being broken up, and no longer a venue for the shoots. Good things have a way of eventually ending, it seems.

Paul

WOW, sounds like a blast, and you bet, all good things sadly have to come to an end, I can see my own days numbered with the really heavy kickers I have, maybe ten years left with them if I'm lucky, Sharps rifle shooting should last a good bit longer as long as my vision holds out, or can be corrected to hold out.

Well, turns out I lied about not being able to post a photo of the Ackley herd, so I deleted that post. Here y'all go:

Gunner, you be havin' way too much fun!

Don't stop...

That buffalo herd would be quite a challenge.

I’ve done some CAS, visited several clubs. I’ve never seen anything even close to that, gotta be one of a kind.

Sorry to hear it went away. Would have been a hoot watching that.

DF

That's the truth. There was even more to those shoots than I've described, a variety of target layouts and even a "cow town" with a "restaurant" where the ladies cooked a hot lunch for the "cowboys and buffalo hunters". Really too bad that it passed. Here's a photo of another buffalo layout. Most of the targets were shot sitting from cross sticks, with a few of the really long shots like the 1000 yard buffalo shot prone. The steel targets must have represented a considerable investment. My recollection is that couple of brothers who were well off were the original purchasers. I have no idea where they ended up. Gone like the prairie wind, I suppose.

Man what a blast it'd be to sit with cross sticks shooting at that herd of steel, I could spend a week right there.

LOL, I wont stop DD, if you'll notice that pic in the middle Beaver10 posted for us, I have the grass walked down to dirt going out that back yard gate on the way to the range, looks like a damn cow backed up there and took a good piss on my dirt, guess she was telling me what she thinks about all that shooting.

That ole cow may have been speaking for the neighbors, too.

😆

DF

LOL DF,

LOUD:

tractors
trucks
semi-trucks
race cars
chainsaws
guns

Can't imagine why I haven't got my 'neighbor of the year' award yet.

You can count on my vote (from 350 miles away)...

DF

Thanks Neighbor!

Hmmmm.....seems as if I may have shot there once upon a time as a guest of Steve Britt! It was a great day. Hope Steve and his Lady are doing OK!