Dear Sharps Rifle Company

There is a term bandied about among makers of custom vintage rifles, especially muzzleloading rifles, and it is that of “fantasy” rifles. I personally find the term somewhat repugnant, as it reminds me of something outlandish and totally ridiculous. What is being referred to is the application of one’s tastes and preferences in regards to firearm design or selection. I have never really worried much about perceived “correctness” when it comes to rifles that will see serious use, either on the range or in the field. This was certainly the case back in the frontier days when a rifle’s utility certainly trumped “looks” for the serious hunter. If a firearm didn’t do the job, it was quickly discarded and replaced by one that did.

One rainy autumn day here in Montana, I got to thinking over a cup of coffee as to what exactly I would have ordered from the Sharps Rifle Company if I had been setting out to hunt buffalo professionally back during the 1870s, in the Montana territory. The problem was an interesting one to ponder and I found myself considering many factors; i.e. ballistic requirements, ammunition availability, specific use and portability. At the risk of being accused of ordering a “fantasy” rifle, I began to seriously consider what sort of firearm I would have been using back in the hide-hunting days. I have no doubt that I would have engaged in what some have called “The Great Buffalo Hunt”! At this point, let me state that the ideas and opinions expressed in this article are mine and probably differ from other riflemen who likely have more experience on this topic than I do. With that said, “this is my story and I’m sticking to it,” I would welcome other comments from those who also have practical experience on the topic.

My first thought was of the rifle used specifically for the efficient killing of buffalo, generally from a static position with anywhere from 10 to 50 shots being fired at one time. Such a rifle would have to be heavy enough to absorb much of the recoil to make long strings of accurate fire possible while still being able to be carried reasonable distances by a man on foot or horseback. The weight of the ammunition would also be a concern, as 50 to 75 rounds would typically be carried for a day’s hunt.

Having experience with a wide variety of the black powder cartridges available during the buffalo harvest and of which I have used in my own hunting endeavors, I had some well-defined preferences as far as chamberings went. Then, as now, keeping things simple would be an over-riding principle.

I considered the ranges that were most typical (and unembellished) that bison were most often shot at. While some period accounts talk of animals being shot at 800 to a 1,000 yards, one can safely say that this sort of thing was simply “gilding the lily”, probably for the benefit of an audience who had never seriously hunted anything, let alone buffalo on the high plains. For the obvious reason that the professional hide hunter was concerned with cost and efficiency, such long distance shooting simply does not make sense. 

We have all read about the “Big Fifty” Sharps buffalo rifle (50-90-2.5) and its reputation for being the best of the various chamberings used by the buffalo hunters. In conversations with a good friend who has managed large numbers of buffalo and shot more of them than any person I’m acquainted with, he did assure me of the 50-90’s excellent performance when it came to reliably putting down bison that needed to be dispatched quickly. We visited about my preference for the 45-100-2.6-inch cartridge and he said that it would probably be his second choice, especially when considering a typical hide hunter scenario. Many of his situations with bison had required that the animal be stopped; knocked down and incapable of further movement. This was not necessarily what was needed in the hide-hunting days when working a “stand”, power and accuracy needed to go hand-in-hand for maximum efficiency. The large capacity .45’s were then what many hunters preferred and of those the .45-100-2.6-inch cartridge using a 500-grain bullet, in my opinion, represents the most balanced round. One can surely find opinions to the contrary in much of the old literature but we need to be leery of engaging in an 1870s version of the old “30-06 versus 270” argument that has plagued modern gun magazines. It is interesting to note that the Sharps Rifle Company stated in their 1878 catalog that “Rifles of 45 calibre having proved to give much better results and greater satisfaction to our customers, we have discontinued the manufacture of either the 44 or 50 calibre, except on special order.” How many of those “customers” were buffalo hunters can only be guesstimated, but I think you see my point. The 45-110-2 7/8-inch cartridge would be another excellent choice and might offer more in the way of load flexibility when it came to powder charge, but the longer case, in my experience, is more prone to stretching and other complications than the shorter 2.6-inch one. The 45-110-2 7⁄8-inch cartridge has many followers amongst modern day riflemen and I’m sure I’ll hear from them when they read my opinions!

Almost all first-person accounts agree that a lung shot was the preferred shot placement, so in the case of an average size bison this would be roughly 18-22 inches in diameter. Hitting this area consistently from cross sticks, generally sitting and with iron sights, would limit the effective range of most buffalo rifles equipped with good sights to less than 750 yards and this on days with totally favorable conditions for shooting. Add in a crosswind or mirage and the extreme distance becomes more like 500 yards, especially with targets that would be shifting and moving. Accurate range estimation would be absolutely required as sighting shots would obviously not be good. Telescopic sights of the period would help in this regard, although having used vintage telescopes and experiencing their shortcomings, I would not have one on a rifle that would see rough use. I know there are documented instances of hunters using the scopes of the period, but for my money, a good set of iron sights – a simple Vernier-scale tang and an insert front sight—would make much more sense. The old Malcolm-style scopes had a nasty habit of loosening the rifle’s dovetails and this is not something one needs to have happen when many miles out from any source of supply or repair. The other point to consider is, the accuracy level of most rifles used on the buffalo ranges would likely fall in the 2-3 MOA (minute of angle) range for 10 consecutive shots. This equates to a four to six-inch group at 200 yards or a 12 to 18-inch group at 600 yards. I think you can see that the accounts talking of bison killed at 800 yards and beyond as simply being not realistic; certainly it could have happened, but it was far from being a normal occurrence. Wasting ammunition at long range and spooking animals out of the vicinity was not something that the professional hide hunter would do. 

For general robustness and rough field use it would have been hard to beat the standard Sharps Model 1874 Sporting rifle. Fancy wood would have been a needless expense. Solid, densely grained plain wood would be preferred, as well as a shotgun buttplate to lessen felt recoil. A 32-inch barrel of diameter to bring the overall rifle weight to not more than 13 pounds would also be my choice. Double set triggers would be required and I would have the rifle equipped with the standard Sharps rear barrel sight as well, more for a backup in the event the tang sight became damaged. A spare mainspring, extractor, trigger springs and firing pin would also be ordered.

While writing down this wish list for my perfect “buffalo gun” it became obvious that another rifle would really be needed; one that was more of an “every-day carry” gun when traveling or scouting. For this I would want something powerful enough to kill bison, but much lighter, something in the 10½ pound range and chambered for a cartridge that would be easily available on the frontier. The Sharps “Business” rifle in .45-70 Government would fit this requirement admirably. Having owned several Business rifles, both original and reproduction, I can positively say that for a general-purpose hunting rifle the Business model is excellent. Barrel sights and one of the Sharps Sporting tang sights would comprise the sighting equipment and I would still get the shotgun buttstock, although that would have been a special order. Ammunition for the 45-70 would be easy to procure anywhere that had an Army post and the standard issue 500-grain Government load would work admirably for a general-purpose load. 

Speaking of loads, I will mention here that every paper-patch bullet shooter will take serious issue with. I would use grease groove bullets for my ammunition and definitely would have bullets pre-cast by myself or purchased from the Sharps Company. The image of sitting around a campfire, casting bullets over a fire and loading ammunition is a quaint one, but in my opinion, really inefficient. From a bit of experience in hunting camps, there are plenty of things that need to be done at night rather than trying to cast bullets. I would have procured a supply of ready-cast bullets before leaving town. Drawing again from my own experience, it’s hard to believe that keeping patch paper or patched bullets dry and free from moisture in a typical camp situation would be very easy. There are plenty of references to exactly the opposite of what I’m talking about. However, I know what I would do if I was in that situation. Cleaning cases and reloading would be a big enough job without the added complication of casting and patching bullets. Add in the robustness of grease groove ammunition in the field, as compared to paper-patched cartridges, the choice is an easy one for me, even though I have probably aroused the ire of every modern-day paper patch shooter out there!

So, in writing to the Sharps Rifle Company, I would order a 13-pound 45-100-2.6-inch 1874 Sporting rifle as my “special-purpose” hunting rifle and a 45-70 Business rifle as my “every-day carry” camp rifle. The 45-100 would be fit with Vernier sights and the Business rifle with a silver blade front sight, barrel sights and probably a Sporting pattern tang sight. Years ago, I owned a 44-90 Bridgeport Sharps whose owner had an 1876 Winchester buckhorn rear sight fit in place of the standard Sharps barrel sight and this made good sense to me as it was much more adjustable for different loads than the Sharps pattern. This sight alteration could have been done by a gunsmith like Walter Cooper (Bozeman, Montana Territory) or A.D. McAusland (Miles City, Montana Territory) after receiving the rifles from the Sharps Company. I’m sure that I would have spent time in either gun shop back in the day! Both Cooper and McAusland catered to buffalo hunters and would have been very capable of making some minor alterations.

For bison, back in the 1870s, I would rely on a 500-grain, grease-groove bullet in the 45-100 and a 400-grain grease groove for the Business rifle. The 500-grain bullet would have the necessary penetration for serious long-range work on buffalo and the 400-grainer would be a better match in the lighter Business rifle for other game such as deer and elk. Also, I’d order enough cartridge cases for both rifles to be able to go for several days of shooting without reloading for several obvious reasons, not the least of which would be possibly dealing with those who would take issue with my presence in “their” hunting grounds. Reloading tools and bullet moulds for each rifle would also be on the list.

A final thought on features that I would prefer on my hunting rifles. The Freund brothers (Frank and George) for years did an improvement on the 1874 Sharps patent. This consisted mainly of a “rocking” or camming breechblock and the addition of two extractors rather than the standard single extractor. I have always thought that the Freund improvement had merit, so when the Schuetzen Gun Company began offering a conversion to the Freund patent, I sent them a favorite Shiloh Sharps rifle to have converted. Richard McKinney did an excellent job and now I have a Freund Sharps, which, considering the scarcity and price of originals is the only real affordable option. 

A Montana Vintage Arms No. 133? Sporting Vernier tang sight and 115 insert front sight comprise the sighting equipment. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the Shiloh ebony pistol grip on the buttstock; I prefer this pistol grip because it allows me to position the grip in the correct spot for my hand. Now my .45-100 Sharps “buffalo rifle” is tricked out with just about everything I would have had done in the 1870s. It doesn’t have any bison to its credit yet, having been used mainly for deer and elk hunting, but hopefully in the future I will change that. 

It is an entertaining mental exercise to think about what one would have done as a buffalo hunter or market hunter back in the 1870s, but it is not without a practical side. Envisioning the problems faced by the hunters, researching documented solutions and then coming up with practical techniques that can be used today is valuable to the black powder cartridge hunter of 2026. If nothing else, it’s a lot of fun! If you have given thought to this same topic, let me know your ideas here at the NEWS and we will put them in our Letters to Readers section for consideration. 

Suppliers:

• Shiloh Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company: P.O. Box 279, 201 Centennial Dr., Big Timber MT 59011. Shilohrifle.com. Phone: 406- 932-4266.

• Schuetzen Gun Company: Richard P. McKinney. Phone: 970-635-2409.