I notice you didn't lubricate the paper patch (or I just missed it, I had the video playing while I was working) -- doesn't that lead to more erosion in the bore?
@@TheRedneckPreppy I do not lube the patch, as it will dampen the paper. I use a grease cookie under the bullet: www.patreon.com/posts/reloading-45-120-90692193
@@edgarburlyman738here in USA you can find both 45/70 and 45/90 ammo almost everywhere including Walmart with smokeless pounder and shoot them in my perisoli sharps every week
"If it can go through a car, and it can go through a 2,000 pound BISON, it can go through YOU! So, never pick a fight with a Buffalo Hunter"- Clint Smith.
The Sharps is such an iconic rifle. Mine is a Pedersoli as well, and it's probably my favorite gun. It's not the gun I shoot the most, but very few guns will give you that combined feel of handling a classic old rifle with a touch of modernity. The heavy hammer and the long octagonal barrel... it's really hard to beat. Single shot breech loaders are just fabulous, and the Sharps is the king of that category in my opinion.
I used to have an 1874 Sharps reproduction rifle manufactured specifically for smokeless powder, a 50-140 a full case of smokeless would net 2350 FPS and 8900 pound/feet of energy at the muzzle and a 3 shot 3 inch group at a ioo yards with a Barnes copper jacket pointed soft point @ 600 grains weight. I wanted a stopping rifle and that's what it is. I recently gave them away because I was no longer strong enough to shoot them I'm 70 years old.
Had a relative who shoots cowboy action and long range matches. Got to go with him to one to check out, was about 16. They got done with the long range match and were just shooting for fun. He had a sharps .45-120 and he let me shoot it. As a fan of Quigley Down Under I was excited to shoot a Sharps! And even though it beat the hell out of me, I still enjoyed shooting ir. I did manage a standing, offhand hit at 850 yards! Was definitely more luck than skill but I made the hit! Great video as always!
Very interesting. I too have read some of the disinterest in the 45-120 for accurate target shooting. Good to see you taking on the challenge. Thank you for the video!
We have 8 shoots a year dedicated for black powder with the "45" family. 45/70 - 45/120 with quite a number of competitors. 100 yds out to 1,000 yds+... Both Pistol and Rifle events. It's always great fun and the challenges fly back and forth on who can do what at what range!!!😊
Your reading of the comments reminded me of my old friend and shooting buddy. He had a m1895 Marlin in .45-70 of course. He once told me "watch this..." He put it against his hip and touched off a factory round. He winced at the shot, and said "Yow, that really hurt". He then proceeded to repeat the shot because he couldn't believe it hurt so much the first time! The memory makes me laugh even today.
Howdy from Oklahoma. I picked me up one like it a few years ago in 50 - 2-1/2" & finally about ready to shoot it. Took longer than I imagined to find brass, molds & other necessities. I have always like the Sharps & all the history. Got to reading some western history & ran across Oklahoma marshal Bill Tilghman years back. His buffalo hunting days (his rifle originally a 40 cal sharps (SN# C53858), then re-barreled by sharps as a 50-90 or 2-1/2") & life as a marshal in Kansas & Oklahoma. He even had his "Big 50" at the Gray County war in Kansas. So when a 50-90 sharps (repo) became avalible, I had to pick it up. Love your channel & keep up the good work. -KLB
Fantastic, been waiting for a good analysis of the big .45 in a Sharps. I was able to shoot a Pope barreled, separate case, Muzzle loaded bullet Stevens 32-55 target rifle. I was doomed, to bad that i shot it real well. a lot to deal with as a 10 year old. My Grandfather and spirit guide was a Market Hunter, part time, selling ducks to the hotels in St. Louis, MO, USA. It was legal until 1936. He kept his live decoys thru the war until their young died when i was about 5 in 1948.He liked duck eggs for Breakfast. Fantastic wing shot i got his 10 ga and shot it with BP until a barrel cracked. it is an honored Wall hanger.
That black powder rounds were big but low pressure.Todays 308 winchester got almost 1000 Joules more muzzle energy than Sharps black powder 50-90 catridge.Interesting.
I am not familiar with this cartridge. I've shot a 45-70 before but that 120 thing's a Cannon! I love it and I want one! Thanks for sharing and as always great video! Inspires me to really get into black powder shooting!
I have a T/C Contender Pistol 14" barrel 45/70 and I also t🎉ook a Martini-Henry action and barreled it with a 45/70 34" barrel with great results. At present I'm working on restoring an 1895 Winchester in 45/90 I recently bought in Montana.
Perhaps you only think you want one. A 45-70 can be loaded to velocities approaching .45 WIN Mag territory in a modern rifle. .45-120 is strictly a blackpowder case. It is far too voluminous to safely load ANY smokeless powder. Interestingly, it is virtually the same specifications as the British .450 Blackpowder Express. The former round becoming the .450 Nitro Express when loaded with smokeless. The Nitro ammo should only be used in rifles rated for Nitro ammo, NEVER in rifles rated for BPE (Blackpowder express). Therefore, there is no advantage to a 45-120 over a .45-70, unless you want the most power out of a Black powder load + easy reloading with a few simple hand tools in the field.
There is an art to shooting a heavy rifle off hand. You plan your shots and are ready to fire as soon as the sights are aligned. A decent shooter doesn't try to stand motionlessness aligning their sights they are ready to fire as soon as the rifle is raised. A muscle in motion is smooth and steady, but standing motionlessness it's shaky and spastic.
I fired an old Sharps once that was chambered in 45-136. It was a custom made Sharps built by John Dixon & Sons in Edinburgh Scotland. I’ve had people tell me that there was no such chambering, but I had it in my hands.
I have learned to never doubt a cartridge's existence, just because I've never heard of it. I got egg on my face a few times, thinking that the other guy didn't know what he was talking about.
Great video! It needs to be said that the 45-120 was never a buffalo hunting cartridge. It was developed in 1878, but didn’t make it west by 1884, when the hunts were essentially over. The largest 45 caliber cartridge used for buffalo hunting was the 45-110.
I had a 1874 sharps copy, in 45/70 I just shot targets with it. Lots of fun. For a short time I had a 50/70 Remington number 1 model. Never got to shoot it. Great channel. Thank you. Cheers.
Pedersoli makes outstanding firearms. That 45-120 is quite monstrous. Your shoulder better be up to the challenge. For the Pedersoli line, I've only found one (1) dealer in Amarillo,Tx. that handles them in the U.S. Way too pricey for me. Love to have one but. That gun you feature shoots excellent. Great video with lots of history & you're right about the guy getting one & you buy it on the Cheap. Biggest I've ever shot was the Weatherby 458 Mag. That's a whole lot of gun. Thanks for posting an excellent video.
Thanks so much for this video. I also have a Pendersoli 45-120 I tried various grease groove bullets but I have a bullet mould and paper for patching on the way in the mail. Cheers from Quebec, Canada
New sub here. I am impressed with the historical knowledge of the rifles and the cartridges you demonstrate, and envy your groups at two hundred meters. I have been shooting my 45/70 trapdoor rifle since 1962 and can't do that well. Regards.
I love these long range Sharps rifles, the only reason I don't have one like this, I don't have a range locally to shoot it at. I saw one of those .45-120 Sharps rifles on the rack at our local gun shop, it sat for about a year before someone bought it. The problem where I am is that I am in the mountains and even our "flat lands" aren't very flat. The fields will have little grades and small dips in them, making it so that most shots are going to be 200 yards and that's about it. Even our blackpowder range where we compete only gets out to 200 yards, but, if I lived farther west, where ranges really open up, I would be more than willing to shoot a .45-120, because it's a great cartridge.
Iconic rifle.That black powder rounds were big but low pressure.Todays 308 winchester got almost 1000 Joules more muzzle energy than Sharps black powder 50-90 catridge.Interesting.
My Shiloh Sharps is chambered in .50-2 1/2", loaded with 90, 100 or 110 grains of BP. I have an adjustable paper patch mold which can make from 350 to 700 grain bullets.
Very Interesting, very nice rifle. I enjoyed westerns as a kid. So when the opportunity to by reproduction 45 70 Sharps sporting rifle came up I bought it. It was on the rack, so not a custom rifle. Haven’t shot a rifle since I was a Boy Scout. So I guess I got a bit of a learning curve. I might ask a few questions. Thanks.
Great review of a special cartridge, the famous 45-120! Thought you should have read Frank Mayer's story. Then it turned out that you mention him in your video🤓👌 We should both have lived in the years 1870`s-1880`s. There were some special years in weapon development, and the hunt for bison as well🤠🤠 Sincerely Idar Ola of Norway
I would absolutely love to see you do the Eric Cortina KYL open sighted rifle challenge at 500 yards with that rifle. You would have a pretty decent chance at connecting with a couple of the larger targets with the Sharps. Excellent video as per usual.
Hand held cannons but they look like a lot of fun to shoot and just to hold and look at! It is sad how the American Bison was nearly wiped out completely to eliminate the Native Peoples as well. From what I’ve researched in 1800 there was an estimated 60,000,000-80;000;000 Buffalo and by 1900 there were 1000. Thank God they survived! When I think of the Indigenous People taking what they needed and the 2000lb. Buffalo? Wow! Bow and arrow in the early day and later on horse back in a stampede of huge animals it is truly amazing. And these rifles are amazing as well. Thank You So Much as Always and Many Blessings! And keep Lots of powder in those huge shells! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Very interesting video content, thank you! P.S. I found the Billy Dixon story ( 15:43 ) even more interesting after figuring out the distances. In case anyone is unfamiliar with fractions or yards and miles I thought I would include them in meters: 7/8 (0.875) of a mile is 1540 yards, or 1408.176 meters; The military measurement was 1538 yards, or 1407.347 meters; 3/4 (0.75) of a mile is 1320 yards, or 1207.008 meters; 1200 yards is 1097.28 meters; As we can see, it would seem the hunter Billy Dixon was becoming more modest with in his estimate with the passing of years. While the military measure is quite remarkably close to his original estimate.
Tip: You should try patches that are damp but not soaked when cleaning between shots. Shooters in the US prefer Ballistol or M Pro 7. Do not be afraid to harden your alloy up to 14-1. Most long range shooters in the US are shooting 1-20 to 1-16 alloy but 1-14 will work as well. You should also use a better (thicker) wad stack to protect the bullet base 1.5mm thick veg fiber minimum. a felt wad 3mm thick also helps as well under the bullet.
I bought my first rolling block in 1975. Many more since. Never had a slam fire but I have read of it happening, plus a pierced primer pushing the firing pin and hammer back resulting in harm to the shooter. Never heard of it happening recently.
had a 45-70 tried 520 grain boreriders 3 f and catridge grade .even duplex , smokeless near primer then 65 grains black swiss .. never got it to shoot well but lend it to someone and they could do well , cast my own from wheel weights . just used a gal milk jug with water and soap shoot and drop in cleans by the time i got home
I've always wanted to get my hands on a Sharps chambered for 45-120. However, this is more of a "want" rather than a "need" thing. 😉 I have a Pedersoli "Competition" model Sharps '74 chambered for 45-70. My load is 70 gr of Swiss no. 4 (drop tube used to fill, then slightly compressed with a compression die), cardboard wad, grease cookie, 2 paper wads , .442 550 gr bullet, paper patched to .450 diameter. The bullet is seated by hand about 8 mm deep and taper crimped verey, very lightly, just so it won't fall out of the case. I suppose I crammed just about the maximum ammount of powder and lead possible into the 45-70 case. 😅It is very easy to chamber each round and the cases never stick after firing. I used this rifle and load very successfully at our annual "Quigley Shoot" in Denmark, where we shoot at ordinary 12 litre buckets at 400 and 600 metres. Authentic, period correct clothing is a must. I wish I could post pictures, here. One tip: Use a Goodwin-style diopter. It makes cleaning after each shot so much easier, doing it from the rear instead of the front!
Love my 1874 long range petersoli 45 70 it is a difficult weapon to shoot freehand at 50 meters, we will do my best on Saturday and I will clean my barrel every shot
My first rifle was a muzzle loader with 350 gr. Sabot and 150 gr. powder. Very doable for hunting deer out to 200m. Recoil is sharp, but manageable even for a 14yr old.
Lovely rifle, always makes me smile when I shoot my Pedersoli 1874 .45/70 with cast grooved bullets and 60 grains of Swiss No3. I cast my bullets 16:1 so slightly hard.
Que hermosa arma que admiro y que la conocí por las películas de Hollywood ya que soy Argentino y en estos paramos no llegaron estas armas. Soy metalúrgico y lo que mas me llama la atención es como se mecanizaban estas armas y seria importante para estos videos si hoy día sobreviven algún taller mostrar las maquinarias ya que estas y sus operadores son los MAESTROS de estas joyas. Saludos desde Argentina
Love this content so much. I am contemplating a remington rolling block build and amnlooking at the more esoteric cartridges. 40-82 and 44 remington special (44-90 sharps bottleneck) are in the running ....the rolling block has an issue with the really long ones.
Warning!!! Don't get the 40-82! Don't. It's a nightmare to develope loads for. I've got a Winchester 1886 in 40-82 and spent many hours shooting it and accuracy is mediocre.
Have a friend who ordered a Shiloh long range express with a 32 inch barrel back when you couldn't get one in 45-120. Three and one half years later he got it. He had already found brass and dies. He shot his first silhouette match at our club and at 100 yards he was breaking the welds on the chicken "feet" and so was banned from using it. We all had a good laugh over it but when he would hit a ram it would flip them when hit high in the back. It is indeed a purpose built cartridge...
Very interesting video as usual! I like this 1874 sharps carbine 45 120.I have learned something from this video! I would like to have a gun like this! I am a reloder and learned something from this video! Excelent.shooting and excellent groups short and long range. David Back from Menifee county Kentucky USA.
Excellent shooting! That Creedmoor Sharps you have would look good sitting next to my Pedersoli Rolling Block Creedmoor (Super Match). I can get 105 into my 45 2.4" (Starline 45-90 brass), add a touch of compression with the plug and shallow seat my 530gr BACO elliptical or my 540gr dual diameter elliptical. I don't do this but I certainly can and have. My particular rifle shot ok like that but not tight. I get better accuracy patching to .454 for a very tight throat fit and seat deeper in the shell more like a Sporting load rather than shallow like a Creedmoor load. I ram the patched bullet about 1/10" into the throat, it's a workout on the thumb. One of those instances where I understand why the Stevens rifle with lever actuated breech block for mechanical leverage of breech seating came about.
No Sharps Rifle Company records show that sharps ever chambered a rifle in .45-120, though rechambered rifles do exist. Rumor has it that the .45-120 was to be introduced in the Borchardt Rifle, but the company closed its doors before then. A fire at the Sharps Company destroyed some of their production records, but it is fairly certain that Sharps never produced .45-120 ammo. Winchester introduced the cartridge in the High Wall Rifle as well as marketed ammo. The cartridge was believed to have been brought to Winchester by a former Sharps employee looking for a job. ( Speculation). Winchester may have just commandeered the Sharps name (and reputation ) to help market the cartridge, as the Sharps Company was defunct and unlikely to contest it. I have a Pedersoli .45-120. Fine Rifle.
jo napot, the .45 - 3.25" is not a buffalo cartridge, it does not appear in any of sharp´s catalogues ! it was mentioned by winchester as a chambering for their high walls, but by then the buffalo was long gone. a good read for those interested : "shooting buffalo rifles of the old west" by mike venturino
Hello I just bought my first black powder revolver and now i feel in love with the history and the birth of fire arms its intresting I am a formor US NAVY SEABEE SMALL WEAPONS INSTUCTOR
Great video! The Sharps is indeed a thing of great beauty. Personally though, I would prefer the Werndl or Remington Rolling Block over it. I am wondering though, when it comes to ease of use, would you say the Sharps was easier to handle than the latter two or the other way around?
Having the 3 rifles in my cabinet, i don't think one is easier to handle than the other. but the Sharps and the Werndl definitely look safer then the Roller.
Beautiful gun. We have a local competition where only lever/falling/rolling block rifles are used and the Pedersoli copies normally win. They are all 45-70. When I watched you clean something caught my attention. You use the brush as the last step when I believe it would be better to use a patch after the brush. Any material the brush removes will likely remain in the barrel if you do not patch it out after. When doing normal rifle cleaning the dirtiest patches always come out after brushing as the brush loosens materials on the lands and grooves but does not do a good job of removing it from the barrel. There may be some reason you do it this way that I'm not aware of.
I have been debating whether to get a Sharps in 110 or 120. Leaning towards the 110. Also, have looked at the Shiloh ones and they are amazing, but I want a shooter to use and not worry about some scratches ( I am rough on my gear). Pedersoli seems to be good, but haven't seen a 110, just a 120. Uberti also makes a nice Sharps, but I only see it in 70.
Good day, We shoot a 600gr paper patch with a 95gr black powder charge, on all distances 300m to 900m distances. With my Sharps at the first world historical long range championships I shot a 46.4/50. This record stood for 10 years then my friend Dave Gullo bettered it with one point.
I have two Shiloh Sharps 4570 one is a long range express with a 34" barrel and the other is a Montana rough rider with a 30" barrel. When I started loading up 70 grains of black powder and a 405 grain Lyman lead bullet I got a lot of hard fouling at the last four inches of barrel on the 34" but none on the 30". I felt like it was due to the 405 grain bullet not having sufficient lube for a 34" barrel. However, the 500 grain Lyman lead bullet didn't cause this problem. I will be getting a Shiloh Sharps 45/120 for Christmas after a three year wait. I think I will try a 530 grain Lyman potsell starting out due to the more lube grooves it has.
Excellent work again. Boiling water will remove lead also I'm sure you know. Don't listen to the negative comments. They've just failed and are bitter about it.
Very nice rifle I have the 45-90 sharps 1874 and shooting paper patch with a 540 grain postal bullet they are so much fun ! I don't know what you use to clean between shots but I use 50/50 mix of RV anti freeze and distilled water it works very well but since you are shooting lead I don't think this would work for you. I am trying now to find a Gibbs rifle for long range shooting are you coming here to New Mexico for the next long range competition ?
What a beautiful rifle and excellent, informative video!!! I do not own any black powder metallic cartridge rifles, but shoot a.50 flintlock, a .58 and .45 percussion rifle. From your attention to detail and historical accuracy, this might sound like blasphemy, but have you ever tried pyrodex or other ffg equivalents??... I load my flintlock with 75-80 grains of pyrodex ffg, primed with ffffg black powder and hot shot touch hole bushing. Was always told that can't possibly work, but i get instant ignition, good accuracy, and most importantly, very little fouling!!!....might be an interesting experiment with your .45/120. Thanks again
Hi thanks for your videos I have a Pedersoli business rifle in 45/70 and have added a soul rear sight the only problem I have is when I dome to clean it as the sight does not fold back to allow a cleaning rod to go through the breech and am curious as to how you clean yours if you have the pedersoli soul rear sight as I would like to see if I’m doing something wrong
I have a new model 1863 sharps military carbine- converted. I have owned it for 40 years, Never fired it. I want to fire it. Can you suggest any ready made ammo for it? Or should I not fire it?? Gun dealer offered me 2K for it. is this a low ball? Anyway, it's pretty nice and has all the stamps and things. Cleaning out the house.
You might try a greased cookie to keep the extra fowling down. I shoot a 4082 in a Peabody Gimmer. I commented before the video was over. Excellent load workup
Please ask your questions under this post!
What material did you paper patch your bullets with?
I notice you didn't lubricate the paper patch (or I just missed it, I had the video playing while I was working) -- doesn't that lead to more erosion in the bore?
@@TheRedneckPreppy I do not lube the patch, as it will dampen the paper. I use a grease cookie under the bullet: www.patreon.com/posts/reloading-45-120-90692193
Is there a rifle in this, that lets you use smokeless powder loads? Like a Ruger no.1 type thing.
@@edgarburlyman738here in USA you can find both 45/70 and 45/90 ammo almost everywhere including Walmart with smokeless pounder and shoot them in my perisoli sharps every week
"If it can go through a car, and it can go through a 2,000 pound BISON, it can go through YOU! So, never pick a fight with a Buffalo Hunter"- Clint Smith.
The Sharps is such an iconic rifle. Mine is a Pedersoli as well, and it's probably my favorite gun. It's not the gun I shoot the most, but very few guns will give you that combined feel of handling a classic old rifle with a touch of modernity. The heavy hammer and the long octagonal barrel... it's really hard to beat. Single shot breech loaders are just fabulous, and the Sharps is the king of that category in my opinion.
My favorite 45/90 Sharp's was a C Sharp's made in Montana at the factory. I downed a doe once without hitting the vitals. Great stopping power!
I used to have an 1874 Sharps reproduction rifle manufactured specifically for smokeless powder, a 50-140 a full case of smokeless would net 2350 FPS and 8900 pound/feet of energy at the muzzle and a 3 shot 3 inch group at a ioo yards with a Barnes copper jacket pointed soft point @ 600 grains weight. I wanted a stopping rifle and that's what it is. I recently gave them away because I was no longer strong enough to shoot them I'm 70 years old.
I have absolutely no practical use for such a rifle. But, I want one. That sounds awesome 👍.
Had a relative who shoots cowboy action and long range matches. Got to go with him to one to check out, was about 16. They got done with the long range match and were just shooting for fun. He had a sharps .45-120 and he let me shoot it. As a fan of Quigley Down Under I was excited to shoot a Sharps! And even though it beat the hell out of me, I still enjoyed shooting ir. I did manage a standing, offhand hit at 850 yards! Was definitely more luck than skill but I made the hit!
Great video as always!
I can't believe you don't have more subscribers I've been watching since 2014 . All the best from Kentucky
Your videos are so relaxing! The Buffalo rifles are awesome pieces of American Western history.Thank you for the video!
Very interesting. I too have read some of the disinterest in the 45-120 for accurate target shooting. Good to see you taking on the challenge. Thank you for the video!
We have 8 shoots a year dedicated for black powder with the "45" family. 45/70 - 45/120 with quite a number of competitors. 100 yds out to 1,000 yds+... Both Pistol and Rifle events. It's always great fun and the challenges fly back and forth on who can do what at what range!!!😊
Your reading of the comments reminded me of my old friend and shooting buddy. He had a m1895 Marlin in .45-70 of course. He once told me "watch this..." He put it against his hip and touched off a factory round. He winced at the shot, and said "Yow, that really hurt". He then proceeded to repeat the shot because he couldn't believe it hurt so much the first time! The memory makes me laugh even today.
Try a five pound H&R.lol.😊
Two things, 1,
I think you just made me spend a lot of money!
2, I have been watching your videos here and there mostly for 14 years. Thank you.
I love this format, with historical inserts and information
Thanks for your videos!
Howdy from Oklahoma.
I picked me up one like it a few years ago in 50 - 2-1/2" & finally about ready to shoot it. Took longer than I imagined to find brass, molds & other necessities. I have always like the Sharps & all the history. Got to reading some western history & ran across Oklahoma marshal Bill Tilghman years back. His buffalo hunting days (his rifle originally a 40 cal sharps (SN# C53858), then re-barreled by sharps as a 50-90 or 2-1/2") & life as a marshal in Kansas & Oklahoma. He even had his "Big 50" at the Gray County war in Kansas. So when a 50-90 sharps (repo) became avalible, I had to pick it up.
Love your channel & keep up the good work.
-KLB
Forgotten Weapons sent me to the History Of Weapons And War app, which led me to this channel. I'm really glad I found it.
I recently left the US the only thing I really miss is a nice morning at the gun range up on the mountain. Just a few hours felt like a weekend off.
Fantastic, been waiting for a good analysis of the big .45 in a Sharps. I was able to shoot a Pope barreled, separate case, Muzzle loaded bullet Stevens 32-55 target rifle. I was doomed, to bad that i shot it real well. a lot to deal with as a 10 year old. My Grandfather and spirit guide was a Market Hunter, part time, selling ducks to the hotels in St. Louis, MO, USA. It was legal until 1936. He kept his live decoys thru the war until their young died when i was about 5 in 1948.He liked duck eggs for Breakfast. Fantastic wing shot i got his 10 ga and shot it with BP until a barrel cracked. it is an honored Wall hanger.
Beautiful rifles and history, and what an epic size of cartridge, that is a monster. Thanks for sharing this one with us enjoyed this very much
That black powder rounds were big but low pressure.Todays 308 winchester got almost 1000 Joules more muzzle energy than Sharps black powder 50-90 catridge.Interesting.
you are such a pleasure to watch, informative, knowledgeable, and Hunglish is a beautiful language!
Man, those😮 are some magnificent rifles my man. They really are some gold pieces congrats.
I am not familiar with this cartridge. I've shot a 45-70 before but that 120 thing's a Cannon! I love it and I want one! Thanks for sharing and as always great video! Inspires me to really get into black powder shooting!
I have a T/C Contender Pistol 14" barrel 45/70 and I also t🎉ook a Martini-Henry action and barreled it with a 45/70 34" barrel with great results. At present I'm working on restoring an 1895 Winchester in 45/90 I recently bought in Montana.
Perhaps you only think you want one. A 45-70 can be loaded to velocities approaching .45 WIN Mag territory in a modern rifle. .45-120 is strictly a blackpowder case. It is far too voluminous to safely load ANY smokeless powder. Interestingly, it is virtually the same specifications as the British .450 Blackpowder Express. The former round becoming the .450 Nitro Express when loaded with smokeless. The Nitro ammo should only be used in rifles rated for Nitro ammo, NEVER in rifles rated for BPE (Blackpowder express). Therefore, there is no advantage to a 45-120 over a .45-70, unless you want the most power out of a Black powder load + easy reloading with a few simple hand tools in the field.
Quigley Down Under, a character from my home state of Wyoming. Great film.
Your knowledge and passion for these beautiful guns is inspiring!
Great job educating and shooting this legendary rifle.
I can’t believe you shot this beast off hand, unbraced and actually hit your target. You are one heck of a shot.
offhand only a few times. That's really heavy. :)
There is an art to shooting a heavy rifle off hand. You plan your shots and are ready to fire as soon as the sights are aligned. A decent shooter doesn't try to stand motionlessness aligning their sights they are ready to fire as soon as the rifle is raised. A muscle in motion is smooth and steady, but standing motionlessness it's shaky and spastic.
I fired an old Sharps once that was chambered in 45-136. It was a custom made Sharps built by John Dixon & Sons in Edinburgh Scotland.
I’ve had people tell me that there was no such chambering, but I had it in my hands.
I have learned to never doubt a cartridge's existence, just because I've never heard of it.
I got egg on my face a few times, thinking that the other guy didn't know what he was talking about.
45-120 is my favorite black powder cartridge! Thanks for the great video.
Great video! It needs to be said that the 45-120 was never a buffalo hunting cartridge. It was developed in 1878, but didn’t make it west by 1884, when the hunts were essentially over. The largest 45 caliber cartridge used for buffalo hunting was the 45-110.
Correct in that the 45-110 was the largest, it Sharps never made the 45-120, they were done by gunsmiths.
I had a 1874 sharps copy, in 45/70 I just shot targets with it. Lots of fun. For a short time I had a 50/70 Remington number 1 model. Never got to shoot it. Great channel. Thank you. Cheers.
Pedersoli makes outstanding firearms. That 45-120 is quite monstrous. Your shoulder better be up to the challenge. For the Pedersoli line, I've only found one (1) dealer in Amarillo,Tx. that handles them in the U.S. Way too pricey for me. Love to have one but. That gun you feature shoots excellent. Great video with lots of history & you're right about the guy getting one & you buy it on the Cheap. Biggest I've ever shot was the Weatherby 458 Mag. That's a whole lot of gun. Thanks for posting an excellent video.
Thanks so much for this video. I also have a Pendersoli 45-120 I tried various grease groove bullets but I have a bullet mould and paper for patching on the way in the mail. Cheers from Quebec, Canada
New sub here. I am impressed with the historical knowledge of the rifles and the cartridges you demonstrate, and envy your groups at two hundred meters. I have been shooting my 45/70 trapdoor rifle since 1962 and can't do that well. Regards.
Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. I'll have to stick with my poor man's H&R buffalo classic for now but maybe one day!
The notable buffalo runner Frank Mayer had nothing but praise for his Sharps 45-120
This rifle is a beautiful work of art. Another wonderful video project.
What a beautiful rifle. I really feel sorry for people who don't understand this type of craftsmanship.
I love these long range Sharps rifles, the only reason I don't have one like this, I don't have a range locally to shoot it at. I saw one of those .45-120 Sharps rifles on the rack at our local gun shop, it sat for about a year before someone bought it. The problem where I am is that I am in the mountains and even our "flat lands" aren't very flat. The fields will have little grades and small dips in them, making it so that most shots are going to be 200 yards and that's about it. Even our blackpowder range where we compete only gets out to 200 yards, but, if I lived farther west, where ranges really open up, I would be more than willing to shoot a .45-120, because it's a great cartridge.
Always enjoy and look forward to your videos and knowledge.
I had the same rifle. Was very happy when I eventually sold it. 😅
Iconic rifle.That black powder rounds were big but low pressure.Todays 308 winchester got almost 1000 Joules more muzzle energy than Sharps black powder 50-90 catridge.Interesting.
My Shiloh Sharps is chambered in .50-2 1/2", loaded with 90, 100 or 110 grains of BP. I have an adjustable paper patch mold which can make from 350 to 700 grain bullets.
I was able to load 140 grains of 2 f behind a 450 grain rcbs semi wad cutter
Very Interesting, very nice rifle. I enjoyed westerns as a kid. So when the opportunity to by reproduction 45 70 Sharps sporting rifle came up I bought it. It was on the rack, so not a custom rifle. Haven’t shot a rifle since I was a Boy Scout. So I guess I got a bit of a learning curve. I might ask a few questions. Thanks.
Love your videos & the Sharpe's. Had a carbine once upon a time. Hope to have another someday. Billy Dixon was from my home state, West Virginia.
I would love to see you do a shoot-off between the Sharps, the Springfield Trapdoor, and the Martini-Henry.
Thank you for the rifle and cartridge history, very fascinating.
Great review of a special cartridge, the famous 45-120! Thought you should have read Frank Mayer's story. Then it turned out that you mention him in your video🤓👌 We should both have lived in the years 1870`s-1880`s. There were some special years in weapon development, and the hunt for bison as well🤠🤠 Sincerely Idar Ola of Norway
I would absolutely love to see you do the Eric Cortina KYL open sighted rifle challenge at 500 yards with that rifle. You would have a pretty decent chance at connecting with a couple of the larger targets with the Sharps. Excellent video as per usual.
Hand held cannons but they look like a lot of fun to shoot and just to hold and look at! It is sad how the American Bison was nearly wiped out completely to eliminate the Native Peoples as well. From what I’ve researched in 1800 there was an estimated 60,000,000-80;000;000 Buffalo and by 1900 there were 1000. Thank God they survived! When I think of the Indigenous People taking what they needed and the 2000lb. Buffalo? Wow! Bow and arrow in the early day and later on horse back in a stampede of huge animals it is truly amazing. And these rifles are amazing as well. Thank You So Much as Always and Many Blessings! And keep Lots of powder in those huge shells! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Very interesting video content, thank you!
P.S. I found the Billy Dixon story ( 15:43 ) even more interesting after figuring out the distances. In case anyone is unfamiliar with fractions or yards and miles I thought I would include them in meters:
7/8 (0.875) of a mile is 1540 yards, or 1408.176 meters;
The military measurement was 1538 yards, or 1407.347 meters;
3/4 (0.75) of a mile is 1320 yards, or 1207.008 meters;
1200 yards is 1097.28 meters;
As we can see, it would seem the hunter Billy Dixon was becoming more modest with in his estimate with the passing of years. While the military measure is quite remarkably close to his original estimate.
My father tried cast type metal bullets in his 300 H&H, his description suggested that the bullets were squirting out the muzzle
Tip: You should try patches that are damp but not soaked when cleaning between shots. Shooters in the US prefer Ballistol or M Pro 7. Do not be afraid to harden your alloy up to 14-1. Most long range shooters in the US are shooting 1-20 to 1-16 alloy but 1-14 will work as well. You should also use a better (thicker) wad stack to protect the bullet base 1.5mm thick veg fiber minimum. a felt wad 3mm thick also helps as well under the bullet.
I bought my first rolling block in 1975. Many more since. Never had a slam fire but I have read of it happening, plus a pierced primer pushing the firing pin and hammer back resulting in harm to the shooter. Never heard of it happening recently.
had a 45-70 tried 520 grain boreriders 3 f and catridge grade .even duplex , smokeless near primer then 65 grains black swiss .. never got it to shoot well but lend it to someone and they could do well , cast my own from wheel weights . just used a gal milk jug with water and soap shoot and drop in cleans by the time i got home
I've always wanted to get my hands on a Sharps chambered for 45-120. However, this is more of a "want" rather than a "need" thing. 😉 I have a Pedersoli "Competition" model Sharps '74 chambered for 45-70. My load is 70 gr of Swiss no. 4 (drop tube used to fill, then slightly compressed with a compression die), cardboard wad, grease cookie, 2 paper wads , .442 550 gr bullet, paper patched to .450 diameter. The bullet is seated by hand about 8 mm deep and taper crimped verey, very lightly, just so it won't fall out of the case. I suppose I crammed just about the maximum ammount of powder and lead possible into the 45-70 case. 😅It is very easy to chamber each round and the cases never stick after firing.
I used this rifle and load very successfully at our annual "Quigley Shoot" in Denmark, where we shoot at ordinary 12 litre buckets at 400 and 600 metres. Authentic, period correct clothing is a must.
I wish I could post pictures, here.
One tip: Use a Goodwin-style diopter. It makes cleaning after each shot so much easier, doing it from the rear instead of the front!
That's exactly my PP load for my Pedersoli Rolling Block in 45-70.
Love my 1874 long range petersoli 45 70 it is a difficult weapon to shoot freehand at 50 meters, we will do my best on Saturday and I will clean my barrel every shot
Technically informative & delightfully presented. Excellent ! ! Dave in USA
My first rifle was a muzzle loader with 350 gr. Sabot and 150 gr. powder. Very doable for hunting deer out to 200m. Recoil is sharp, but manageable even for a 14yr old.
Lovely rifle, always makes me smile when I shoot my Pedersoli 1874 .45/70 with cast grooved bullets and 60 grains of Swiss No3. I cast my bullets 16:1 so slightly hard.
Que hermosa arma que admiro y que la conocí por las películas de Hollywood ya que soy Argentino y en estos paramos no llegaron estas armas. Soy metalúrgico y lo que mas me llama la atención es como se mecanizaban estas armas y seria importante para estos videos si hoy día sobreviven algún taller mostrar las maquinarias ya que estas y sus operadores son los MAESTROS de estas joyas.
Saludos desde Argentina
It is a shame that Sharps' answer to losing market share to repeating rifles was an improved single shot rifle.
Love this content so much. I am contemplating a remington rolling block build and amnlooking at the more esoteric cartridges. 40-82 and 44 remington special (44-90 sharps bottleneck) are in the running ....the rolling block has an issue with the really long ones.
Warning!!! Don't get the 40-82! Don't. It's a nightmare to develope loads for. I've got a Winchester 1886 in 40-82 and spent many hours shooting it and accuracy is mediocre.
That's a BEAST!! Great rifle and video. Thanks.
I have one 45/120 Pedersoli and many 45/70. Very impressive at range but hard to find case.
There is a supplier here in Canada that I just got some from. Very expensive but they were the only ones I found in North America.
I Love it. Thank you for some good information on such an obscure rifle.
Have a friend who ordered a Shiloh long range express with a 32 inch barrel back when you couldn't get one in 45-120. Three and one half years later he got it. He had already found brass and dies. He shot his first silhouette match at our club and at 100 yards he was breaking the welds on the chicken "feet" and so was banned from using it. We all had a good laugh over it but when he would hit a ram it would flip them when hit high in the back. It is indeed a purpose built cartridge...
Very interesting video as usual! I like this 1874 sharps carbine 45 120.I have learned something from this video! I would like to have a gun like this! I am a reloder and learned something from this video! Excelent.shooting and excellent groups short and long range. David Back from Menifee county Kentucky USA.
Excellent shooting! That Creedmoor Sharps you have would look good sitting next to my Pedersoli Rolling Block Creedmoor (Super Match).
I can get 105 into my 45 2.4" (Starline 45-90 brass), add a touch of compression with the plug and shallow seat my 530gr BACO elliptical or my 540gr dual diameter elliptical. I don't do this but I certainly can and have. My particular rifle shot ok like that but not tight.
I get better accuracy patching to .454 for a very tight throat fit and seat deeper in the shell more like a Sporting load rather than shallow like a Creedmoor load. I ram the patched bullet about 1/10" into the throat, it's a workout on the thumb. One of those instances where I understand why the Stevens rifle with lever actuated breech block for mechanical leverage of breech seating came about.
NICE SHOT NOT BAD FOR A OLD WEAPON I LOVE THIS STUFF
Your poor shoulder must have taken a beating .
No Sharps Rifle Company records show that sharps ever chambered a rifle in .45-120, though rechambered rifles do exist. Rumor has it that the .45-120 was to be introduced in the Borchardt Rifle, but the company closed its doors before then. A fire at the Sharps Company destroyed some of their production records, but it is fairly certain that Sharps never produced .45-120 ammo. Winchester introduced the cartridge in the High Wall Rifle as well as marketed ammo. The cartridge was believed to have been brought to Winchester by a former Sharps employee looking for a job. ( Speculation). Winchester may have just commandeered the Sharps name (and reputation ) to help market the cartridge, as the Sharps Company was defunct and unlikely to contest it. I have a Pedersoli .45-120. Fine Rifle.
jo napot,
the .45 - 3.25" is not a buffalo cartridge, it does not appear in any of sharp´s catalogues !
it was mentioned by winchester as a chambering for their high walls, but by then the buffalo was long gone.
a good read for those interested :
"shooting buffalo rifles of the old west" by mike venturino
I use copper wool to remove the lead, think that is more easy on the rifling
Keep your nation's heritage alive. It is lovely stuff. Also enjoy your forays into America's western expansion period. God keep you.
The rifle and cartridge La’Beuf (Glen Campbell) had in true grit I do believe
No, he was using a 50-70 1874 sharps carbine
Hello I just bought my first black powder revolver and now i feel in love with the history and the birth of fire arms its intresting I am a formor US NAVY SEABEE SMALL WEAPONS INSTUCTOR
Thank you for this informative video once again!
Great video! The Sharps is indeed a thing of great beauty. Personally though, I would prefer the Werndl or Remington Rolling Block over it. I am wondering though, when it comes to ease of use, would you say the Sharps was easier to handle than the latter two or the other way around?
Having the 3 rifles in my cabinet, i don't think one is easier to handle than the other. but the Sharps and the Werndl definitely look safer then the Roller.
Beautiful gun. We have a local competition where only lever/falling/rolling block rifles are used and the Pedersoli copies normally win. They are all 45-70. When I watched you clean something caught my attention. You use the brush as the last step when I believe it would be better to use a patch after the brush. Any material the brush removes will likely remain in the barrel if you do not patch it out after. When doing normal rifle cleaning the dirtiest patches always come out after brushing as the brush loosens materials on the lands and grooves but does not do a good job of removing it from the barrel. There may be some reason you do it this way that I'm not aware of.
I have been debating whether to get a Sharps in 110 or 120. Leaning towards the 110. Also, have looked at the Shiloh ones and they are amazing, but I want a shooter to use and not worry about some scratches ( I am rough on my gear). Pedersoli seems to be good, but haven't seen a 110, just a 120. Uberti also makes a nice Sharps, but I only see it in 70.
Love your WORK! May GOD Bless You! and Your Family!
and I love the Giggles and Smiles when you Bang the Gong! Kick did not look to bad?
Good day,
We shoot a 600gr paper patch with a 95gr black powder charge, on all distances 300m to 900m distances.
With my Sharps at the first world historical long range championships I shot a 46.4/50.
This record stood for 10 years then my friend Dave Gullo bettered it with one point.
I have two Shiloh Sharps 4570 one is a long range express with a 34" barrel and the other is a Montana rough rider with a 30" barrel. When I started loading up 70 grains of black powder and a 405 grain Lyman lead bullet I got a lot of hard fouling at the last four inches of barrel on the 34" but none on the 30". I felt like it was due to the 405 grain bullet not having sufficient lube for a 34" barrel. However, the 500 grain Lyman lead bullet didn't cause this problem. I will be getting a Shiloh Sharps 45/120 for Christmas after a three year wait. I think I will try a 530 grain Lyman potsell starting out due to the more lube grooves it has.
All these blackmpowder loads are individual as to the rifle. They take a great deal of care and attention. All part of the Fun!
I have a 45-70 and love it. That thing makes my cartridge look like a baby. Lol
Wonderful video. Thank you very much….
On totally different note, Can you give some instructions on aiming through Verner Sights please?
I have shot 45 120 and recoil is not unnoticed. But it is manageable for an experienced shooter.
Excellent work again.
Boiling water will remove lead also I'm sure you know.
Don't listen to the negative comments. They've just failed and are bitter about it.
Very nice rifle I have the 45-90 sharps 1874 and shooting paper patch with a 540 grain postal bullet they are so much fun ! I don't know what you use to clean between shots but I use 50/50 mix of RV anti freeze and distilled water it works very well but since you are shooting lead I don't think this would work for you. I am trying now to find a Gibbs rifle for long range shooting are you coming here to New Mexico for the next long range competition ?
I am planning to go to the 150 Creedmoor match next year.
@@capandball this is good news I will be there hope to have my gun ready by then.
Complimenti gran bel video e gran bei tiri 👍👍👍
What a beautiful rifle and excellent, informative video!!! I do not own any black powder metallic cartridge rifles, but shoot a.50 flintlock, a .58 and .45 percussion rifle. From your attention to detail and historical accuracy, this might sound like blasphemy, but have you ever tried pyrodex or other ffg equivalents??...
I load my flintlock with 75-80 grains of pyrodex ffg, primed with ffffg black powder and hot shot touch hole bushing. Was always told that can't possibly work, but i get instant ignition, good accuracy, and most importantly, very little fouling!!!....might be an interesting experiment with your .45/120. Thanks again
My grandfather has an original rifle chambered in 45express also onown as 45 125 300
yes as usual then very best thank you so much
That rifle looks to have a good amount of recoil, it would surely be fun to shoot. Thank you for the video. 😉
Hele Sir exelent shooting do you think there would be a big difference between the 45-110 and the 45-120
I should probably watch the whole video before commenting!
Thanks for the vidja.
what would you reccomend for the least fouling black powder?
Hi thanks for your videos I have a Pedersoli business rifle in 45/70 and have added a soul rear sight the only problem I have is when I dome to clean it as the sight does not fold back to allow a cleaning rod to go through the breech and am curious as to how you clean yours if you have the pedersoli soul rear sight as I would like to see if I’m doing something wrong
I clean from the muzzle always using a muzzle protector to save the crown.
@@capandball hi thanks for the reply appreciate that and that has answered my question perfectly and have ordered a crown protector thanks again
How much doesit cost for each rifle and amunition, is it hard to find amunition. Love these rifles, so powerful and so good looking.
I have a new model 1863 sharps military carbine- converted. I have owned it for 40 years, Never fired it. I want to fire it. Can you suggest any ready made ammo for it? Or should I not fire it?? Gun dealer offered me 2K for it. is this a low ball? Anyway, it's pretty nice and has all the stamps and things. Cleaning out the house.
You might try a greased cookie to keep the extra fowling down. I shoot a 4082 in a Peabody Gimmer. I commented before the video was over. Excellent load workup
I do use it. here is the complete process: www.patreon.com/posts/reloading-45-120-90692193
Shiloh warns buyers that thr 45-110 can be "uncomfortable" in long strings of shots. Believe it! Mine hurts me unmercifully.