What caliber is the Quigley rifle?

[Knuckles]

Don't even remember the name of the rifle from "Quigley Down Under" (?) but in a discussion with a pard we both could not remember what caliber this rifle was?

.45-100 or something?  (how do you say that, anyway?  "Forty five, one hundred"?)

[J.W.Neely]

45-110

[Doctor Bill]

It was supposed to be a 45-110 Sharps.  The rifle was customized with double "set" triggers, a Vernier sight and a German silver cap on the forestock.  It also still had the patch box on the buttstock.  The stock itself was the straighter military style stock.  That caliber would have fired a ~500 grain 0.45 caliber bullet on top of a charge of 110 grains of black powder.  Sellick did have real rifles made for use in this film and you can now find replicas of this firearm in several calibers including 45-70, 45-110 and 45-120.  The last caliber was not one of the "original" Sharps calibers but is still fairly popular.

I pronounce it "Forty-five one ten".


Doctor Bill

[Cuts Crooked]

Yup! Fourty Five one ten is correct/ And the NRA is giving the original rifle from the movie away in a drawing this year. If I win it you are all welcome to come visit the shrine I build to keep it in!

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Watch out for the taxes on it, Cuts. They're gonna be steep........Buck

[Cuts Crooked]

That's why I'm building a shrine fer it! No taxation on religions!!!!!!!!

[Four-Eyed Buck]

 

[Delmonico]

Ok were gonna split hairs here, but the proper Sharps designation for that caliber is 45-2 7/8 for length of the case.  As loaded for the movie it is the 45-2 7/8-100-550  The true 110 gr. load on the 2 7/8 uses a 500 grain bullet or 120 gr with a 400.  The 3 1/4 inch case is also often called a 120.  The 45-70 is the 45-2.1-75-400 as loaded by Sharps.

The 45 used a 2.1, 2.4, 2.6 and 2 7/8 as made by Sharps.  The 3 1/4 is considered an after market conversion and was mostly done on the 1878 model, often called the Borchart model.

Velocity is said to be only about 200 fps higher than the the 45-2.1 when it is loaded with a 500 gr bullet. 

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Show off.............Buck

[J.D.Cayhill]

Here's the real deal from Shiloh. They made the rifles for the movie and are a fuzz more affordable than Mr. Sellecks.

[Delmonico]

The Quigley rifle is meant to repersent, not a true 1874 Sidehammer as most Sharps, but a paper cartridge military model converted to a brass cartridge center fire rebarreled to the 45-2 7/8 round which came out about 1874-75.  The patchbox on the buttstock is the give away to this.

Also even though the 45 Sharps calibers are true 0.458 dia. in bore dia., the factory Sharps ammo used a 0.451 bullet and the soft lead bumped up to fit the bore.  This is why the bullet from the 450 #2 was able be used in Quigley's rifle when he went to the gunsmith in town.  BTW, that was the only British round from that time period that would have worked.  But ya all caught that in the movie didn't ya?   Ok I caught it the second time I watched it.

[RowdyBill]

And, to further the trivia, I believe the 1874 Sharps were available in 1871, using a later year as a marketing gimmick.

[Delmonico]

I was gonna add that later to confuse this issue.   Don't forget there were 2 each of 40-50, 40-70 and 40 90, both straight cases and bottlel neck.  The 44-60, the 44-77 and the 44-90 were all bottle necks and the 50-70 and the 50-90 were straight cases.

[tarheel mac]

Hey Del..little late coming in to this..but..where did the .45-90 fit in?  Wasn't that a popular caliber for the Buffler hunters? 

[Griff]

There are actually two .45-90 rounds, both the Sharps and a Winchester.  The Sharps was actually fairly popular and originally was designed the .45-2.4 which used paper patched bullets over 100 grs. of BP.  Today's shooters that don't generally use paper patched bullets load can only fit about 80 grs of BP in the case when using those weightly projectiles needed in the Sharps.  This from SPG Lube's BP reloading primer, by M. Venturino and Steve Garbe, 2 certainly qualified individuals to quote on this subject.

[Delmonico]

Sharps called theirs a 45-2.4 and it used a 500-550 grain bullet and came out before the Winchester.   The Springfield Amoury made up some specail long range target rifles for a 45-80 round in the early 1880's, yep a 2.4 case. 

The 2.4 case that Winchester offered in the 1885 and 1886 rifle was a 45-90 with a 300 grain bullet, the 45-85 when loaded with a 350 gr. bullet and the 45-82 when loaded with a 405.   It could not shoot a heavier bullet accuratley because of the slow rifling twist.