"Typical" Buffalo Rifle?

[Coal Creek Griff]

We're in a reverse situation.  I don't have the Sellers book and can't seem to bring myself to spend the money to buy one.

I just found out that Distant Thunder is closing shop and won't be making sights.  That's very disappointing to me--I really liked his copy of the original tang sights.  Well, there's one decision that I have to change... 

CC Griff

[Kent Shootwell]

Just to keep your juices flowing here's my 50x2 1/2' standard weight Shiloh.
all 088 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

[Ranch 13]

Jim isn?t closing shop and don?t think he has any plans to do so.

[Coal Creek Griff]

I'm basing it on this:

http://www.distantthunderbpcr.com/index.html

CC Griff

[Ranch 13]

Well I?ll be dang..

[Coal Creek Griff]

Well I?ll be dang..

Yeah, me too. I guess that I'm just late to the party again... 

CC Griff

[Ranch 13]

I would about bet if you wanted one of those sights he would send one if he has it on hand

[Coal Creek Griff]

I reached out to him via email and PM on the Shiloh forum. No answer yet (I'm gathering that he's out of town), but I'm hoping...

CC Griff

[Ranch 13]

He?s shooting at Lodi won?t be home until tomorrow night

[Yellowhouse Sam]

Just to keep your juices flowing here's my 50x2 1/2' standard weight Shiloh.
all 088 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

MVA makes a hunters tang sight...its more expensive than Distant thunder though.  Some folks just use the barrel sights.....pretty much what the ODG did. 

Want to add a little about the Sharps and the 45-70.  If you consult Sellers and Marcots recent book you'll find that  most in this caliber were Business rifles which were popular with scouts and hunters.....especially the excursion hunts whereby nimrods shot them from moving trains and left them lying.     Will add one more......if you know of a professional hunter that used a 45-70 let me know cause I or anyone else has been able to thus far.

Also, so far as early calibers the 50-70 had to reign supreme due to all the trapdoor conversions aka Needle Guns.  That and it was very popular  in the REmington Sporting rifles.   Besides the very popular 44-77 in Sharps and Remingtons don't forget the 40-70 BN....it was one of the early ones and  used quite a bit.  Remington advised against it but all it needed was the 370 gr bullet used in the 40-90.  Some modern writers have given it bad press but they shot it with old Goex in greaser chambers....I don't think it got a fair shake.

[Coal Creek Griff]

Thanks again for the replies and advice, gents!

I did manage to get a line on a Distant Thunder sight, so that's my plan again.   The MVA vernier sight was my second choice.

I'm still wrestling with the caliber choice, but 44-77 is still at the top for now.  One of the 50's is probably next on the list.

CC Griff

[Ranch 13]

 These rifles are sort of like Lay's potato chips,,, you can't have just one.

[Coal Creek Griff]

These rifles are sort of like Lay's potato chips,,, you can't have just one.

That's what I hear.  I'm tempted to say, "I'll take one of each.  Better make it two of each."

CC Griff

[Ranch 13]

Yup, have 5, one on the way and going to place an order for #7 this afternoon.. (#1 32in.standard weight barrel, 44-77 using Kirk's 7 degree reamer)
Nice part about ordering a Shiloh, pay your 250 deposit, and then you've got another year to save up the balance, or as you get a few coin gathered send it up and have them put it on your account.

[Coal Creek Griff]

...you've got another year to save up the balance...

Or in my case make up my mind as to what I want. 

CC Griff

[Yellowhouse Sam]

Yup, have 5, one on the way and going to place an order for #7 this afternoon.. (#1 32in.standard weight barrel, 44-77 using Kirk's 7 degree reamer)

That will weigh what ?  11.5 lbs?

[Ranch 13]

maybe

[PJ Hardtack]

Yup.
Once was a time a Shiloh Sharps was out of my reach. Now I have six in the rack. Two are percussion .50 '63s. My go-to rifles for hunting are my Military Rifle and carbine, both in 50-70.

Why? Because what they hit goes down!

These rifles are sort of like Lay's potato chips,,, you can't have just one.

[StrawHat]

The more I use my 50-70, the less use I have for the 45-70. I understand why the Army decided to reduce the bore size however, if I need trajectory flatter than with the 50-70, I will grab my 405 WCF. A  lot flatter but still a hard hitting cartridge.

Kevin

[shrapnel]

You can never have too many Buffalo Rifles. I have several and 5 are actually 19th century guns and killed buffalo. 3 are 40-90 bottleneck guns converted by Walter Cooper in Montana Territory in the 1870's Another is a Sharps 50-70 carbine and a Meecham Conversion that weighs in a 17 1/2 pounds. I have killed some buffalo with them...