Just found out my dad may finally be retiring! Thinking I'll give him a really nice gift as a thank you for always being there for me and everything else he's done. He's never been much of a modern rifle shooter, and I do know he likes both the 45/70 caliber and historical rifles. He's already got a lever gun so I'm ruling that out. This has me thinking either a pedersoli rolling block, trapdoor, or sharps rifle. Any suggestions? Are octagonal barrels historically accurate or just a new thing that looks pretty?

Henry has lever action rifles in 45/70

Trapdoors are super fun.

Winchester Hi Wall copy.

Winchester 1885.

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Shilo Sharps. The ones made in Montana not the Uberti ones.

I agree the Shiloh Sharps rifles are nice, but you won't get one for 2K,  if you want one any time soon. I don't recall seeing anything in their inventory room for less than $2250 for awhile now.

Their bare bones 1874 #3 sporter is as inexpensive as it gets and with no options it starts at $1949. Wait times will depend on the options you want and when they plan on doing their next run of barrels in the style you want (heavy octagon, half octagon, round, etc.)   Plan on at least a year, but 2 years is about average.

C Sharp Arms is the other Sharps Rifle maker in Big Timber MT (the folks that own those two companies split a long time ago).   Their 1874 Bridgeport model sharps starts at $1995 and their 1874 Hunter Carbine starts at $1925, and they have one in stock now for $2083.  Their wait time is on the order of 90-120 days if they've got all the necessary parts in stock.

I like their tapered octagon barrel as they are more portable than the untapered Sharps octagon barrels and are better suited to field use.

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It's heresy but I also like the Italian Sharps and 1885s.  They won't have the snob appeal of the Big Timber MT rifles, but they still shoot well and are nice looking rifles.

Uberti makes a very nice Sharps but they also start around $2K.  That sounds close to the C Sharps and Shiloh Sharps price but it's not as a similarly configured rifle from them would cost around $3K.  

Pedersoli builds a good shooting 1874 Sharps rifle and you can find a sporting model comparable in features to one of the above for $1500-$1700. Stay away from the Pedersoli Soule sight though as it has some issues - it can be made to work, but it's harder to use.

Armi Sport also makes a good 1874 Sharps and you can find one of the Taylor and Company 1874 Sporters for around $1400.

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Below is an Armi Sport 1874 Quigley model (top) and an Uberti 1885 High Wall Deluxe model (second from top).  





When I lived out west I shot the Sharps at long range and didn't feel under gunned.  Here in NC, I tend to shoot it at shorter 200-300 yard ranges. Rather than loading up black powder loads with Lyman .457-658 bullets, I use good quality  cast 405 gr bullets and smokeless powder (Unique) and still get 1 MOA accuracy.   Great fun to shoot, no wind issues at short 200-300 yard ranges and the cleanup is easier.



The Uberti 1885 in the standard model sells for around $900 wile the Deluxe is around $1200, but both are one of the best buys around for a classic .45-70 replica rifle.  They are well made and nicely finished, particularly for the money and they're still inexpensive enough that you don't mind taking them in the field.   The checkering won't be as sharp, the fit won't be as precise, but they're still nice to look at, they handle well and they shoot great.  Weight wise they are also in the sweet spot being light enough to carry with no issues, and heavy enough not to beat you to death in .45-70.

 



The Browning 1885 High Wall and Low Wall rifles are made by Miroku, and nice rifles as well.  They'll set you back $1400 or so, and unless you get one of the BPCR models (and they cost more) , you can't mount a tang sight on them.  I was somewhat disappointed though as despite the cantilevered forearm and the free floated barrel, they don't shoot any better than the Uberti, and I like the color case hardened finish of the Uberti over the blued Browning.

After learning more about these rifles, I was pleased to see a pre-drilled tang on mine.

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