Bert - An admitted Winchester Addict

Your old Sharps rifle is very nice   Someday I will own one, as it is the only other Single Shot rifle I feel is worthy of owning beside an original Browning and the Winchester Single Shot.

For what it is worth, it is not just you fellows who shoot old original Sharps rifles that get bruised.  The first time I shot my Winchester Single Shot 405 WCF rifle, I had to quit after just 8-rounds.  I looked much worse for wear than you did!  It was a very painful lesson in Physics 101.

I have not ever shot any of the original 50-95 Shot Shells... they are way too expensive to acquire.  I suspect that they would shoot a decent pattern though.  The rifling twist rate Winchester for the 50-95 WCF high-wall rifles was 1:56 and the rifling is relatively shallow.  When looking down the bore, it almost looks like a smooth bore.

Bert

Pete Hynard said

Bert H. said
Yes, very nice.  Emmet must have some cat blood in him to climb so fearlessly like that!
With the .50 Caliber Sharps, you can load it with shot shells to make the Grouse hunting a bit easier!
I have an original Winchester Single Shot high-wall in 50-95 WCF, and these shells were made specifically for it;
Bert
  

Thank you, Bert.  You have good suggestions.
 
I tried it.  I used Unique powder and 11/16 oz. of #8 birdshot  (300 grains) and increased the load until the base measurement of the case equaled the black powder load.  That happened at 10.0 grains of Unique and 1,050 f.p.s.  It’s a light load but the pressure is MAX.
 
The problem is shot spread.  A grouse body is about the same size as a standard 12-oz. beer can.  My goal was for a minimum of three pellets in a can and a maximum of eight.  For those results, testing showed an effective range of 12-20 yards but patterns were erratic.  (No, I don’t think it was the beer.)  A bird can fly off with one or two pellets in his body.  Not what you want.
 
So I went to a cast .44-40 bullet held in a 50-calibre plastic sabot.  I was trying to reduce recoil from the full-power load.  I used XMP 5744 powder and increased the charge until the point of impact was the same as my standard buffalo load.  That happened at 30.0 grains of powder and 1,436 f.p.s.  Recoil and pressure are light.  Base expansion is 0.0015” less than the black powder benchmark.
 
The problem with the sabot load is accuracy.  At 100 yards, five-shot groups range from 5 to 8 inches.  At grouse range, that’s a little more than head size.  The last thing you want to do is shoot the beak off a grouse and have it fly away.
 
In my rifle, things work best with full-power loads.  It’s an original Model 1869 in VG condition.  Here's a pic.  You can see the inside of the bore in this fall's issue of Winchester Collector magazine.  
 
In the end, I found that a Sharps original is not the best gun for grouse.  I shot the bird you saw in the earlier pic and called it quits.  Next I tried a compound bow with a 50-lb. draw weight.  Here’s a photo of that.  That has its issues too.  Now I use an 1873 Winchester in .22 Short.  More accurate than the Sharps and less recoil.
 
Speaking of recoil, here’s a QUESTION for you: How can you tell a Sharps shooter?  ANSWER: Look at his shoulder.  Here’s what eight full-power rounds did to mine.
 
Pete

Ooops!  One photo did not come through.  Here it is.

Pete

Bert H. said
Yes, very nice.  Emmet must have some cat blood in him to climb so fearlessly like that!
With the .50 Caliber Sharps, you can load it with shot shells to make the Grouse hunting a bit easier!
I have an original Winchester Single Shot high-wall in 50-95 WCF, and these shells were made specifically for it;

Bert
  

Ben said
Picked up a Winchester signal cannon yesterday.  It’s the polished brass version from 1976.   It even came with 3 boxes of blanks! 😁.  It has the mahogany display tray but unfortunately the original box and Firestone rubber tires are missing… I’ve started searching eBay for the tires…
  

What you have there was actually called "The Presentation Model".

steve004 said
Great demonstration of how we don't need any of this newfangled (post 1898) stuff.
  

I concur!!

Bert

With the .50 Caliber Sharps, you can load it with shot shells to make the Grouse hunting a bit easier!

I have an original Winchester Single Shot high-wall in 50-95 WCF, and these shells were made specifically for it;

Bert

Bert H. said

TXGunNut said
Old rifle still has it. Good shot! 
 
 
Mike
  

Not too many people can say they went gopher hunting with a 40-90 Sharps!
  

You're right, Bert, not many people do.  

Not many people hunt grouse with a .50-90 Sharps either.  Here's a pic.  All I can say about that, if you're gonna shoot a grouse with a .50-calibre Sharps, you'd better make it a head shot!

You may recognize my old Jack Russell terrier Gaston in that photo.  Gaston appeared in the October 2022 WACA calendar.  Well, I have a new Jack Russell pup.  His name is Emmett.

I do forestry consulting and Emmett comes to work with me.  Here's a pic of that.  In this photo, Emmett has walked up a fallen tree, hopped over onto the next one and continued on up it.  When I saw him, he was 10 feet in the air.  

It took me a minute to get my camera out.  By then, Emmett was headed back down.  I told him to stop and sit, which I did.  It gave me enough time to take this pic.

I know it's not an antique Winchester topic but I thought you boys might be interested.

Pete Hynard, Ontario, Canada

Ben said
I take back most of the kind words I said about you.... maybe some of the kind words... never mind...lets just go eat BBQ, Jeremy will pay.  
  

Cheapest meal you'll ever get, will only cost you one "5-SPOT".

Ben said
Mike, as you feller's say down south... she shore is purdy!  Sometimes that's all it takes for me to open my wallet.... 
  

The cool sights probably caught your eye, pretty wood has loosened my wallet on more occasions than I care to admit. Can't quite afford a Purdey but I like looking at them!

 Mike

Ben said
Boy did you jog my mind.... Cherry bombs, silver salutes, quarter sticks... all fond memories of my youth!  I'm too show to light a fuse & run away or toss (my arm is shot) and I don't trust my scooter to get away in time either.  Ah... the wonder years!  It's a wonder I didn't blow my hand off. 🙂  See you in October!
  

Quarter sticks? I think some folks around here called them M-80's but I don't know much about such things. Remember bottle rockets? I'll neither confirm nor deny my role in an epic bottle rocket battle on the Brazos River near Palo Pinto, TX 50 years and a few months ago. There may have even been a naval contingent since someone had a key to the canoes. Could be why I wasn't invited back for a second year of camp staff.

Mike