Where to look for used bpcr rifle?

I have been bitten by the BPCR bug. Where is the best place to post or look for a used rifle? Not sure yet what I want....leaning towards a High Wall or Rolling Block in 38-55. My intent is 200 yard target shooting, both offhand and bench. Any comments on the Pedersoli units. I keep reading that the sights are less than desireable.

Thanx, Mike

There's a couple pretty decent rifles in the classifieds on bpcr.net
Keep an eye on gunbroker, not much in the way of bargains, but there are from time to time decent deals show up.

I will second what Don posted about BPCR.NET, you can run across some very good deals if you watch it often. The Pedersoli sights have been slammed pretty good and it is not true. They have two different classes of sights. The soule sights and the take off and replace sights. People assume that when they come across the cheap ones that all the sights are the same. I have a Pedersoli with the good soule sight and they work fine for my shooting. The only problem is that they will not lay flat and allow you access to the chamber and bore. Other than that they work great and come back to the correct adjustments. Later David

Hint, the higher $ repro guns including the Shiloh, C Sharps, Lone Star, maybe the Browning/Winchesters, etc. usually have very few problems in producing good to excellent accuracy with good ammo. Not all but some others more frequently give the owners fits even with good ammo. They may show up in the used classifieds for a reason.

A good place to look for BPCR is Single Shot Exchange Magazine. It also has great articles pertaining to loading and shooting the rifles as well. I have and have had Pedersoli rifles and sights. Right now I own two of their sights one is their mid range silhouette abd the other is a long range soule. They work well but will not lay flat for cleaning. As a result I have to clean those rifles from the muzzle which is something that I do not like to do especially with black powder. Right now I have a pedersoli Sharps 1874 and a Rolling block. Both shoot well and I have had them for a number of years with complete satisfaction. I also have Shiloh and C Sharps rifles which are better as far as fit and finish goes than the Pedersoli's are. A reasonable priced rifle that you may look at is the Uberti High Walls from Cimeron. I have seen and handled several and they are not bad rifles and seam to shoot well for the guys that owned them. Another option for getting into BPCR inexpensively is and H&R Buffalo Classic. They shoot well and cost under &400 new. You will have to get another rear sight for it as the one that comes with it is poor. They only come in 45-70 though.

Thanx for all the responses so far.

Nick,

I fueled this fever by purchasing a new H&R Buffalo Classic in 45-70(2009) and a Target Classic in 38-55(2007) about 6mos ago. Knowing I could not really afford the guns I wanted, I thought I could sneak into the sport with these "posers". The 45/70 I have not given up on yet...the 38-55 was discouraging from the git-go. It's the undersize chamber/oversize bore-groove deal common with the new 38-55's. I will have to recamber it as time allows. I bought one of the new Lyman 375166 molds which casts at .380". I have not shot it yet.

I spent consierable time participating in the Graybeard forum. I learned a lot about the mechanics of the Handi's there. I have many postings asking for suggestions on bringing the groups size down on the 45-70 BC. Best I can do is 1 3/8" at 60 yards with a Malcolm 6x(Leatherwood repro). I politely gave up on that forum as I was tired of being told it was me since "all other Handi's shoot so well". None of us "know it all"....but I have been shooting off the bench since the early 70's and know the basics. I have shot all smokeless to date in just trying to prove the accuracy potential of the rifle. As soon as I know what it is capable of I will switch to black! I will be the first to admit, I am totally "green" at this BPCR stuff......but excited like a kid to get started. I thought it most prudent to "prove" the rifle with smokeless.

I have not shot for over 3 weeks now for the weather(single digits). I have (12) groups of five(ea) loads waiting to test and chrono. Bought the Lyman 457677 mold and even have a few of those loaded up. Not having any luck with the Lyman 457122 (330 Gould). I made casts of chamber and muzzle and was a little discouraged to see bore(not groove) nearly .001" big at the muzzle. Throat was non-existent. I cleaned up the chamber and throat with my 45/70 Manson reamer. Have not shot thru the new throat yet.

I am almost at the point where I want to "eat crow" and just buy the rifle I wanted in the first place....hence the request for info.

The Pedersoli Soul Sight that I have IS JUNK the windage setting will not hold on all of its rotation , it resets itself on recoil on about 1/2 of a rotation of the drum.
I will stick with my MVA, I have not used them myself but have heard lot of good things about
Baldwin & Kelly & a couple of others
I have a recut Pedersoli Hadley eyecup on my MVA , it works just fine , the eyecup on my Pedersoli Soul goes off appeture on recoil
THE PEDERSOLI SIGHTS HAVE BEEN SLAMMED FOR A REASON
on the other hand I shure wouldn't mind having a couple more of their rifles

Go to some matches, let it be known you are looking for a rifle. That’s how I found mine. Look on club websites, they probably have member stuff for sale.- (There is a Stevens Model 44 ½ 38/50 Caliber with Montana Vintage Scope for sale on the website of the club where I am a member) And have you looked at any of the BPCR or ASSRA forums?

http://www.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl
http://www.bpcr.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=8

You might consider an original BPCR. There are a number on gunsamerica.com or gunbroker.com that can be purchased for reasonable prices. The post Civil War era leading up to around 1888 was a time of tremendous innovation in firearms that shot black powder metalic cartridges and some fine rifles were made during this time. I found a Dutch Beaumont (with dies) for only $250 about four years ago. The brass was pricey, but it was 45 caliber, so no new mold was needed, as I already was casting for the 45-70. Swiss Veterli rifles are very nice and can be easily converted to center fire. There are many old rolling blocks that were made for a number of countries. While you are looking forward to buying a BPCR why not look back to the past?

Davidson's has Winchester 1885 HiWall rifles in both 38-55 and 45-70 on sale now. Go to their site and use the Gun Genie to see them and even get an OTD price locally. I got mine in 38-55 for $963 total. I put a Pedersoli USA-431 Creedmoor sight on it and a tunnel sight. At 228 yards using the RCBS 312BC cast bullet, I put two on target that measured exactly 1" and after a sight correct I put three in the center of the target that measured 1 7/8 inches. A 5 shot group at 100 meters measured 1 1/4 inches.

You can see all of the Pedersoli Creedmoor sights here: http://www.davide-pedersoli.com/?ite...d=1315&lang=en

Cherry's Fine Guns has two models of the Pedersoli Soule sight, the Goodwin Style and the 431 at excellent prices. Go to their site, click on Pedersoli and then accessories.

Another place to see BPCRs is Cabela's Gun Library. Type in the caliber and look the offerings over. They have the Pedersoli 1874 Sharps in 45-70 on sale for $800. They are an exceptional value IMO. You'd need to add better sights but that's true for most rifles you'll find offered for sale.

I must strongly agree with Doubs43 about the value and quality of the Pedersoli 1874s and the USA 431 sight. If you go with the Sharps you will not be disappointed! If I had mucho money I would have bought a Shiloh, but instead I got a used Pedersoli with the USA 431 tang sight with front tunnel globe sight for much less and have been very satisfied with the whole package.

Aslo look at the ASSRA site. Lot'sa good deals there too.

arizonasharpsshooter.com has a for sale section and Steve Rhoads is a great guy.