Quality Of Armi Sharps And Iab Sharps Kits?

[7mmmag]

I just got a rolling block done its a 50-90 shooting 650 gr bullets . The recoil is not bad at ALL but it does weigh 16 lbs . I got mine shooting good with help from the members here !!

[Boz330]

as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. usually. maybe.

considering that a shiloh or c.sharps rifle will be at least $2k and a 3 to 14 months wait, a pedersoli $1200 '74 #1 sharps silhouette (DGW current price) might be the better value, and with quality of components and build. at least they're the best of these kinda offshore guns.

When the IABs came into this country they were $800 and that has been a while back, which makes the Pedersolis a bargain at $1200. Cabela's had their hunter model on sale which has the pistol grip and shotgun butt plate but a 30" barrel for $1100 a couple years back and I bought one. To make it a better deal yet there was a 15% discount because I was a vet. Because it was the hunter model it was a flat finish barrel and stock and the stock was as plain as a mud fence but it shoots. I have used it all the way out to 1200yd and don't feel under gunned in the least.

The IABs that I saw and, I owned one for a short period of time, had a lot more wrong with them than just soft lock parts. Fired cases out of one of them looked like a pregnant Guppy, not sure they would even start in a full length size die. They also had Black Powder only stamped on the barrel. In the manual IIRC it didn't recommend even using smokeless.

Bob

[country gent]

I got my Pedersolis Long range 74 sharps at cabelas ( I've been told it was made for cabellas) For $1000.00 during a sale. Again pistol grip shoot gun butt stock. case hardened receiver and polished blued half round 34" barrel. Tang rear ladder and front globe no barrel sight. Wood is nicely grained walnut. I replaced the sights from the bargain cave a few years ago with the soule rear long range and a windage adjustable with level globe front. Fit and finish is good between metal and wood.

I've seen and handles IABS, Taylors, and Armis weren't near the fit and finish and problems were being reported from many. Ive never owned on so cant speak on them first hand.

Unfortunately with Pedersolis prices manufacturers import fees and such they arnt far of a base line C Sharps or CPA. Not sure about Shiloh Sharps. A longer wait with them but you also get just what you want.

[EDG]

I have handled several Italian made (non Pedersoli) Sharps replicas at gun shows and was appalled by the crude fit and finish of the parts. At the time I owned a Browning BPCR and I was interested in owning a Sharps clone. Most of the non Pedersoli Italians appeared to have parts that were machined and left as is with no attention paid to the removal of many ragged tool marks. Nothing appeared to be heat treated and the bores appeared to have ripples or waves from tight spots. The bores often appeared to have been rifled with a process that stopped and started leaving the uneven spots in the bores.
By contrast both Browning and Pedersoli barrels appear to be flawless with a highly uniform bright machined finish from end to end. Shooting both Brownings and Pedersolis result in high levels of accuracy and no leading with decent lubricants on the bullets.
Most of the crude Italians were priced about $800 7 or 8 years ago. I eventually bought several used but like new Pedersoli rifles in the $1000 to $1200 price range back then.
The price differential over the cost of a new off brand Italian was well worth the improved quality of the Pedersolis.

[indian joe]

I have handled several Italian made (non Pedersoli) Sharps replicas at gun shows and was appalled by the crude fit and finish of the parts. At the time I owned a Browning BPCR and I was interested in owning a Sharps clone. Most of the non Pedersoli Italians appeared to have parts that were machined and left as is with no attention paid to the removal of many ragged tool marks. Nothing appeared to be heat treated and the bores appeared to have ripples or waves from tight spots. The bores often appeared to have been rifled with a process that stopped and started leaving the uneven spots in the bores.
By contrast both Browning and Pedersoli barrels appear to be flawless with a highly uniform bright machined finish from end to end. Shooting both Brownings and Pedersolis result in high levels of accuracy and no leading with decent lubricants on the bullets.
Most of the crude Italians were priced about $800 7 or 8 years ago. I eventually bought several used but like new Pedersoli rifles in the $1000 to $1200 price range back then.
The price differential over the cost of a new off brand Italian was well worth the improved quality of the Pedersolis.

I must have got the demonstration one - have a IAB sharps - early manufacture - purtiest case colours, beautiful crisp single trigger, accurate barrel, nicely cut chamber, everything works as its sposed to - bought second hand so it might have been worked over by someone that knew better than the maker ?

[john.k]

There is a long complicated story behind IAB,but in the early sixties they were custom makers of competition shotguns......world championship winning shotguns used by the top liners ,especially in live bird,which was and still is very big in Italy ,France and Spain.....anyhoo,a bunch of Yank auctioneers approached the company to make a 1863 carbine replica......which they did ,and it was a very high quality gun,cheap and sold well...At this time Shiloh was the only other maker ,at 4x the price......and the early Shiloh ones wernt crash hot,barrels especially were claimed substandard.......However ,the sales meant new capital was needed and US venture capital was brought in,which was when the quality took a nosedive,cause the investors wanted 100% annual returns ,and introduced subcontracting at minimum lira...These were the 45/70 guns,but even with problems sold well ,until the problems dragged them down,and they eventually went bust about 2010?

[Boz330]

I must have got the demonstration one - have a IAB sharps - early manufacture - purtiest case colours, beautiful crisp single trigger, accurate barrel, nicely cut chamber, everything works as its sposed to - bought second hand so it might have been worked over by someone that knew better than the maker ?

There was a local gunshop that was the importer for the IABs. They had so many returns that they dropped the line. Many of these returns were bought up by another shop near me and 3 of us bought 74s for $265 each. We picked the best we could find.
My best friend who was an amateur machinist and top notch gun builder went through the locks and reworked them to where they worked beautifully. The one he got had an oversize chamber but the barrel was really nice. He got it shooting pretty well but eventually rebarreled it in 38-50 Rem for his daughter to shoot. The actions were smaller and with the lighter recoil it made a nice starter BPCR for a small girl.


Bob

[rfd]

for me, pedersoli is the bpcr gun to get because of the inherent quality, the immediate availability, and the price tag. right now and as it's been for at least 3 or 4 years, DGW is the place for new pedersoli bpcr guns for "cheap", starting at $1100 for a straight grip '74 "target" sharps .45-70 with OTR barrel, and $1200 for a pistol grip '74 "silhouette" sharps .40-65 with heavy octagon barrel. the later is my choice, i have two, with one converted to .45-70 PPB. these guns *maybe* go on sale once a year for a $100-$200 savings. for me, i wouldn't look at any other offshore guns. if there was no pedersoli bpcr offerings i'd be knocking on c.sharps door.