H&R buffalo classic

[grizzlyadams]

went out to check a few rifles for this deer season last week. i have an H&R buff gun with peeps that never regulated right(too high a front sight from the factory) so i made a steel shim for the rear sight to raise it up and that worked well. anyways, i was shooting some 325 grain from meister over a case full of triple 7 and at 125 yds , and the shim worked , bringing me right in line with the bullseye(used to be 18inches low at 100, even maxxed out) shot some decent groups for open sights and old welders eyes, but not to my liking for hunting, so i have to put the old 2.5x scope back on it and go back to the 425gr fp as it will do an inch or better at 100 with those. really need to start casting my own!also got some heavies to try from a friend of mine. i have to weigh them, but they are a 500 gr i think. has anyone tried reaming the H&R out to 45-90, or 120? i was thinking of trying it with an extra barrel. sorry for rambling on, 4:30 am and i may need to go to bed...too many random thoughts!

[Nrut]

I have read where people have rechambered B.C.'s to 45-120's..
And yes you do need to go to bed..

[Lead Fred]

Why in the heck would you want to make yer BC a fake black powder shooter only?
So folk use 45/70 in 45/90s just so they can use smokeless powder

Ive never shot the BC with the stock rear sight. I went with a Smith Ent. BC ladder sight.

[Lefty Red]

I would just keep in a 45/70. I think its too light of a gun to shoot a heavy load.
And start looking at a good globe front sight and and rear peep or tang sight. I thought I was only able to use a scope til I got a peep. Night and day! No eye strain, for me. You just focus on the front sight and put it where you want the bullet to go.

Save up for a real Sharps! No sense making the H&R something it is not. Its a good looking 45/70 break open. Its a poor man's buffalo-ish looking rifle. And nothing wrong with that. Would love to have one, every one that I have shot was a good shooter.

Lefty

[Lonegun1894]

I have loaded the H&R BC up to over 2000fps with a 450gr cast bullet, and did it without having to ream it out to .45-90 or .45-120. I can tell you from experience that this was not a fun gun to shoot with those loads, so I have gotten smarter and load them lighter now. Same bullet going 1300-1400fps will take anything in North America, and probably the world, so I quit beating myself silly with my rifles. If you are using smokeless, you have no need to ream anything on your rifle, just adjust the powder load/selection up to the levels you want/need/think you need. After doing that, and only after, would I consider reaming. That is what I did, and realized I have no need to ream/rechamber anything and can get all the performance I want/need out of the plain old .45-70 BC. I would still love to get a Sharps or Sharps replica some day, but the H&R shoots so well that I don't see a real need to do so except for the historical significance of the 1874 Sharps, but will keep my H&R even after I get the Sharps, some day.

[smkummer]

No doubt shooting blackpowder is fun. In my area, its over $25 per 1lb. can so pyrodex almost cuts the cost in 1/2. Unique cuts the cost to about 1/8 the cost of black.

[Bucking the Tiger]

The H&R Buffalo Hunter is a fun shooter. I use mild loads in it due to the authentic, steel, curved buttplate. 20 grains of 2400 behind a Lee 340 grain cast bullet or a 405 Lee cast is really fun! Casting the 500 grain Lee Postell style also. Started with 8 grains of TrailBoss, but it is really light.
I can load the Lee 340/20 grains 2400 for $8.60 for 50, or the Lee 405/20 grains for $9.53 for 50. Not only is that cheap shooting, these big flat nose bullets really ring a steel plate.
It is a great poor man's target rifle.

[grizzlyadams]

i dont shoot fake black only....but i didnt have any real black and i wanted to try some fun loads in it.. when i take it bear hunting, it is stoked with speer 350 grain hotcore j-words and 4198. one of these days i will get a real set of peeps for it, but right now it is not in the budget. as for the sharps, been there, done that, 45/120....got sold when i got hurt and couldnt turn a wrench anymore, along with most of my other guns that were worth anything.(wife didnt want to live in a tent! ;))

[johnson1942]

i have a buffalo classic and love it. i throated it(45/70) and shoot paperpatch bullets in it with reloader 7 behind it. i also had a muzzle loader .50 cal douglas barrel made for it with a scope mounted on it. it is a dual purpose gun and the barrels change in seconds. i shouldnt say its mine any more as i gave it to my 14 year old son. he is right handed and left dominant eye. it is the type of gun he can handle well with out being hindered .