1874 Pedersoli Long Range express

[wonderwolf]

Well I finally picked up a Sharps in 45-70 this past weekend (was a very expensive weekend as I paid off the balance of a bike I put money down on a week ago as well) I purchased it from a friend of a member here and its a beast of a rifle....just what I wanted :-D

I've heard some things about their chamber and throats. And even some bullet mold companies making special pedersoli bullet designs for them. Whats the issue/ concern? I'm planning on shooting paper patched bullets through it with holy black after I slug the bore and determine just what size I need to patch them up to.

Also the set trigger screw though under spring tension seems a little too easy to move. Once I have it set to where I want it I won't be moving it will a drop of the light or med locktite work?

It's sporting a half round/oct barrel that is 34" long which should work nicely with all the holy black I plan on running through it. Right now It has a pedersoli/creedmore mid range sight on it but its being there and lack of ease of removal is not condusive to cleaning the barrel often. What long range sight should I look into saving up for? I wanna be able to play out to at least 1,000 yards but most of my shooting is going to around 500-600.

[NickSS]

The pedersoli sights are good sights but they do not lay down like many other brands do. I recently bought a Lee Shaver soul sight from buffalo arms and it works well and lays down for cleaning on my Pedersolli. They cost about $350 and are not bad sights. As far as boolits I use the same ones I shoot in my Shiloh long range express so I do not know of any problems with chambers or boar sizes. I size all my cast boolits for the 45-70 and 45-90 in a .459 sizer which only puts lube on and does not really size my boolits as all my molds through them at about .459 and they work so I never messed with the diameter. I have never tried paper patched boolits so have no advice on them. As to sights. A mid range sight will get you on target out to about 700 to 800 yards depending upon barrel length in a 45-70. You will need a long range sight for further distances. I have a long range C. Sharps sight on my long range express and it got me on at 1200 yards. The sight was so high that my neck was not long enough to see through it untill I dug a hole in the ground to put the butt in (I was shooting prone). I had no cheak contact with the stock looking though the sights at 1200 yards but the rifle shoot really well as I came in 3rd in that match.

[Bullshop]

A very good sight at the best price for any of the high quality sights, which it is, is the Parts Unknown sight.
It can be read from either side of the staff, is easy to read even without your glasses on, has lots of windage adjustment, comes as standard with the adjustable Hadley eye cup, has an adjustable base to accomadate differant hole spacings, has an adjustable detent spring to accomadate differant tang angles, and among these other only sight features is the only sight I know of that has the adjusting screw calibrated to 1/10th points. A great sight at the best price, cant beat that.
Blessings
BIC/BS

[4060MAY]

Wonderwolf

Haven't steered you wrong yet I hope.

Buy a Kermit Hoke Tang sight and never look back.

Baldwin front.

If you come to Tusco, there will be an assortment of sight to look at.

[John Boy]

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd220/Meadowmucker/Ridgeway%20Oct%202007/Smoke.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd220/Meadowmucker/Ridgeway%20Oct%202007/PDRM2755.jpgSee the little white dot at the top of the range?
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd220/Meadowmucker/Ridgeway%20Oct%202007/PDRM2767.jpg Homer at 1000yds
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd220/Meadowmucker/Ridgeway%20Oct%202007/PDRM2901.jpgHomer on another day(16" circle)

Lyman 17A and Pedersoli USA 431 vernier with a Hadley ocular. Works for me :-D

[Buckshot]

..............I too have a Pedersoli 'Super Match', but with the rolling block action:

http://www.fototime.com/02838B89D2984DB/standard.jpg

It's chambered 40-65 so that 34" bbl @ 1" OD at the muzzle with only a 40 cal hole in it makes it a cast iron puppy mother to hold up for very long :-) As long as you can, it hangs out there nicely. Some years back I'd heard the remark in a couple places that 34" bbls were not in great favor with the BPC Silhuette illuminati due to fouling in the last few inches.

This was long enough back that possibly Goex was the only BP available, or that Elephant has just srrived on the scene? In any event it could be that today the longer barrels don't present any issues but then some were cutting the barrels back to 30 and 32 inches. Since I don't shoot BPC with the 40-65 I can't say. It may be something to watch for?

http://www.fototime.com/9AADB3FCD6DEEF0/standard.jpg

The rear sight is a Lee Shaver soule conversion of one of the cheaper Italian LR tang sights. I don't compete with it so didn't need to spend more. It's pretty nice, regardless.

................Buckshot

[Johnw...ski]

That is really a fine looking rolling block Buckshot.



..............I too have a Pedersoli 'Super Match', but with the rolling block action:



................Buckshot

[Bullshop]

Buckshot
Do you remember what the sight conversion cost? I have one of the Itialian sights and would like to have it improved. The way it is now it has ever so little windage, but not calibrated. Just enough to get on at 100 yards if your a couple inches left or right with your front sight centerd.
The big problem I have with it is there is no vernier scale on the slider, only on the staff. The only way to referance the staff is to use the bottom or top edge of the slider.
That makes it very hard to divide points. Going a full mark on the staff is 6 minutes and that is way too much for anything like long range work.
Also the scale on the staff is very hard to see with the body and the lines all being black.
So do you know if he still reworks these sights, and the cost? How about a link to him, anyone?
Blessings
BIC/BS

[Buckshot]

Buckshot
Do you remember what the sight conversion cost? I have one of the Itialian sights and would like to have it improved. Also the scale on the staff is very hard to see with the body and the lines all being black. So do you know if he still reworks these sights, and the cost? How about a link to him, anyone?
Blessings
BIC/BS

................Dan, we sent in 4 of the sights. Two for me and one each for 2 buddies. The prices varied. IIRC they were like $85 to $97 or something like that. As an example of what he does, is obviously attache the Soule windage adjustment. Buff the graduations on the staff so they stand out and cut the vernier grads on the slider. Plus make a new attaching screw for the base if required.

One of the sights I sent had a deal whereby loosening the eyepiece you could make some windage adjustments with it too. Not only did they do all the other work to the sight, but for this moveable eyepiece they cut some graduations into the rear of the elevation slide and then a witness mark on the moveable eyecup piece. And to top it off they D&T'd the eyepiece windage dealie and installed a small screw to lock the adjustment in on the elevation slider.

This has to have been 5 years ago or so. I sure don't know if he's still doing it or not. His wbsite is at: http://www.egunsmith.com/ You'll have to check on the conversions as it's not listed, but now I don't recall if they ever were listed?

....................Buckshot

[montana_charlie]

Shaver no longer rebuilds those 'giveaway' sights from Pedersoli, and he no longer builds new sights from Italian parts.
Instead, he produces two grades of Soule sights.

Deluxe is typical of most high quality tang sights, but includes his Hadley. $345.
Economy is also scratch-built, and has the hand lapped windage drum. $189.
He also sells (both of them) on eBay.

I have his Economy Soule, and it is better than the Pedersoli USA 406 (which it replaced).
Not only is there no side play in the windage drum, it lays flat enough to expose the chamber on a Sharps...which the Pedersoli did not, unless the eyepiece was removed.

I already had a Pedersoli Hadley, which I wanted to keep. After I found out the screw size he uses for eyecups, I suggested a modification to allow use of the Pedersoli Hadley on his sight.

I think he charged me an extra ten bucks for the switch.
CM