Ok I am afraid I caught the bug. I enjoy shooting the SOCOM so much that I started looking at some of the other rifles and some history. Then I happened to be at the shooting club one Saturday while they were having a BPCR steel sillouhette competition and I guess that set the hook. I started looking at different guns only to find that they are rather pricey so I am saving up, but for which rifle? Double set triggers vs single set, 45-90 vs 45-70 or 120, Sharps vs rolling block, hex barrel vs round, 34 in vs 32 in, geeze!
I tried to join the BPCR forum twice but never got a login, so I thought maybe some of you guys have some experience in this. So here are some of my thoughts after a bunch of research and study. Having never shot any of these, here is where I am heading.
1. Sharps vs rolling block. I shoot rifle left hand (left eye dominant) so I think the rolling block would be easier for me manipulate than a sharps with it's right side hammer.
2. Caliber, if there is no place to shoot beyond 500-600 yds a 45-70 sounds like it would do the job without destroying my shoulder, but we have 1000 yds available at the Pascagoula Shooting Club which is rare on the gulf coast, so for 1000 yds it looks like 45-90 is required.
3. Barrel length, I read that the increments on the diopter sights are set up for a 34 inch barrel, but it seems that most of the 34 in 45-90s exceed the NRA wieght limit of 12lb 2oz. I have found a super match Pedersoli 45-90, 34 in barrel but it has what appears to be a standard trigger which brings up the most contentious part of these rifles.
4. Trigger. Double set or single set, or regular. For competition, the trigger seems to be the second most important thing after the sights. There seems to be a lot of disagreement on triggers but maybe like most things it is what one becomes used to. At the price of these rifles, I certainly want to get this right. It seems that more go for double set and I have read only one article that was negative about them, citing advance vibrations that can throw off your aim but that seems rather voodoo when you think about the weight of the BPCRs. The double set trigger, rolling block John Bodine with a 34 in barrel in 45-90 sounds perfect, except that it weighs about 6oz too much for NRA competition. I wonder if I could mill 6oz out of the stock from the butt to get it within specs?
5. Sights. By far most important but you get what you pay for! I plan to get a starter mid range set and upgrade after I am hopefully as good as my sights. I imagine starting out, sights will be the least of my weaknesses. Offhand shooting a stage with a 12 lb rifle sounds like the first challange.
Help me out so I know which rifle I am saving up to buy.