RE: I need help with a Sharps 50-70
Nice carbine! It's a great looker... How is the bore?
I lucked into one recently as well... Yours looks like a late war issue by the serial number. Mine is apparently one of the first thousand off the assembly line.
Most likely, yours is a Model 1863, mine is definitely an 1859.
The government took approximately 30,000 carbines and rifles and converted them from percussion to .50/70 center fire between about 1867 and 1869.
Because of the differences in bore, any that miked .5225 or smaller were not sleeved, while those guns with bores larger than that were sleeved.
About 2/3 of the guns had to be sleeved.
I pushed a .516" .50/70 bullet through mine yesterday, and it engraved the lands from the bore, but not the grooves, so that I know my bore is bigger than .516", and my normal (for the 1868 Springfield) .50/70 bullets are undersized.
Fortunately, I have a much larger Spencer mould and will try running a casting from it down the bore.
Suggest you slug yours if you're going to shoot it.
Suggest you look around and see the asking prices for similar guns (and what they eventually sell for). Like anything else, people sometimes ask a lot more than an item is worth...
Best of Luck!
-Tom
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