Pedersoli - 1874 Sharps Sporting, Extra Deluxe 32" .45-70 "Buffalo Hunter"

Pedersoli - 1874 Sharps Sporting, Extra Deluxe 32" .45-70 "Buffalo Hunter"

Features military style buttstock with checkered grip, schnable forearm checkered, American walnut with satin oil finish, 3" drop and 14" trigger pull. Chambered 45/70, blued barrel 32", tapered octagon to round 1.030" at breech to .865" at muzzle, cut rifling .004" deep with 1-18" twist, 6 lands measure .450" and 6 grooves measure .458". Front sight 3/8" dovetail steel base with silver blade, rear sight steel flip-up with elevator to 800 yards and also comes with the 4" Pedersoli Creedmore rear site. Steel furniture color casehardened lock, receiver, lever, triggerplate and buttplate. Drilled and tapped for tang sight 10x28 with 2 1/4" center to center. Double set triggers. Use 45/70 black powder cartridges or factory smokeless loads. Overall length is 49" and total weight is 9 3/4 lbs. Made by Pedersoli in Italy.

Few rifles are so renowned for accuracy that those who use them literally define accurate shooting, but the series of rifles first introduced by Christian Sharps in 1848 were so good, the word “sharpshooter” came to define not only those who wielded Sharps rifles, but fine marksmen in general. Sharps rifles saw extensive use by both sides in the American Civil War because their breech-loading actions permitted loading while prone, sitting or riding a horse, and skilled sharpshooters could make up to 10 accurate shots per minute.

Civilian use of Sharps rifles hit its stride in the years following the civil war when the firearms were made in a number of chamberings for large caliber metallic cartridges. Of these, the .45-70 (a .458-caliber bullet over 70 grains of black powder) introduced in 1873 became wildly popular with sportsmen. Teamed with special tang-mounted adjustable sights, such as the Creedmoor, the .45-70 Sharps became a hard-hitting long-range weapon capable of accurately striking targets up to 1,000 yards downrange. That made the 1874 Sharps ideal for hunting buffalo and other large game.

The 1874 Sharps was such an iconic part of the American West that it was featured prominently in several Hollywood films. Clint Eastwood used one in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” Glen Campbell carried one in “True Grit,” and Kevin Costner had one in “Wyatt Earp.” But the most famous film role for the 1874 Sharps was in “Quigley Down Under” where a special long-range version chambered in .45-110 was used extensively by Tom Selleck in the starring role. The movie is credited with starting a resurgence of interest in Sharps rifles that continues to this day. There’s even a special tournament for Sharps rifle shooters held in eastern Montana every year. The Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match is a two-day event that brings hundreds of competitors from around the world to compete shooting metal targets up to 1,000 yards away.