50/70 sharps questions....

[gew98]

Since getting back into trapdoors in 45 & 50 cals I have kinda wanted to get back into another sharps conversion. Actually found a fellow local to me with a 50/70 carbine conversion. Wood is unmolested , bore lightly frosted . Loads of casehardening on receiver. I would have assumed these to have been blued when converted to 50/70 centerfire ?. Only thing bad I see on it is the front and rear sight are old bubba monstrosities. Any chance in finding an original or repro front & rear sight assy for this ?.
Lastly the fellow seems firm on $1800 , is it worth that coin ?. There is a cartouche visible by the saddle wing bar - small oval type. Any markings I should look for on it that may be good and or bad. Been 35 years since I sold my NY militia guard example in 50/70 and regretted it ever since.

[varsity07840]

You might want to check the firing pin. S&S Firearms and Lodgewood Manufacturing for sights. $1,800.00 sounds reasonable IMHO although sights could run you $200.00 or more.

[Jim]

Can you determine if the barrel is a reline or original? (relines are a touch “tighter” in the bore, making for a great shooter!)
Look at the muzzle crown . . . .under a glass . . . .for the presence of the liner.

Also, is there a “DFC” enclosed in a ribbon cartouche, about centered on the left side of the stock?

Be aware, these will shoot a “mile high” with that low front sight.

[John S.]

IIRC, the original Sharps barrels are 5 or 6 groove rifling with narrow lands, while the relined barrels used the typical Springfield 3 groove rifling with equal size lands and grooves.
Replacing the rear sight should be no problem, just a simple parts swap. Front sight on these is permanently attached to the barrel, not dovetailed (again, IIRC) so replacing that is a lot bigger job and may make the project not worth the effort.

[varsity07840]

Good point about checking the bore for a reline. Some were left in the original 6 groove .52 cal while quite a few were relined to 3 groove .50 cal which makes for a much better shooter. When I bought mine I was specifically looking for a 3 groove. I mounted a higher front sight ahead of the original, using Loctite Black Max. I can remove it with a little heat and remove the residue with acetone. The original sight is brazed on.

[Jim]

Good point about checking the bore for a reline. Some were left in the original 6 groove .52 cal while quite a few were relined to 3 groove .50 cal which makes for a much better shooter. When I bought mine I was specifically looking for a 3 groove. I mounted a higher front sight ahead of the original, using Loctite Black Max. I can remove it with a little heat and remove the residue with acetone. The original sight is brazed on.

Yeah . . . .Mine is a 3-groove reline . . . .(great shooter)

You’ve done almost exactly what I did to mine . . . .

I mounted a higher front sight immediately BEHIND the original front sight . . .using the base of the original front to “backup” my new one.

Believe it or not, I made the new sight from WOOD! . . .glued on!

Very easy to file down to get a good zero with my handloads!

I do have to be EXTRA careful how I handle the carbine now, but I would anyway.

When I desire, very easy to remove the front sight and clean up the glue with acetone!

No harm to the blueing.

[gew98]

Can you determine if the barrel is a reline or original? (relines are a touch “tighter” in the bore, making for a great shooter!)
Look at the muzzle crown . . . .under a glass . . . .for the presence of the liner.

Also, is there a “DFC” enclosed in a ribbon cartouche, about centered on the left side of the stock?

Be aware, these will shoot a “mile high” with that low front sight.

Looking at it as I did I was thinking it was not a reline like the one I had decades ago. The rifling seemed shallow from what I could see. Serial is " C,27282 on the tang. Any idea of year of manufacture.?. I will shoot it before I commit as the guy offered that much. I understand early conversions had wide open bores...dont want that.

[gew98]

Turns out it does have three groove rifling. So I will get it next weekend. Fella will bring it over and we will shoot it !!!> Now I just have to find original sights for it.

[Tony Beck]

By the way, if the front sight base is still original, you can easily replace the blade. The blade itself is German Silver and held in the base with a cross pin (which can be hard to see). Dixie and other places that stock Kentucky Rifle building supplies will sell you German Silver sheet you can cut a new blade from. I have also planed off nickles to make Sharps and Smith sight blades.

[Tony Beck]

This post was supposed to go in front of the one above, but seems to have gone astray.

Your serial number doesn’t show up in the Springfield Research Svc books. More or less nearby numbers are;
27201 in the 3rd NJ Cav in Feb. of 1865
27556 in the 2nd US Cav in July of 1870. This would be a 50-70 conversion.
27107 in the 1st Md. Cav in May of 1865
An interesting one is C 27392, which is reported as an “Indian Gun” at Ft. Keogh, Montana in Feb of 1896.

SRS doesn’t report the C on most numbers, but since these are late returns it’s a pretty good bet that they are C numbers.

Your carbine would have been made in mid to late 1864.

According to Flayderman, when the Sharps carbines and rifles were converted the bores were measured. Any bore less than 0.5225” was converted without sleeving. They must have been referring to groove diameter. A 0.5225” bore would be 0.0025” oversize. I have looked at a lot of 50-70 conversions and only encountered one or two that were still 6 groove. They are pretty rare.