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1885 Hiwall Sight advice?


Hoss

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Looks like I may be in the market soon for a Hiwall. I think they might be the best looking singles shot rifle around. I already shoot 45-70, so that probably makes the most sense as I already have the components, but also considering a 38-55. Probably wont shoot it over 500 yards. Any thoughts on maker, caliber, sights, trigger(s) etc?

Edited by Hoss
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I have one in 40-65, very flat shooting, good out beyond the 500 yards your talking about, you will need a good set of sights for what ever caliber you decide, take a look at Buffalo Arms web site, I have a midrange tag sight and front globe sight from Lee Shavers, excellent quality, nice value.

 

TB

Edited by Turquoise Bill, SASS #39118
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45-70 offers the most bullet combinations and the most number of vendors who cast and sell them. Unless you cast your own then it may not matter. You have brass, dies, bullets now so why add another caliber?

 

Sights, sights , sights, you'll spend good money for good sights. I always recommend to buy the longest, long range site you can. The cost isn't much more. The if you go past 500 yards you're OK.

 

Montana Vintage Arms, Buffalo Arms carry good sites. I also recommend a Soule Site. For me its better when dialing in windage corrections.

Ike

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I have two C. Sharps 1885 High Walls. One is a 40-65, the other a 45-90. Both have been accurate out to 1200 yards. Although the 45-90 is best when the wind is up. Montana Vintage Arms sights on both of them. When you sell the gun keep the sights!

 

On the same day I shot a course record another shooter did the same thing. She hit more 1,000 yards targets and won the match. She was shooting a Shiloh 1874 in 40-65.

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Hoss,

Unless you want a myriad of issues regarding the 38-55 I would stick with the 45-70. Just my 2 cents.

First there is the gun itself. Is it properly chambered to match the bore? Is the bore too big? Is it too small?

Is it the original 38-55 or the newer SAAMI spec'd 38-55 or both or something in between?

Then there is bullet supply...and brass supply....

 

I know someone will probably step in to tell me I am all wet about the 38-55 but I had my issues with them and I am relating my issues here. That's all.

 

By the way, I really like your choice regarding a high wall.

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Pat Riot is right.

 

I started with 38-55 and finally wound up with the 45-70. The story is too long to tell but suffice it to say the 38-55 is a fun round and won't beat you up but has accuracy problems and will not shoot to 500 yards consistently. Go with the 45-70 and save the grief.

 

THERE IS A REASON THAT THE 45-70 IS THE MOST POPULAR ROUND.

 

Good luck, Conejo

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I own 3 hiwalls. 2 from c sharps, and one is a 4065, the other a 4590. Finally one's a uburti 3855. The 3855 is shooting the 320 gr postell, with swiss1.5. It is super accurate at 300 yrds where I load tuned the gun. I then shot it at a 36 inch round plate at 516 yards from the garage. It hits the plate everytime, but tries to group in an area, but has flyers on the gong too. I was very careful, and shot over wind flags in the same condition each time. My 4065, and 4590 will fire groups in the 6.5 to 7 inch range, even in the wind. I love that 3855, but think my load is running outta speed at that distance, along with shooting that heavy of a bullet with the 18 twist barrel that uberti put on. The rifle was super easy to load tune, but i'm betting if I put paper up at 500, the bullet holes would be slightly egg shaped. I have not shot it at 400, but it'd group far tighter than 500 I bet. 300 and closer, its extremely accurate. The bullet diameter is .379, that i'm using in that uberti 3855.

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If I had it to do over again, I'd probably opt for a .40-65 in my 1874 Shiloh instead of the .40-90BN. At the time I ordered the rifle, I planned on hunting with it. However, cowboy action shooting for the whole family interfered in the "budget". Hunting took a back seat. And I'd go with a 1:14 or 1:16 twist so I could use a heavier bullet. I got the Shiloh Long Range Express, and have found that the heaviest bullet in my 1:18 twist barrel is about 370 grains. Backed with a full case of Swiss 1-½ it chronographs at about 1690fps. Even in my 12 lb rifle, and a shotgun butt, it hammers you. It's not very accurate inside 200 meters, but settles down nicely after that range. The most I've toppled is a run of 9 pigs... but that was a number of years ago when my eyes were a lot younger, and readily admit the missed pig is totally on me!

 

I've won a couple of long range side matches with it many years ago. 8 Years ago I had a chance to shoot a 1885 HiWall during practice and was very impressed with it. I don't recall the brand now, but enough so that when I was looking for a Plainsman rifle, I found a LoWall in 45 Colt (why suffer the abuse of a rifle cartridge when a pistol round will do the job)!

 

The reason for the .45-70s popularity is the ease and amount of loading information available from a variety of sources. The 40-65 gained a similar reputation as a medium distance round.

 

YMMV.

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Any thoughts on maker, caliber, sights, trigger(s) etc?

Two Uberti's, 38-55 Deluxe with DST and 45-70 with single trigger

* The 38-55 is re-throated to shoot breech seated and fixed carridge

* Both rifles fitted with Baldwin Long Range Creedmoor verniers - Lyman 17A globe fore sights and dove tail mounted level bubble replacing the stock barrel sights

* Zero complaints with either rifle for fit to finish and accuracy

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If you’re only going to buy one rifle, the best is the 45-70, brass and bullet are easily to come by. I have several calibers which include the 38-55, 40-50 SBN, 40-60, 40-65, 40-80, 45-70 and the 45-90). I have shot 50 yards to 1200 yards matches. The most versatile is the 45-70. I only shoot Swiss BP in mine. I have found that with the right BP loads, I can hit the target more times than using smokeless.

 

When you go looking for the rifle, buy a target rifle with a heavy weight barrel. Hunting weight rifles make for poor performing target rifles. Get a rifle with a pistol grip and one with shotgun type butt.

 

Get a high quality Soule type rear sight (the ones with windage adjustments). Forget about the Lyman and Marble tang sights. Get a globe front sight with the bubble level.

 

There are lots of high wall rifles on the market, but the one where you get the most bang for your buck, is the Browning BPCR, which comes from the factory with a Badger Barrel (sort of the gold standard for single shot rifles) and the correct target type sights. If you go looking for a Browning BPCR, don’t buy any other Browning 1885 single shot, they are not the same as the BPCR.

 

One other thing, when I first started out, I bought a military rolling block action thinking I could save a few bucks by assembling it myself with barrel, socks, etc . Wrong!!! By the time I bought everything and then paid the gunsmith to put it together, I spent more money (and more than a year waiting) than if I had just went out and bought a nice new long range rifle.

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John Boy, the 38-55 by SSAMI dimensions never had a throat and the area where the throat should be is too big. Many 38-55 shooters claim that if you "fix" it it will only get worse.

I am aware that Manson Reamers sell a 38-55 McPherson reamer which McPherson says will make the 38-55 a shooter if you cut back the barrel and re-chamber.

Ever see this? This chamber accommodates the long brass.

UPC5oXi.jpg

Edited by Red Cent
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.40-65 ,,, All the reach of the .45-70 ,,,, less wind-drift ,,,, flatter shooting ,,,, and less recoil ....

 

Far more capable than the .38-55 ....

 

That said I do like the .38-55 in lever guns .... I own 2.

 

I haven't shot my .45-70 since I got my .40-65 up and running ...

 

 

Jabez Cowboy

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Had my h&r chamber opened up, and it shoots better than it should. Had a friend's marlin lever gun opened up with the same reamer while I waited, and haven't got the report yet. It really made the h&r shoot though, and I would also like to experiment with a paperpatch bullet too. Running the long, starline brass in it also. Been paperpatching for my Gibbs, and also an inline tc 45 that I just picked up. Gives me something to play with during the winter. The fowling is a snap to clean when just the paper is riding the bore!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Found my HiWall, hope to pick it up Saturday. I got a deal I could not resist on a Uberti 38-55. I've ordered brass, bullets dies etc. Can't wait to shoot it! And yes, I've started dreaming about a 40-65.......

 

I have been sight shopping. Narrowed down to MVA or Kelley. Kelley cost a few bucks more, but they are nice looking! I know MVA sights have a great reputation, anybody have experience with the Kelley sights?

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I love my Kelley sights. I own mva sights also. The difference is buffalo arms will mail your kelley sights immediately. Mva will tell you they are waiting on some stock to arrive, and tell you you'll have to wait a month. 6 weeks later you'll call, and they'll say two more weeks! 3 weeks after that, you still won't have them! Both equal quality, but the Kelley sights will actually get to your house. They look better too! Lunger.

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I love my Kelley sights. I own mva sights also. The difference is buffalo arms will mail your kelley sights immediately. Mva will tell you they are waiting on some stock to arrive, and tell you you'll have to wait a month. 6 weeks later you'll call, and they'll say two more weeks! 3 weeks after that, you still won't have them! Both equal quality, but the Kelley sights will actually get to your house. They look better too! Lunger.

Man, I just dropped in and picked mine up... maybe I was lucky...

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One rainy day I got thrown out,"go buy a gun get out"

This UBERTI 38/55 called to me thrice, was pretty, no one wanted to look when I got home, got inexpensive sights,got brass,bore dimensions, bullets, loaded poor accuracy,

the bullets were too small.sights didn't hold still. got larger bullets, smokeless powder, better sights weren't many available all very expensive, got better bullets

finally bought MVA sights were more expensive than the rifle finally broke 2 inches, sights were great, WORTH THE MONEY.

Finally got a bullet maker, yes i can make almost a .380 sized bullet, if its better, I will get a mold, didn't make .380 but I had 3/4" all the time at 100, at .380 sized my UBERTI

SHOT 1" AT 240 YARDS, SO DID MANY SASS MEMBERS WHO HAD A UBERTI 38/55.

Wasn't strong enough at 500 for SILHOUETTE.

Tried out a 45/110, didn't need,I was thin built, was so accurate, he used black powder, a SHARPS RIFLE, hurt too much, tried out a 40/65 not strong enough, a 45/90,

was strong but tried a 40/70 Sharps, nice great accuracy,MVA SIGHTS, could alter chamber to 40/90 and so it went.

Try all at events, everyone wants you to try their rifle.

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The mva sights are quality, but no better than the kelley, in my opinion. Both are noticeably better than the best Lee Shaver sights, but the best Shaver sights are repeatable, with no movement, so can be just as "competitive". Griff, maybe I just had a bad experience, but they were late on giving me the sights on my wife's c sharps hiwall 4065 also. Anyway, ill never give mva my business again, after getting stung twice in a row. I finally had to cancel the order on the sights for my 4590 c sharps hiwall. The Kelley sights arrived immediately, and i've had no trouble at all with them. I remember the lady on the phone being offended that I'd cancel my order after all those times she threw a false delivery date at me. Just unbelievable....

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One reason the MVA sights can take a while to get is because they are in demand. Also, MVA supports BPCR, BPTR, CLA and other shooting sports, so I like to support them. I have no experience with Kelley, but by all accounts they're a great sight. But I don't believe I've ever seen a donated Kelley being awarded as a prize at a match. I'm sure some one will correct me if I'm mistaken.

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