Author Topic: c.sharps or shiloh sharps which 1874 sharps is better (Read 3066 times)

swifty · « **on:** February 21, 2005, 02:27:37 PM »

I have talked to both folks.
Model in question- 1874 sharps 45-70 shotgun butt- stock with cheek piece 30 to 32 inch barrel.
C.sharps have a 90 day wait for production-shiloh sharps have a 12 to 14 month wait.
C.sharps have badger barrels,shiloh sharps make their own.
Shiloh has more models.Is it marketing or is shiloh better than c.sharps ?Which one holds their value better, who has the best support. Prices look about the same. C.sharps charges more for the shotgun butt- stock and cheek piece,and extra for a shorter stock. shiloh sharps has most of this in the price for the number #1 sporter which I am interested in buying.
I would appreciate opinions and comments from owners and shooters.

SINGLETREE 45 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2005, 05:54:36 PM »

:grin: swifty
I don't there much differance in the quality of the two brands. They are simply the best at this time in history. I went with C. Sharps because of the time it takes to get one. I have a 11lb. 1875 with 34 inch Badger barrel and 14lb. 1874 with a 30 inch No. 4 heavy Badger barrel. The bore of both are very very smooth and both rifles are very accurate. A friend of mine has a Shiloh and I think both our rifles shoot better than we can hold them.

Ray Newman · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2005, 06:02:38 PM »

I remember when C. Sharps told me it take a month @ best to rebarrel my M1874 w/ a new badger. Too bad he forgot to add in the other 10-11 months to get the work done. The thre was the issue of rpice increase which took place"just before" the barrel got there....

dlemaster · « **Reply #3 on:** February 22, 2005, 01:44:13 AM »

My wife bought a C. Sharps for me in the early '90s .45-110, 34"#1 Heavy Barrel,Pewter Stock Tip, XXXFancy Wood with Shotgun Butt. The wait was 4 1/2 years back then. It is a beautiful rifle that I wouldn't take love nor money for. Excellent quality.
If I buy another Sharps it will probably be a Shiloh, just so that I can say I have one of each. Plus Shiloh is coming out with the Sharps Borchardt Model 1878, and I've always wanted one.
The owners of Shiloh are more affable than the owner of C. Sharps I understand. If C. Sharps could get over that one little bump I think their popularity would jump considerably.
Just my 0.02c .

Regards, Dave

SINGLETREE 45 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 22, 2005, 10:21:38 AM »

:? diemaster
My dealings with John S. has always been friendly. He has always been friendly and helpful every time I have talked to him. My first rifle was going to take 6 weeks to finish, but it was ready for delivery in barely 4 weeks. My second rifle was delivered in about the same time even with No. 4 heavy Badger barrel

dlemaster · « **Reply #5 on:** February 22, 2005, 11:57:47 AM »

SINGLETREE45
I would say my dealings with John S. were Not "unfriendly", but pretty cool, if you know what I mean. My wife also got the same feeling, considering she had just spent $1900.00. Maybe that's the way some people do business
I would not hesitate to buy another rifle from him, like I said I love the rifle I have. But I have heard of several people who seemed to have had some trouble. I will be the first to admit that I have not heard John's side of the stories so I won't pass judgement on those.
Now anyone who makes a custom product is going to have an occasional complaint because someone felt they didn't get exactly what they paid for, but the complaints I have heard are mostly with customer service and there are several. I don't think that it is a very big problem to overcome.
I have been told that C. Sharps delivery time is short because they don't get as many orders, and that is due to the publicized complaints.
I personally would love to see C. Sharps flourish, they make an excellent rifle.

Regards, Dave

Ray Newman · « **Reply #6 on:** February 22, 2005, 02:08:35 PM »

I ordered my Sharps from C. Sharps in 1986. I was advised to pay the entire amount up front since it was a custom riffle. That was a good hunk of money to spend in those days.

Well I never from them. After about 3-4 weeks, I called & asked if they received the cashiers cheque. Yes they did. Well, when will I get a paid in full receipt. Well we usually dont do that, we just make a note on the records. Finally the person I spoke w/ agreed to send me a paid in full, which arrived about 2-3 weeks later.

The rifle was to be done in 90 days. It arrived one year & one day after it was ordered. I called several times & asked about the status & no one ever knew where in the production line it was.

I think that Shiloh Sharps also is a better promoter of our sport. I know of 2 people who received a donated NIB rifles from Shiloh. One is a former police officer who was severely injured on the job & subsequently retired. Ive seen Shiloh donate rifles to matches as prizes. I cant recall C. Sharps donating rifle. I could be wrong on this though.

I would also suggest that you post this query over on the

http://bpcr.net/forum-05/

general Discussion board. I do believe that there are some Shooters who may also have some comments about their generally unfavorable dealings w/ C. Sharps.

PowderFlask2 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 23, 2005, 01:52:07 AM »

Everyone has a story

I ordered a rifle from C Sharps last summer and they said it would be about 5 months.

Took about 4 months and I am tickled, looks great, shoots great and although I never talked to John the people I did talk to were pleasant and helpful.

I would buy another in a heartbeat.

My 2 cents and worth what you paid for it.

Ted Kramer · « **Reply #8 on:** February 23, 2005, 04:46:43 AM »

I ordered a '74 barreled action from John in April of '99 and he told me it'd be about 6 months, turned out to be 4 months, He was always very friendly and pleasant to me on the phone. When my wife and I stopped in at C. Sharps enroute home from Yellowstone John gave us a tour of his business facility, visited with us at length, and was very glad to have us stop in and say "hi." The folks at Shiloh were also pleasant that day.
Both companies make an excellent product and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another from either place if I could convince my bride that I need one. She thinks she needs new kitchen cabinets more I guess......
Ted K

dlemaster · « **Reply #9 on:** February 23, 2005, 09:23:37 AM »

To All
I am glad to hear of the good experiences with C. Sharps, I would like to hear of more of them, and I hope they continue to do well. It could be that the bad experiences were just publicized more.
I recently received their new catalog and they now carry a very nice canvas covered case that I would like to order for my rifle, they would look great together.

Regards, Dave

longhornrph · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2005, 04:12:45 PM »

I handled as many examples as I could find of both makers' products, asked the owners, and read all the comments I could find on the old shooter's board and all the current BPCR boards. What really decided me was the much nicer wood you seem to get on the Shilohs than on the C. Sharps when paying for upgraded wood. Of course, (wood) beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I ordered the Shiloh.

Remmag · « **Reply #11 on:** February 24, 2005, 03:17:32 PM »

Both companys make a superior product. Two things effected my choice; Badger barrel & time of delivery. The folks at C.Sharps, that I dealt with were very cordial & helpful . Love My "Hartford". Craig :lol:

Lead pot · « **Reply #12 on:** February 26, 2005, 04:16:23 AM »

swifty.

I was like you when I wanted to get my sharps. I have 74's Imports and had originals. But I wanted a new 74.
So I made the two day trip out to Big timber Mt. I turned a block to late and went around and I saw the C Sharp building and I walked in and I asked if I could look at there display and the couple behind the counter just pointed to the wall were the rifles were never said a word. So I looked at them and one caught my eye and it was priced and ready for sale. I walked up to the counter were this man and woman were standing and watching me I asked a question if this for sale and ready to go and he said in a short yes. Then I asked more questions for various things. The answers I got were like they were like I was annoying them. I liked the rifle but I put it back in the case, and left and went down the street.
I went into the Shiloh store and was greeted with a warm welcome From Miss Lucinda and she spent a lot of time with me answered what ever question I asked and after looking at all of the fine rifles on display she took me back in the shop were the rifles are build and took me from station to station were they were cutting the barrels and making the parts.
You wont find a friendlier bunch of people.
And there service and warranty is above all. something breaks it is covered. And like someone said they support the shooting sports with donations of these fine rifles. And I know of two deserving persons that Shiloh gave rifles to. THere might be more I don't know.They don't advertise there generosity. There fine people.
I now have three Shilohs from the #2 Creedmoor to a fine basic .50-90 working rifle, and a .44-77 in the works.
Swifty if you feel you need one right now there might be one in the rack you can take home now. They have some now and then ready for sale.
I'm sorry I didn't intend to make a book out of this but feeling for the Shiloh group is tops. I know all by name in the office and a few out in the shop.

Kurt

38-55 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 26, 2005, 05:19:45 AM »

Have a Shiloh and a C Sharps. I have had no trouble with either company. I have more bells and whistles on the Shiloh than the C Sharps. I think both are very well made. My C Sharps is more accurate than the Shiloh, but that could just as easily be the other way around. Also have a CPA which outshoots both of the Sharps.

swifty · « **Reply #14 on:** February 26, 2005, 10:53:26 AM »

I wanted to say thanks to all who have replied. I had not figured how to say thanks to each individually. You comments on experience is a great asset.

Omaha Poke · « **Reply #15 on:** February 28, 2005, 09:03:41 AM »

At the 2003 Quigley match in Forsyth, MT.,I just happened to meet two men from Germany that came all that way to shoot, but their paper work for bringing their rifles and ammo got lost somewhere in the govt. complex (what else is new) and they but not their rifles or ammo were allowed to come to Forsyth. I was able to find some great people who not only spoke German, but had extra rifles and plenty of ammo. I also took them to both the Shiloh and C. Sharps boths and introduced them.

Shiloh did not have any rifles for immediate sale, but C. Sharps did, and let one of the two men shoot his rifle at the match, then cleaned it, and had it shipped with all appropriate paper work to his dealer in Germany. Shiloh would probably have done the same if they had had a rifle there in stock to sell.

I think both companies do their best to satisfy their customers. C. Sharps has had a bad rep for firing pins breaking, and as Ray says, sometimes customer service complaints. I wouldn't even try to explain any of this away. I have rifles made by both companies, and have no complaints.

I have rifles from Shiloh, C. Sharps, Ballard, Browning, and Pedersoli. Each and every one is excellent, and with the right load can and has turned in some excellent scores in both Sil and Target. I wouldn't trade any of them off. Randy

crash87 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 13, 2005, 02:21:08 PM »

Go with the Shiloh, C Sharps In my experience doesn't understand the term, service "after" the sale. Yea I bought a C. Sharps rifle once, Once!

Medbill · « **Reply #17 on:** May 13, 2005, 03:45:45 PM »

I'd go with Shiloh all the way, better resale value, plenty out there now that they have ramped up production. I know a store in Ohio that is practically giving them away. They also have great customer service in my experience anyway. My Shiloh has a Douglas barrel I guess because at the time they weren't making round 38-55 barrels. They also support the sport with donated rifles.

Another great builder of 74 Sharps is Richard McKinney of Schuetzen Gun Co, Drake, CO. He just built me a full stock Gemmer/Sharps that is out of this world. You can check out a pic of it in the Single Shot Forum on this site.

Good luck and good shooting!

Billy

swifty · « **Reply #18 on:** May 13, 2005, 04:33:50 PM »

I would like to know what you call giving them away and what store in Ohio. I have their catalog for 2005. The best I can figure with sights the beauty Sporter #1 would be $2000 . That is a bit more than what I can stand.

Medbill · « **Reply #19 on:** May 14, 2005, 12:18:01 PM »

Here ya go Swifty:

Military Carbine (no saddle ring) Montana made 50/70 $2340 (not such a great deal)

1 Hartford Models one in 44/77 $2250

1 Hartford 40/65 $1800

1 Straight stocked Shiloh, tag not marked what model also in 40/65 for $1800.

Heck any NIB shiloh for $1800 bucks is a steal in my book. Wish I had the spare cash.

Thought I'd pass it on contact Brennen @ 419-281-2557

Billy Lo

swifty · « **Reply #20 on:** May 14, 2005, 04:02:45 PM »

Thanks I eill keep it in mind