Choosing a reproduction

The Sharps Shooter

The Sharps Shooter

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Hey everyone, I have a question for some of you who may be familiar with shooting replica black powder rifles.

I'm looking to buy my first gun and I have always wanted a black powder rifle. I'm not terribly interested in any of the modern designs as fun as they may be but am looking to pick up a nice reproduction of a historic piece possibly new but preferably used.

I've whittled my options down to three guns and would love to get opinions on their pros and cons as well as the best manufacturers in terms of build quality and reliability and best supplier in terms of customer service and pricing. If I drop big bucks on a rifle I want it to last and look good doing it.

The three I have in mind are as follows:
m1861 Springfield in .58 calibre
m1863 Sharps cavalry carbine in .54 calibre
and finally m1853 Enfield in .577 calibre
(At a close 4th place is the 1863 Remington Zouave rifle)

I am a bit of a war history nut and the arms of the American civil war era have always fascinated me. I am also open to suggestions however. If you know of another gun along the same lines from a different country or time period I'd love to hear about it!

Thanks!
 
Well, you have a few options. If you aren't buying new, you can find some of the rifles you mentioned for under $500.00, such as the Zouave and Springfield. You can find these made by Antonio Zoli or Euroarms in very nice condition from the 70's for under $500.00. If you want a gun built to original specs in a reproduction then something like the Parker Hale Enfields fill the bill but ones in very nice condition are $700.00-$1000.00. All of these types of guns I mentioned come up on the EE.
 
You'll get what you pay for. P-H Enfields are the Shiloh rifles of military muzzleloaders. You get workmanship and pride of ownership.

If you check out the EE, you see how much people value quality in their guns with one exception - BP/muzzleloaders seems to hate spending money on their guns and go cheap.
Not all, but a lot of them.
 
I own three Parker Hale Rifles and they are excellent. I have also owned Italian guns and as far as workmanship and reliability are concerned have been just as good. As said they come up on the equipment exchange all the time. I think that if you don't do any casting you should consider learning to do so.i do not recall seeing 58 caliber round ball or minnies at any stores. I have seen them at gun shows though. Its not hard to cast and a recent thread covered the subject so check it out.

Cheers. SJ
 
I've owned an Italian '53 Enfield and comparing it to my P-Hs was an apples & oranges comparison. Like comparing a Pedersoli "Sharps" to a Shiloh product.

You pays you money - you takes you choice.
 
For a Canadian, from a historical perspective the P'53 Enfield would be the way to go - it was what both British Regulars and Canadian Militia were primarily armed with, prior to being supplanted by the Snider-Enfield cartridge conversion -

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Canadian Militia Rifleman, circa 1865/66

And, as you undoubtedly know, after the Springfield the Enfield was the most common rifle in the hands of troops on both sides in the American Civil War ...

I would add my vote for the early British-made Parker-Hale reproduction, if you can lay your hands on one!

At one time I was enamored with the rather flashy Zouave rifle (and had one for quite a while) but apparently there was little or no documented use of this model during the ACW, and I gather that at least some ACW re-enactment organizations do not permit its use ...
 
The Italian repros I have from the 70's are fairly well made guns. Maybe not as nice or quite as historically correct as the Parker Hale but still nothing wrong with them. These black powder guns from the 70's are becoming "vintage" guns in themselves.
 
Sharps '63 said:
True, but in the case of the Shilohs and P-Hs, parts will exchange with the originals.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is true. I have a very nice 3 band Parker Hale in my collection and it is well made. I had an unfired muskatoon but I traded it a couple of years ago. Sometimes I regret trading it but I'm very happy with the trade so I guess all is okay, LOL.
 
Thank you all for the advice and replies! I will check out the EE as soon as I am able. I am not looking to go cheap on this, well as cheap as a nice gun can be had for of course, but I do want a quality piece that will last if cared for and is as historically accurate as possible.

@Grant R The Zouave is a close fourth for that exact reason! As nice as they are to look at I've read that many Zouave units switched to Springfield or Enfield rifles early on either by choice or by mandate of the U.S. Army (Supply problems and all that) but that it is possible they were used by some artillery units in lieu of carbines. In any case, both the Enfield and Springfield are much better representations of firearms from that conflict.

@stevejones I will look in to casting threads, thanks =) Sounds like it could be some fun.

@Sharps '63 I have been told that functionally the Italian made guns are just fine but as far as over all build/material quality and historical fidelity to the originals that U.S. or British manufactured guns are the way to go. It is true that you get what you pay for, I'm hoping a used gun of quality will meet a happy medium between satisfying my historic needs and not breaking the bank.

Thanks again everyone!
 
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