Sharps Borschardt 45 2.6 1000 yard match rifle

Around 1990 a friend of mine, Charlie Fischer, who hunted elk at my house up on King Mountain told me he had a rifle I might be interested in. I had aquired a lot of nice old guns from Charlie, a 1895 303 Winchester and a 1887 Winchester lever action shotgun, to name a few.

So I told Charlie I would be interested and what he produced was an almost pristine 1878 Sharps Borschardt Military rifle in 45 2.1 or 45/70.

I say almost pristine, like alot of old guns this one had been altered at one time, and what they did was drill holes for scope mounts some where along its then 112 year history, and one of the holes was drilled right in the middle of the “Old Reliable” trademark, ruining whatever collectors value the rifle might ever have.

But it was a fun shooter, I shot it for severl months and with the elevator barrel sights even hit a pepper popper at 1000 yards off hand with three witnesses, albiet small witnesses, my three little kids. Being the whore I am I told them to remember that event and they do in fact still remember it.

I decided I wanted to alter the now non collector rifle to a sporting rifle. I had Charlies parents who were internationaly known stockmakers and had made several custiom Mausers for me, to do the wood out of nice but non spectacular walnut, the reciever engraved by George Wilson, an aging engraver of some fame, and a Douglas barrel put on it by a machinest friend who also recontoured the reciever to sporting rilfe specs without the trademark side cut outs, then have the entire rifles metal work fininshed by the then and now famous firearms restorer Doug Turnbull.

Basically I was shipping it out in steps to the masters of the day.

I returned a beautiful engraved handy rifle with a 28 inch barrel in 45/70 in 1993. I used it for some time, hunting and killing deer and elk with it with Black powder cartridges.

Then I got interested in 1000 yard gong shooting and by 2000 had won the SASS Oregons state long range title at Horse Ridge outside of Bend, with a 1874 Sharps #1 sporting rifle in 4570. But I found the short 2.1 was lacking in volume for the amount of Black Powder I wished to burn, so I had JGS reamers in Coos Bay Oregon make me a 45/100 or 45 2.6 reamer.

I had the Douglas barrel drilled for a scope mount and cut to 16 inches for hunting elk in the thick brush mounted with a Leupold 1×5 scope and I had a 2nd barrel, a 30 inch Kreiger 45/100 barrel fitted for long range competetion.

With the long barrel and the Hocke tapered 550 grain bullet and 83 grains of Swiss #2 the rifle will put 10 shots into 3 inches at 200 yards,, standing off sticks, but the first three will usually print a cloverleaf until the fouling takes over.

The scope is a handmade Montana Vintage Arms 6 power mildot 23 inch period reproduction. The belt and holster are my creations and I wore them daily riding with the revolver of the day.

I shot it for several years, and when my adopted son, David, one of those three little guys who witnessed that 1000 yard shot, went off to fight in Iraq with the USMC, while he was gone, I promised myself if he returned from that hell hole alive, I would give him the Borschardt as a token of my love and respect for him. He came back and he now owns the rifle.

Here it is.

Regards,

Roachcreek