doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Sharps Borchardt

No side panels on this one, I would like to do a Zischang type rifle, time will tell.

I think that the Zischang rifles are some of the most elegant rifles made.

Thanks for the reply Michael, I agree with you, someone else's project that didn't make it. I also concurr with you on the Zischang Borchardts, they are very elegant indeed.

Harry

Where did you get the prong butt plate? Thanks

Paul,

If you go here:-

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/696/1

you will find a selection of brass and steel buttplates with prongs both large and small. They will require finishing but it's not too hard a job to do.

Regards,

Harry

Paul, I got it here and like all cast stuff it's undersize before you even start cleaning it up. It needed a lot of cleaning up. When I stopped filing and sanding there are still a few holes in the plate.

http://www.singleshotrifles.com/buttplates.html

That's the trouble with castings. They don't usually allow for shrinkage when the molten metal cools.

Gary,

You are so right, I bought a Pope-Ballard lever casting about thirty some years ago same problem, undersize.

Seems to be a well understood problem to everyone save the ones making them.

Using originals as patterns no doubt. No excuse for that now with laser scanners and CNC routers.

Hello Michael,

Yours is not the only (more or less)standard Borchardt with a Long Range breech block.

I have recently had correspondence with another Borchardt owner who has a Zischang Mid Range Target Rifle cut for Zischang DST's (unfortunately missing). It is currently with Joe Lozito in New York to have a set of his reproduction Zischang DST's fitted. It too has the Long Range Rifle breechblock.

As most people know, A.O.Zischang worked for the Sharps Rifle Company during the time that the 1878 Borchardt was in production and on the closing of the Factory set up his own gunsmithing business in New York.

It would appear from my own research that the remaining stock of the Sharps Co was bought by Schyler, Hartley and Graham the Military Equipment dealers (who could equip an army if requested to do so). They sold off Borchardts for about $12.00 each but they were even cheaper if you bought a case of them.(circa 1905) They also had stocks of spares for the Borchardt and the 1974 Model Sharps rifle.

As you know Zischang favoured the Borchardt action and built many fine target rifles upon that design. It is very likely he sourced his parts from Schyler, Hartley and Graham who were in the same city, and it is probable that others did so as well. As long as the parts fitted together I don't suppose it was of any consequence that the action was assembled using a military or target rifle breech block. It's likely there are more out there than we know about.

Harry

Harry, once again you amaze me with your knowledge! Wow! Thanks!