Something's been bugging me for several years. I grew up passionately in love with Sharps rifles from the time I was about 10 years old. Frank Sellers' book is burned into my memory and my copy was read until the binding fell off. I owned a Shiloh at about age 14 and later put a big heavy barrel on it. But all that time, it kept gnawing at me - Shiloh rifles just don't look like the originals.
There is something...different...does anyone else see what I mean? I think it's a combination of stock design and barrel profiles. The action is probably a direct clone. I know the hammer and underlever is identical. But their stocks do not look like original stocks, and from what I can see their barrels (except probably the military barrels) just look drastically different. I say all this because I'm thinking of getting one and getting into paper patch again (I haven't done it in about 20 years) but I'm wondering if there is a Sharps out there that really looks like an original rifle. My firearms appreciation is as much about the aesthetics of the firearm as it is about function and accuracy.
Or maybe I'm all wet and just need new glasses. Advice from other Sharps-shooters would be appreciated.
