Edition 2016-6 Published by C. Sharps Arms Co., Inc.

Shooting the Carbine Hunters Rifle page 3

Manufacturers of A WORLD FAMOUS SERIES of Classic Metallic Cartridge Rifles and Classic Sights

P.O. Box 885, Big Timber, MT 59011 Phone: 406-932-4353 Fax: 406-932-4443

2016 www.csharpsarms.com * info@csharpsarms.com 2016

THE AMERICAN SHARPS SHOOTERS

Publisher: C. Sharps Arms Co. Inc., John R. Schoffstall – President

Mike Nesbitt - - - Editor (miken54@aol.com)

Allen Cunniff --- Field Contributor (tpigskin@comcast.net)

Dangerous Don McDowell - - Field Contributor (ranch13@hotmail.com)

Table of contents: Page

SHOOTING THE CARBINE HUNTER’S RIFLE by Mike Nesbitt ...…………. 3

OLD WEST CENTERFIRES by Bob Gietz ........................................ ...…………8

Outstanding Products ……………………………………………..………..;;…..11

BILLY DIXON’S FAMOUS SHOT by Ashley Garman.. ................... ,,.…….…. 17

“Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason,”—Mark Twain

SHORT EDITORIAL Hey to the Gang; At least a couple of years have passed since I wrote an editorial to the

readers. Now I have some news to share and there is no reason to wait any longer. The good

news is that The American Sharps Shooters will continue, with our hopes of including more of

the good stories and helpful hints on good shooting. However, we won’t be doing it quite as

often because in 2017 we’re going to drop from six editions per year down to four per year.

That will make TASS a quarterly publication rather than a bi-monthly. At this time I don’t

foresee any other changes but we might see about making each edition a bit larger. Don’t count

on bigger editions right away, we’ll have to see how things go. Shoot sharp’s the word, Mike

****************************************************************************

SHOOTING THE CARBINE-HUNTER’S RIFLE By Mike Nesbitt

Among the Model 1874 Sharps rifles made currently by C. Sharps Arms

Company, the Carbine Hunter’s Rifle gets the least attention. That really isn’t

fair because the Hunter’s Carbine is one of the rifle versions that is most often

found on the “guns in stock gallery.” But there is more to it than just that

because the Carbine Hunter’s Rifle is a very shootable Sharps.

When we take a look back at the history of the Sharps rifles, particularly

the Model 1874 in all of its versions, we find both the carbines and the Hunter’s

Rifle. The carbines fall into what we can consider the military style, with the

barrel band around the forearm, and the commercial or civilian style which does

not have the barrel band. Other carbine features are certainly present, most

particularly the brazed or welded to the barrel front sight, that was present on all

Sharps carbines. The brazed front sight is simply a distinctive difference

between the old carbines and the Hunter’s rifles. Photo by BJ Lane’s Images

The civilian carbines are sometimes confused with the Hunter’s Rifles, or vice versa, because they are

quite similar in several ways. At the top end of those similarities are the general profile of the guns and often

their barrel lengths. The old Hunter’s Rifle was offered with barrel lengths from 26 inches out to 32 inches.

The old civilian carbines were commonly made with 25 inch long barrels but Sellers shows an example in his

book Sharps Firearms with a 26 inch barrel. Just like in most cases (including C. Sharps Arms) the catalogs

only show what is considered as standard, orders or requests for simple changes were generally agreed to.

Today’s version of the Hunter’s carbine by C. Sharps Arms is a combination of the old Hunter’s Rifles

and the civilian carbines. In the current catalog this is shown as the “1874 Carbine Hunters Rifle.” It is offered

with the barrel lengths of a carbine, 22, 24, and 26 inches, but with the dovetailed front sight of the Hunter’s

Rifle. Other barrel characteristics follow the carbine barrels with the short flats on the sides of the barrels just

ahead of the action and the “bulge” in the barrels at the breech. What this combination produces is a very handy

hunting rifle, ready to be packed in the timber or carried in a saddle scabbard.

This picture of a Carbine Hunter’s Rifle was taken from the “In

Stock Gallery” and it has a 26” barrel as well as the standard Schnabel forearm.

At the very front of this gun’s description in the C. Sharps Arms catalog, as well as at the end of this

article, there is a list of the cartridges that the new Carbine Hunter’s Rifles can be made in. That list begins with

the .38/55 and ends with the .50/70, including only the .40/65, .40/70 Sharps Straight, and the .45/70 in

between. Those are the cartridges that can do their best in 26-inch or shooter barrels and chambering one of

these light rifles for larger cartridges could make the guns uncomfortable to shoot. However, if you have

desires for a Carbine Hunter’s Rifle chambered for another cartridge, such as the .40/50 for example, don’t

hesitate to ask.

My own Carbine Hunter’s Rifle is chambered

for the .40/70 SS and my gun has the 26-inch barrel. It

is simply standard and has none of the other options,

such as the Hartford style cast German silver nose cap

on the forearm. (If I should ever get another Carbine

Hunter’s Rifle I will order that silver nose cap, in my

opinion it really adds to the looks of the gun.) The

general shape of the forearm includes a Schnabel at the

tip and on my rifle that Schnabel was removed after

delivery to give the gun more of an appearance like the

old Hunter’s Rifles.

All of the Carbine Hunter’s Rifles come

standard with the military style of buttstock and

buttplate. This follows along with the way the original

carbines and Hunter’s Rifles were fitted. And this

model of the 1874 rifles is not particularly a real

Some of the sighting-in was done over X-sticks lightweight gun, my .40/70 SS with the 26-inch barrel

and fitted with the Distant Thunder tang sight weighs almost 10 pounds.

Let me conclude my description of the Carbine Hunter’s Rifle and the comparison of today’s version

with the originals by saying that the Sharps Company introduced the Hunter’s Rifle as a model which was less

expensive than the other 1874s. Today C. Sharps Arms does likewise because their Carbine Hunter’s Rifle is

the least expensive of all of their Model 1874 rifles. It is currently priced at $1925.00 (before taxes) and I will

point out how that is only $70 less than the standard price for an 1874 Bridgeport model. (This mentioned only

because if the buyer wants to added options, the Bridgeport model might be the better way to go.)

Now to talk about the shooting, at least the shooting I’ve done with my own Carbine Hunter’s Rifle. As

already mentioned, mine is in .40/70 SS caliber. I should also point out that I’ve had this rifle for longer than

I’ve actually used it. The reason for that was because I waited for Jamison to introduce their new brass for this

cartridge. Most of my .40/70 SS brass is made by shortening Hornady

.405 Winchester cases and those have a rim that is too thick for this

particular gun. I could have had the chamber relieved a bit to accept

the Hornady brass but decided to wait for the Jamison pieces. That

wait was worthwhile, too although a bit longer than expected. Of

course I do like having the brass with “.40-70 SS” on the headstamp.

But now all is well and all of my shooting with this rifle has been done

with the rather new Jamison brass.

My favorite load simply duplicates the old factory load which

used a 330 grain bullet over 65 grains of powder. More specifically, I

use a 330 grain paper patch bullet cast from a Tom Ballard adjustable

mold which is marked “.400” and wrapped in 9 pound paper which is Paper patched loads and sporting sight

available from Buffalo Arms. Those bullets are loaded over 65 grains of Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F powder,

compressed under a Walters’ veggie wad of .030”, and given a lube cookie of 1/8” of BPC from C. Sharps

Arms. That is a load which I’d love to use for deer hunting but that simply hasn’t happened as yet.

Another load that I like and probably use a bit more than the

paper patch load uses a 370 grain bullet from Saeco’s #640 mold over

63 grains of the Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F powder. That is also the load I

use in my C. Sharps Arms Highwall in .40/70 for silhouettes. In the

Carbine Hunters’ Rifle that loading shoots very well and the 370

grain bullets were what were used to get this rifle sighted-in with the

new Distant Thunder sporting tang sight. (You’ll find more about

that new sight in Outstanding

Products.)

While I haven’t hunting

with this rifle as yet, not all of my

shots have been aimed at paper

targets. Yes, my shooting was

done right after Hallowe’en so I

Five shots while sighting in had a pumpkin to punch. That

pumpkin was set out at 60 yards and properly punched with a couple of the

paper patched bullets just to see what their effect might be. To say those

shot were effective is putting things mildly and, as you might guess, that

pumpkin will never be the same again.

Now my Carbine Hunters’ Rifle in .40/70 SS is hitting center, nicely A paper patched punched pumpkin

sighted-in and ready for more shooting. When more shooting is done, I should have more to say about this fine

rifle and a better report shall follow. And there will certainly be a lot more shooting done with the Carbine

Hunters Rifle, this handy gun is simply too good to leave at home.

“Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion,” Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SALE

Western artist Ralph Heinz painted these especially for us and several individual prints have

sold for $30 each. Now, as our

Christmas Special, we offer the

three of them together for just $50

plus $7 Priority Mail.

These prints all measure 20

by 16 inches and they look fantastic

when framed.

The detail in the prints is

very good and you can see that the

“Scout’s” rifle, in The Scout & The

Tenderfoot is a Gemmer-stocked

percussion rifle.

The other pictures are just as

detailed and we can say they are all

paintings of Sharps shooters by a

Sharps shooter. Get all three with

this special Christmas offer, good

THE SCOUT & THE TENDERFOOT only until January, 2017, from C.

Sharps Arms. Order your 3-print collection for $50 plus $7 postage

C. Sharps Arms Co. Inc.

P.O. Box 885

Big Timber, Montana 5901

406-932-4353 info@csharpsarms.com

THE HIDE HUNTER LAST OF THEIR KIND

Old West

Centerfires By Bob Gietz

To put an already over worked play on words at the beginning of this

shoot report, our Old West Centerfires season for 2017 got started with a real

bang, or a very complete series of bangs. We had nine shooters turn out for this

first-of-the-season event. Plus, we had two new shooters, at least new to our

black powder cartridge matches. One of those new shooters did not compete but

he did spot while one of our competitors was shooting for score. Both of those new shooters said they’ll be

back for more. In addition to the two new shooters, we also enjoyed the return of Mike Moran who hasn’t shot

with us for a whole year. Additionally, the weather treated us rather kindly by not letting the rain that was in

the forecast begin pouring on us, at least until after the shooting was done.

The two new guys brought rifles that deserve to be

commented on. Wayne Miller brought an original

Winchester Highwall in .38/55, complete with an

interesting story. That rifle had been his father’s but Dad

sold the gun several years ago. It was after Wayne’s

father had passed on that Wayne located the rifle again

and made sure it came home to his own gun rack. This

.38/55 Highwall has some special order features such as

the light #2 barrel which is 34 inches long and the double

set triggers. Wayne didn’t shoot in our match because his

gorgeous .38/55 was not sighted in. Maybe next time.

The other new shooter, Clarence Atchison, also

brought a .38/55. His rifle, however, was an H&R

“1871” model, the break-open style built on a single shot

shotgun frame. We don’t encourage this type of rifle

Wayne Miller holding his dad’s highwall mainly

because it is lacking in historical significands. Also,

Clarence didn’t know if his ammunition was loaded with

black powder or not. Our policy is to allow the use of

smokeless powder loads for a new shooter in their first match

with us. We certainly want to draw new shooters into our

little corner of the shooting sports and not turn them away.

Next time Clarence should have some black powder loads.

He was asked what he thought of our black powder cartridge

matches and he said he was highly impressed so we should

see him coming back. He also took a C. Sharps Arms catalog

with him so many the bug has really bitten.

Our top shooter was Allen Cunniff using his C.

Sharps Arms sporting rifle in .45/70. He finished with a

score only 10 down from a perfect 200 for his 20 shots.

Right behind him, using a rifle you could really hear every Clarence Atchison with his .38/55

time it was fired, was Mike Nesbitt shooting his favorite, a heavy .44/90 Sharps with a score of 183-2X. And in

third place was Don Kerr shooting his C. Sharps Arms ’74 Hartford target model in .45/90. C. Sharps Arms

rifles took the top three places this time.

Clarence Atchison placed fourth with his .38/55, getting almost the same score on both targets.

In fifth place was Jim Dickerman with his Shiloh .45/70 and we usually see him finish much higher. As

you can see in the scores, for some reason the 100 yard

target got the best of Jim but his 200 yard target was in

good shape. Also, Jim was sporting a very nice new

hat which might be seen in the group picture.

Coming in at sixth place was dandy Jeff Ritter,

dressed in his 19th century suit, complete with a derby.

Jeff shot his rolling block in .45/90, a do it yourself

rifle using a Remington action. Bob DeLisle was right

behind Jeff taking seventh place with his Pedersoli

.45/70. Bob might have helped Jeff just a bit by

missing his long range target one time.

In eighth place came Mike Moran shooting a heavy

C. Sharps Arms ’74 in .50/70 caliber. Mike shot with

us just once last year and he admits to needing more

practice. Let’s hope he gets that practice because we’d

Mike Moran, feeling the kick from the Sharps .50 like to see him shooting more.

We always need one shooter to finish at the bottom of the list and this time it was Jerry Mayo. Jerry is

using paper patched bullets in his C. Sharps .45/70 and he also needs to get just a bit more used to shooting over

X-sticks. But that will come, probably very soon.

We had a very good first match of our 2017 season and if this is any indication, we’ll have a very good

year with our Old West Centerfires matches. The next match, to be shot at 50 & 100 yards, will be in February.

Scores for this Match Name Rifle/Cartridge 100 yd. 200 yd. Total

1st Allen Cunniff 1874 C Sharps Arms .45/70 94-XX 96-2X 190-4X

2nd Mike Nesbitt 1874 C Sharps Arms .44/90 87-X 96-X 183-2X

3rd Don Kerr 1874 C Sharps Arms .45/90 82-2X 93-X 175-3X

4th Clarence Atchison H&R 1871 .38/55 85 83 168

5th Jim Dickerman 1874 Shiloh Sharps .45/70 69 95 164

6th Jeff Ritter Rem Rolling Block .45/90 79 84-X 163-X

7th Bob DeLisle 1874 Pedersoli Sharps, .45/70 87 73-X 160-X

8th Mike Moran 1874 C. Sharps Arms .50/70 73 73 146

9th Jerry Mayo 1874 C. Sharps Arms .45/70 75 61-X 136-X

ARMED PATRIOT DRONE T-SHIRTS

C. Sharps Arms’ “Armed Patriot Drone” T-Shirts. Logo reads, “I AM AN ARMED

PATRIOT DRONE, CONTROLLED BY GOD.” These Tee’s are 100% cotton,

available sized Medium, Large, and Extra Large. Colors, either red or blue. Price

$15.00 plus postage.

To get your shirt send orders to or call C. Sharps Arms, P.O. Box 885, Big

Timber, MT 59011-Phone: 406-932-4353.

You can also order these shirts from our

web site at

www.csharpsarms.com

These new shirts do make a “timely”

statement. Let’s spread the news by

declaring our loyalty and faith.

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTS: by Mike Nesbitt

PROTECTIVE SIGHT POUCHES FROM OCTOBER COUNTRY

Does anyone here remember the movie, Quigley Down Under? (I just had to ask…) In that movie

Matthew Quigley carried the ladder or staff for his tang mounted sight in a protective leather bag. While we

can guess that his use of that bag and the scene where he takes the sight staff out of the bag and attaches it to the

rifle were done mainly for dramatics, we can also see how having a leather pouch to protect our rifle’s sights

can be a very good idea. For those of us who think protecting our rifle’s sights is a good idea, October Country

makes leather sight bags just for that purpose.

In the photo, the long range sight on Mike’s .44/90 is in one bag and the other pouch is waiting for duty.

My own use for one of these pouches, or sight bags as October Country calls them, is to slide the pouch

down over the sight while the sight’s ladder is still mounted on the gun. With the sight ladder covered, the

pouch will protect the comb of the stock from getting little “dings” in the wood from contact with the eye cup, if

that cup is adjusted high enough to touch the wood, perhaps after some long range shooting. One of these

leather sight bags is now seen with regularity on the rear sight for my .44/90 Sharps.

October Country’s sight bags are seven inches deep which is just long enough to cover the ladder of a

long range sight. And it has a leather draw string which can be tightened to keep the sight pouch from falling

off of the sight when the rifle is carried in a case or a cover.

October Country describes their sight bags as being made of an oil tanned chocolate brown suede leather

which matches their Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Cover. (That nice rifle cover will be mentioned in a

following edition of TASS.) The sight bags are sold in pairs, sets of two, and they suggest using a sight bad

over the rifle’s front sight too. Their price for a pair of these sight bags is only $20 plus postage, well worth the

price for the protection to the rifle’s sights or to the stock wood that they can offer.

These leather sight bags can be seen on the October Country web site at www.octobercountry.com. If

you think you need some sight bags that are deeper, for longer sight staffs, just ask them. And if you’d like

more information just call October Country at 208-762-4903. October Country is located at 6272 N.

Government Way, Dalton Gardens, Idaho 83815.

“The more laws, the less justice,” Cicero

BUFFALO HUNTER SPORTING TANG SIGHT

Distant Thunder is kind enough to let us announce the new

Sporting Tang Sight so recently put into slow production,

being made as orders come in. And he allowed us to have

some “say” in what features this sight would have. Obviously,

this Sporting Tang Sight is made following the lines of the old

Sharps sporting tang sight which is seen on several old or

original Sharps rifles.

One feature should be rather outstanding in the view to the

left and that is the set screw for the elevation. The old original

sights did not have that. We quickly suggested adding the set

screw because my shooting partner Lynn Willecke had an

Axtell copy of the Sharps sight where the elevation would

move each time the rifle fired. Perhaps on this Distant

Thunder sight the friction on the sight ladder is good enough to

hold its elevation without the set screw. But the set

thumbscrew is available as an option, if you want it, just ask

for it. The sight on their web site doesn’t have the set screw.

There is another set screw, for the windage this time.

Windage is adjustable by

simply moving the

windage bar, dovetailed

to the slide on the sight,

The Buffalo Hunter Sporting Tang sight to the right or left. Once

the best position for windage is found, that bar can be locked into that

position with the very small screw on the slide. This isn’t shown in the

photos.

On the sight I have, that tiny set screw is a very small Allen screw.

I do hope that Jim will use a small slotted screw on sights yet to be made.

Using a slotted screw will add a lot to authenticity of this style of sight.

One very obvious thing about these sporting tang sights is that

they have no eye cup. When my sight was being made I specifically told

Jim that I wanted a “peep hole” of 5/64” diameter. My eyes like to get

more light than what most people prefer. And that was done. In the

photo showing the sight from the back it might look like that “peep hole”

is too large and for some shooters’ tastes, it is. No problem there, Jim

simply asks all who order this sight to let him know what custom aperture

size is desired.

By the way, my partner Lynn Willecke also got one of these sights

but with a much smaller aperture size. Where we live in the dark timber,

that wasn’t big enough and he either plans to or has drilled it out.

Also, at this time the hole spacing and sight bases are made only

for mounting to the Sharps rifles. However, Jim will consider making

custom bases for rifles needing other mountings.

As you might have noticed in the first story in this edition, I have All set and ready for aiming

this sight mounted on my Carbine/Hunters Rifle in .40/70 SS and I really do like it. Now its alignment is all set,

well sighted-in, and I really think this sight will stay there. It’s all ready for hunting, for sure.

The price for one of these sights is $225.00 plus postage. To get one (or more) just contact Mr. Jim

Kluskens, O'Hare Tool, Inc., Distant Thunder Products, P.O. Box 138, Niagara, WI 54151. Visit the Distant

Thunder web site at www.distantthunderbpcr.com.

TEXAS BORE PIGS

The TEXAS BORE PIGS are a “one-pass” bore wiping accessory much like the “Bore Wipe System”

that Dangerous Don McDowell reported on in the last edition but I do think the TEXAS BORE PIGS were

available to shooters first. Even so, I just started using them and I do find that I really like them.

Some background is in order. I learned about the TEXAS BORE PIGS after contacting Rick Morrill at

The 310 Shop about a completely different subject. (You might guess, that “different subject” was to talk about

310 Tools. More about that later, probably next year.) Somewhere within our conversation, Rick asked me if I

had tried his TEXAS BORE PIGS and I admitted that I had not. He suggested that I give them an honest try.

So, we started talking more seriously, especially after I told Rick that I’d like to try his bore pigs through

my .44/90 Sharps. He makes the bore pigs for a wide variety of calibers (.35, .38, .40, .45, and .50), but not for

.44s. “That’s alright,” he stated, “a set of “pigs” for a .45 should work very well through your .44. Just a wee

bit tighter.” Soon after that I received a set of 15 “pigs” made for the .45s, and almost as soon they were being

squeezed through my .44/90.

The TEXAS BORE PIGS do differ from the BACO Bore Wipe System in construction. These use a

bristle brush (bronze or nylon) at the front, followed by a bristly absorbent section which is then followed by a

leather disc. Rick probably had better names for those “ingredients” to his bore pigs, let’s just say that my

terms are descriptive and not actual nomenclature. Those parts are all mounted to the twisted wire of the bristle

brush, so the pigs are simply one piece.

Instructions for use come with each set of 15 “pigs.” Following

those instructions, you place the new “pigs” in plain water to soak and

drain the water off just before going to the firing line. After firing that

first shot with your rifle, shake any excess water off of the “pig” and

insert it with bristles forward into the chamber of the rifle. Push the

“pig” through the bore with a rod and be sure the “pig” exits the muzzle.

Remove the rod and you are ready to chamber and fire another round.

Between targets or shooting relays, soak the dirty “pigs” in clean water

again, drain the water off, and simply start over. After the shooting

session, clean the “pigs” with soapy water, rinse, and set out to dry.

I followed those instructions almost to the letter. One tiny

difference is that sometimes I soak the “pigs” in a bore wiping solution

made of Windex with vinegar mixed with water, about four parts water

to one part Windex. And for a rod, I'm using a 48” long wooden dowel,

un-cut. I found that my standard cleaning rod was not long enough.

Five shots at 100 yards while using the pigs Also, take my advice and be sure your rifle’s tang sight is folded all

the way down. Or, your hand pushing on the back of the rod will likely encounter the top of the sight, perhaps

in an uncomfortable way.

My shooting while using the TEXAS BORE PIGS

has certainly improved and I find these “pigs” very easy to

recommend. For my testing, I shot my .44/90 Sharps from

a benchrest with targets posted at 100 yards. Using the

“pigs” was noticed in group tightening from the very start.

And, as this is written, I have used the “pigs” only one

time in competition, in the Old West Centerfires match

that is reported on in this edition. All I will say in

conclusion is that I’ll be using these “pigs” again, probably Close up of a (dirty) Texas Bore Pig

as standard doin’s with my .44/90.

Getting a set of TEXAS BORE PIGS isn’t hard. Just contact Rick Morrill at The 310 Shop, 4237

Boxwood Drive, Denton, Texas 76208. Telephone 940-271-1222. You can also go to his web site which is

www.the310shop.com. The “pigs” are priced at $65 for a set of 15 plus $3 for postage.

“If you want a real friend that you can trust in Washington, get a dog.” - Harry Truman –

Billy Dixon’s

Famous Shot

Was it skill or luck?

By Ashley Garman

Recently I paid a visit to Adobe Walls, Texas; scene of the famous

“shooting match” in the early summer of 1874 between a handful of

beleaguered buffalo hunters and a horde of angry Comanche, Kiowa, and

Southern Cheyenne warriors. The white hunters and merchants who survived

the Indian’s first rush took refuge in the sod and log buildings of a recently-built trading post and successfully

repelled repeated assaults by the Indians, who eventually found it healthier to stay out of sight and out of range

of the hunter’s buffalo rifles. On the third day of the siege, a group of Indians appeared atop a hill some

distance from the trading post. At the urging of his comrades, a young buffalo hunter named Billy Dixon, using

a borrowed “Big Fifty” Sharps rifle, took a few shots at the group. To everyone’s amazement, especially the

targeted group of Indians on the faraway hill, Billy’s third shot knocked one of them off his horse. Realizing

there was no place safe within sight of the buffalo hunters, the Indians decamped and the siege was lifted.

That incredible shot became a part of American frontier legend and lore. Even today, 142 years later,

“Billy Dixon Matches” are regularly held across the country, and overseas, wherein contestants try to replicate

Billy’s amazing long range shot. There is some question however, as to whether that shot was really an

amazing feat of skill or just random luck. Dixon himself dismissed it as a “scratch shot”, implying that he

believed the latter. I always preferred to think Billy was just being humble, that he had the talent, experience

and equipment to make that shot possible. But an analysis of the historical facts, the terrain, and ballistics has

led me to a better understanding of what was possible, and a more realistic conclusion.

The trading post at Adobe Walls, Texas was built along a tributary stream within the wide canyon of the

Canadian River, near the ruins of a demolished adobe fort. Irregular 80 to 100-foot high bluffs separate the

river bottom from the plateau above. In June of 1874 the trading post consisted of two stores, a saloon, a

blacksmith shop, a stable, and a mess hall. Some of the buildings were enclosed in a “pole fence stockade”. The

terrain around the trading post is flat and almost treeless. The nearest significant relief is a flat-topped butte or

mesa about 600 yards away to the northeast. Another similar-looking mesa is visible at a distance of about

1200 yards to the east. Beyond those two prominent landmarks, a broken line of bluffs form the eastern and

northeastern skyline, ranging from 1300 yards to over a mile away. According to the witnesses, the group of

warriors Dixon engaged were somewhere on that high ground. But exactly where? How far away?

Of the various possible locations, the nearest and most obvious is atop the prominent mesa at 600 yards.

That location would have provided the Indians an excellent vantage point from which to observe activities at the

trading post. Any mounted Indians atop that mesa would have been clearly visible from the settlement, and

their presence there would indeed have been

cause for concern among the whites. Taking a

shot at them would have been imperative; and

hitting one that far away, particularly using a

borrowed rifle, would certainly have been an

impressive feat – equivalent to hitting the Ram

silhouette, at 500 meters, from 75 yards or so

behind the firing line. But among professional

buffalo hunters, a hit at that distance would

probably not have been the food for legends. Witnesses claim the Indians were on a more distant hill and logic

supports that claim. No Indian would expose himself on horseback so close to the trading post after the

marksmanship demonstration so recently provided by the buffalo hunters.

The next possible target location is the similar-looking mesa at about 1200 yards. From a tactical

perspective the top of that mesa could have served the Indians as a signal or command post, or as an observation

point from which to watch for approaching reinforcements, friendly or not. It would have been too far away to

closely observe activities at the trading post, but likewise would have seemed well out of rifle range. Indians

atop that mesa would have had little concern about exposing themselves on horseback. From the trading post a

group of mounted Indians on that mesa would have been visible, and even though the range was ridiculously

long, taking a shot at them would have seemed worthwhile. Allowing them to remain there unmolested might

tend to embolden them while even a near miss would likely disperse them and discourage renewed aggression.

Actually hitting one would have been phenomenal! That would indeed have been the stuff of legends.

Three more possibilities exist. Farther away to the east, visible between the two mesas, are a line of flat-

topped hills. These hills are in fact lobes or promontories projecting from the distant escarpment. From the

front of Hanrahan’s saloon, Billy’s conjectural firing point, the right or southern lobe lies at a range of 1340

yards. The central lobe is 1420 yards away. The left or northern lobe is 1538 yards away. That last number is

significant because that is the exact distance given by the Army survey party when they measured Billy Dixon’s

shot just two weeks after the event. And that is the range most often quoted for the Billy Dixon Shot. But

could that really have been where the Indians were? Would a group of mounted Indians on that hill have even

been visible from the trading post? Possibly, but they would have appeared as tiny dots on the horizon. Being

on flat ground at a higher elevation they would have been partially masked by the terrain. Estimating range or

windage would have been hopeless. And it is doubtful that witnesses could have seen warriors on foot

recovering the body of a fallen comrade

as they claimed to have done.

That brings us to the question of

ballistics. Was a 1538-yard shot even

possible? In his book, Shooting Buffalo

Rifles of the Old West, Mike Venturino

discusses the Billy Dixon shot and

describes tests performed at Yuma

Proving Ground using a .50-90 Sharps

mounted in a machine rest. He

concludes that the shot was entirely

possible, but there are a few problems

with how he arrived at that conclusion. One experiment that supposedly replicated the “Billy Dixon Shot” used

a 650 grain bullet, when Dixon’s bullet should have actually weighed no more than 473 grains. Another

experiment used a more realistic 450 grain bullet, but elevated the muzzle an unrealistic 35 degrees. Neither

experiment proves much about the feasibility of the shot.

With a few facts and some reasonable assumptions, we can use a modern advanced ballistic solver and

some high school math to make a more accurate determination of what was and was not possible.

We can be fairly certain that Dixon used a Sharps Model 74 Sporting Rifle, .50 caliber with a 2½ inch

chamber, what today would be called a .50-90 Sharps. Standard barrel length in that model was 30 inches.

Standard sights were a blade front and barrel-mounted “Lawrence” flip-up ladder rear providing slightly less

than one inch of elevation adjustment. With a 30-inch barrel, the sight radius would be 23 inches, allowing the

muzzle to be elevated almost 2½ degrees.

It is possible, though not necessarily probable, that the rifle was equipped with a tang-mounted rear peep

sight and globe front sight allowing greater aiming precision and a bit more range. Tang sights were not

common on buffalo rifles in 1874. They were fragile and quite unnecessary as buffalo were still plentiful and

could be shot at fairly close range. If the rifle did have a tang sight, it was not the long range “Creedmoor” type

with elevation lead screw and sliding Vernier scale we know today. The only tang sight then available on the

buffalo plains was the “Sporting” tang sight which had a friction slide adjustable up to about two inches (or 200

“points”) of elevation, and sometimes having a windage bar adjustable for perhaps 10 points of windage either

side of center. Assuming a standard 30-inch barrel, the sight radius with the tang sight would be 34 inches,

allowing the muzzle to be elevated about 3½ degrees.

The ammunition Dixon used was most likely a 473-grain paper patched bullet over 100 grains of

powder, either factory made or handloads that duplicated the factory cartridge. Muzzle velocity would have

been approximately 1400 feet per second.

We can make informed estimates of bullet diameter, ballistic coefficient, etc. For atmospheric

conditions, we have the witness accounts of the weather being hot and dry, and the National Weather Service’s

local average weather data for that date. And a map will give us location, elevation, and azimuth information.

Plugging all that into a ballistic solver gives us the vertical drop and horizontal drift for any given range and

conditions. That information can then be converted to sight setting based on sight radius.

As it turns out, under optimum conditions, the barrel sight on a standard “Big Fifty” Sharps Sporting

rifle would permit aimed fire out to about 1000 yards. If the rifle was equipped with a tang sight, it would allow

aimed fire out to about 1200 yards. To hit something on that bluff at 1538 yards would require 100 points more

elevation than either sight had. Using holdover, the rifle would need to be pointed 400 feet over the target.

With no means to estimate range or calculate that holdover, and nothing above the target to use for an aiming

mark, there was no possible way to take a deliberate shot at anything that far away. If Billy Dixon did indeed

shoot an Indian off his horse at 1538 yards, it was random chance and nothing more. He lobbed a bullet in that

general direction and 5.6 seconds later an Indian happened to get in front of it. But even a chance hit at that

range would have been effective. That 473-grain slug would still have been travelling at a decidedly lethal 600

feet per second when it struck.

Having seen the ground first hand, I believe it is much more likely that those Indians were spotted atop

the mesa at 1200 yards. I think the Army surveyors got it wrong. And it just happens to be at the right place for

a maximum range shot using a sporting tang sight. Realizing his target was at or beyond the limits of his sight,

Dixon would simply have set his sight at maximum elevation. As it turns out, that would have been the correct

elevation setting for that range. And although wind is usually the biggest challenge in long range shooting, it

was probably not a significant factor in Billy Dixon’s shot. Recall that Dixon was shooting into a group of

mounted Indians, likely clustered together close enough for conversation, making them one very wide target. He

could simply aim at the upwind end and let the breeze carry the bullet somewhere into group. If the wind that

day was blowing at the historically average 11 mile per hour from the southeast, bullet spin drift would have

partially offset the crosswind deflection, and the bullet would have hit 14 feet to the left of his point of aim, or a

couple of Indians over.

That is not to suggest that the shot was easy. As anyone who has ever competed at long range knows,

difficulty increases exponentially with range. Few targets are missed completely at 800 yards, but everyone

takes a miss or two at 1000 -- and that under ideal conditions at a known distance with unlimited sighters and

precise downrange feedback. For Dixon to have hit that Indian at 1200 yards was an amazing feat. Some luck

was certainly involved, but Billy Dixon had the talent, nerve and eyesight to take advantage of that luck. Let’s

face it, that was one helluva shot!

Interestingly, the unreasonable range of 1538 yards keeps getting applied to more reasonable locations.

On page 315 of Frank Sellers’ Sharps Firearms there is a photograph of the 600-yard mesa which the caption

describes it as the “long shot bluff”, stating that it is 1538 yards away. On page 223 of Mike Venturino’s

Shooting Buffalo Rifles of the Old West is a photograph identifying the 1200-yard mesa as the butte where Billy

Dixon probably took his famous shot, yet the accompanying text again gives the range as 1538 yards. Like a

good legend, the fantastic range of seven eighths of a mile keeps getting repeated.

In memory of Billy Dixon, for my money, a proper “Billy Dixon match” would be at something over

1200 yards (exact range unknown), sitting, using cross sticks or an improvised rest, no sighters, and you get

three tries to hit a life-sized “mounted Indian group” target. More importantly, some of the proceeds from such

a match could be donated for the maintenance, preservation and improvement of the 1874 Adobe Walls Historic

Battle Site. That scruffy little five-acre tract in the middle of the Texas panhandle is sacred to us Sharps rifle

enthusiasts. But frankly, it needs attention. Organizations like The Hutchinson County Historical Museum

www.hutchinsoncountymeseum.com in nearby Borger, Texas and the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

(panhandleplains.org) which actually owns the site could mark the locations of the structures that once made up

the trading post, and erect interpretive signs and information about what happened there. But that takes money

– money to build it and money to maintain it. They can certainly use our help. Let’s remember Adobe Walls!