Opinions of the Quality of Pedersoli Sharps Carbine

[Colt 1851]

Need your opinion and experiences with the quality of Pedersoli's 1859 Sharps carbine. I just received a new-in-the box Pedersoli Sharps from Cabela's. No problem with Cabela's, but I need your opinion on the quality of Pedersoli's carbine replica. My concern centers on the wood to metal fit around the lock, to include the tang, and the butt plate. In several locations the fit is excellent, but in other locations there is a noticable gap. Additionally, the barrel band is very loose. Again, this is a new-in-the box Pedersoli. Did I get a bad copy or is this normal for Pedersoli? I own a Shiloh Sharps and was expecting something fairly close from Pedersoli as I'd heard Pedersoli is noted for good fit and finish. Am I wrong? Had I the opportunity to inspect this carbine in person I would have walked on and selected a better copy or passed in total, in particular considering the price tag. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.

Mike in Alaska

Mike, welcome to the forum. It is a cardinal rule here that all posts must be signed with your full name. Here's a link to some of the rules found in the FAQ : http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...ew_faq_item2nu - Silas Tackitt, one of the moderators

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Opinions of the Quality of Pedersoli Sharps Carbine

Hallo!

Welcome to the AC!

You will find it handy to use the automatic signature feature to be sure all of your posts are signed.

If you do some searches here, you will find that the same things said about the Italian rifle-muskets apply to their carbines as well

In general...

1. Quality Control is "random." Particularly in the areas of wood to metal fit, wood and metal finish, and such things as hardening and tempering, etc.

2. While never proven, based on their products, it appears that importers/vendors contract with the Italians for various degrees of the presence or absence of Quality Control so as to be able to price them at the level they need/want to sell them at. So, a Cimmarron Firearms Co. is off a higher QC level than say a Dixie Gun Works or Cabelas.

As a result, IMHO,, it is always best to buy one you can see and work the action. But that is not always possible.

NM1859 or NM1863 Sharps rifles or carbines...

There are six areas or problems that the Civil Community just lives with mostly:

1. .54 instead of .52 calibre

2. A block like extension of the lockplate that is suposed to take the place or give visual appearance at a distance of the Lawrence Pellet Primer feature of the Sharps. (The one exception being the old 1980's "Garrett" import.)

3. This will vary over time, and maker... but the Italians did away with the Sharps patent floating gas check plate system and replaced it with a solid breechblock and a metal sleeve that is supposed to slide in the chamber to make a gas seal. But with varying degrees of QC, some are frozen, some are stiff, and some work as the Italians intended.

4. Stock wood not being American BLack Walnut but rather "European Walnut" aka Turkish Walnut.

5. Modern blued barrels and simulated Period color case hardening done with cyanide gas.

6. The presence of modern markings and the absence of Period markings and stampings.


And, because of random QC, even from the same store or source, you may get one thing, the lad in front of you another, and the lad behind you yet another. But yes, Shiloh has a higher QC concept.

Curt

[GAR]

Re: Opinions of the Quality of Pedersoli Sharps Carbine

Excellent timing as a pard and I are going to look at a used one today. I know it's an older '59 by Pendersoli, but I'll have to find the date stamp when we see it to know what year it was made. Are the older ones, say from 12 to 15 years ago, known to be any better or worse than the newer productions? I too, was under the impression that Pendersoli represented quality and I read now that it ain't necessarily so.

Great info, as always, Curt. Thank you.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Opinions of the Quality of Pedersoli Sharps Carbine

Hallo!

I try to browse the stands of vendors at events that have Sutlers' Rows, or tables at gun shows to try to keep up. But since I am not sent guns to examine or review....

I do not know every Italian makers' changes over time. They make minor changes every so many years, for example a Euroarms Enfield from say 1986 is not quite the same beast as one from 1996 or 2006.

Basically though, I am biased in favor of earlier production runs because after X number of years, tools and machinery start to wear and can get "sloppy" so things are not quite as crisp and shapr as when things were new or last adjusted and maintianed. But, I would say that is more of a thought than any real way to be able to buy something frozen in time at any given point in the production history.
And some things are a bit more obvious. For exmaple, haivng an older Sharps with a floating gas check tube versus when they modified the design and put a plate in instead of just a on epiece breech block affair with the Sharps check cast in place.

At the end of the day though, IMHO, what one has in one's hands is most a matter of random QC for whatever moment in production history features are present in the gun. For exmaple, one lad gets revolver that c*cks and cycles just fine. The next gets one that will not c*ck or cycle at all because of an action/works filled with oil and metal shavings.

Used guns are the same. But they can be worse as lads get a problematic one and lacking gunsmithing skills or access to or money for a smith, try to "fix" things" on their own and bugger things even worse. (And some blame the Italians and the gun for their crimes...)

IMHO, yes Pedersoli NUG represents the "Mid Range" of reproductions, and because of the "higher" QC they charge more. But, it is a Sliding Scale of QC" even for Pedersoli. NUG far better, not Perfect, but not always.

Curt

[rbruno]

Re: Opinions of the Quality of Pedersoli Sharps Carbine

I have a '59 Pedersoli that I bought maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I think it is an excellent gun aside from the historical issues that Curt mentioned. My sliding metal sleeve in the breech slides most of the time. The mechanics of the block are extremely tight and well fitted. So much so, that if the tiny round metal shims that fit behind the breech block are not completely clean, the block will not slide back up into the gun after a cleaning. The metal fit to the wood is great and the front band is not loose. Maybe I just got lucky, but I am very pleased with the quality of the gun. Again, outside of judging in on the historical inaccuracy.

[Tom Craig]

Re: Opinions of the Quality of Pedersoli Sharps Carbine

What Curt said!

To go further, in my experience in handling dozens of different vintage Pederisoli's over the years that their quality, fit and finish have varied widely and in recent years has trended downhill. Some of the earlier ones (15-20 years ago) were fairly comperable to Garrett's in terms of quality...at least looks wise. Mine is one of these, and even has a functioning pellet primer. It looks great, but works like garbage due to gas check issues. Newer ones I have seen are far closer to Armisport/IAB products. Their quality is all over the map.

The short answer is, you got a pretty typical sounding current Pederisoli.

Take care,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry