Shiloh Products Inc. Farmingdale Sharps New Model 1863 Wolfgang Droge Marked 30” Rifle, MFD 1976-83 Mold, Paper Ctg Access. Antique

SOLD FOR: $1,892.77
LSB#: 160610PB05

Make: Shiloh Products Inc.

Model: Sharps New Model 1863

Serial Number: 328

Year of Manufacture: 1976-1983 (Wikipedia – Shiloh Rifle Mfg. Co.)

Caliber: .54 Caliber Percussion

Action Type: Single Shot Breech Loading Lever Operated Falling Block Percussion Rifle

Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “New Model 1863”. The left side of the barrel is marked “BLACK POWDER ONLY”. The right side of the barrel is marked “SHILOH PRODUCTS INC.” and “CAL. 54”. The left side of the receiver is marked ‘SHILOH / PRODUCTS INC.”. The right side of the receiver is marked “SHILOH / NEW MODEL 1863” and “FARMINGDALE / NEW YORK”. The upper tang is marked “328” underneath the tang sight. There is a logo of a wolf’s head which is commonly found on Wolfgang Droge’s Gun’s.

Barrel Length: The heavy round barrel is 30” in length.

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade fixed to a rectangular base on the barrel. The rear sight is a folding ladder sight with the front of its base screwed to the barrel while the rear of the base is dovetailed into the barrel. The rear face of the ladder marked from “1-8”. There is a “V” notch on the bottom rear of the ladder for use when the ladder is folded down. When the ladder is folded up, there is a “V” notch at the bottom of the ladder for use at 100 years, another on the top edge of the slider for use from 200- 700, and another at the very top edge of the ladder for use at 800. There is a long range aperture sight mounted to the upper tang. The slider can be adjusted for elevation by first loosening the eyepiece and then moving the slider using the scale on the left side of the ladder. The ladder has eight major hash lines on its left side with 4 minor lines between each major line. The sight does not have a windage adjustment.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two piece walnut with a straight grip, a case colored crescent shaped buttplate with a case colored patchbox on the right side of the butt. the forend is held by three barrel bands and has a sling swivel attached to the center barrel band with another inlet into the belly of the stock. The stock shows oil staining at the back of the forend, in the wrist and along the top of the comb. There are a few dings on the right side of the forend at the receiver with a few more around the right side of the rear barrel band. There are a few light marks scattered over the forend and buttstock, with a ding and a scrape through the finish on the left side of the buttstock and a few sharp dings near the belly on the right side. The LOP measures 13 13/16” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate, which shows vivid case coloring. The buttplate is in about Excellent condition. The stocks are in about Fine condition.

Type of Finish: The barrel is blued and the receiver, lever, hammer and barrel bands are case colored.

Finish Originality: All Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 98% of its metal finish. There are a few light marks scattered over the front two sections of the barrel with a scratch through the finish on the left side near the receiver. The receiver shows a few light marks sprinkled over its sides. The nipple is clear and without erosion. The screw heads are sharp except for the lower tang stock screw and the tang sight mounting screws, which are distressed. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle rates in about Excellent condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The trigger breaks crisply at 3lbs. 6 ozs. The hammer has a half-cock position. We have not fired this rifle.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: The tang mounted aperture sight is include, along with an one piece brown leather carrying sling marked “U.S.” in large letters and a box of accessories. The sling has a single brass hook at one end and a leather slider at the other for adjusting length, with a 2nd slider available for controlling the gaps in the sling. The sling shows several scuffmarks in the leather and is in about Fine condition. The accessories include just about everything you need to get starting making your own paper cartridges. There is a set of bullet mold dies, a box of about 38 cast lead bullets with beeswax lube, one un-lubed cast lead bullet, a box of about 200 paper cartridge tubes and a packet of 500 2 ½” x 4” “Perfect Paper” paper patches. The top of the bullet mold dies is marked “IDEAL / MIDDLEFIELD, CONN. U.S.A.” and “557”, “407” and “489”, and the bottom of the die set is marked “407”. The mold produces a bullet that is about 0.555” in diameter at the base with a heel diameter of about 0.450”. The bullet weighs 472 grains and has two lube grooves. The mold, paper cartridge tubes and paper patches are all in about Excellent condition. The tubes are about 1.2” in length and 0.50” in diameter. They are designed to fit over the cartridge while you are working on it to give stability to the sides of the cartridge.

Our Assessment: This is a Sharps New Model 1863 Model percussion rifle made by Shiloh Products Inc. of New York. From “Collecting Old Reliable Sharps Rifle” By Tony Bridges 1/4/2011 Gun Digest.

“Through 1973 the 1974, Len Mule’ devoted much of his life to researching Sharps breech-loading rifles and carbines. Not only did he read everything he could find in print, he also visited major museums, including the West Point Museum and the Smithsonian, consulted with leading Sharps experts and collectors in this country, and spent hundreds of hours looking over hundreds of original rifles. One of those experts was Frank M. Sellers, the author of the acclaimed book, Sharps Firearms.

In late summer 1974, Mule’ and his partner, Wolfgang Droege, visited Dixie Gun Works, in Union City, Tennessee. (At that time, the author was working there as an antique arms buyer and Dixie’s catalog editor.) When they left, with them they took a huge selection of original Sharps parts to use for making new tooling. And when these two entrepreneurs showed up at the National Sporting Goods Association Show (predecessor to the SHOT Show) in January 1975, they displayed for the very first time a pair of newly assembled percussion ignition Sharps breechloaders – a “New Model 1863 Rifle” and a “New Model 1863 Carbine.” In that short period of time, this pair had worked with Pinetree Casting (a division of Ruger) to develop the tooling needed to turn out completely modern manufactured duplicates of the original percussion Sharps breechloaders.” It is accepted that the Wolf Head Proof on these early Farmingdale guns is the mark or Owner / Gunsmith Wolf Derge. One might dream that this was one of the guns at that show. One can dream…. and sweet dreams with this in the bed next to you.