[Old Shatterhand]

Recently I found a nearly out-of-the-box condition Colt Sharp's Falling Block in 243Win. It seems to be a decent rifle, and I liked the look and the handling of it, so I told the shop to reserve it for me. I am going to use it for foxsniping and small deer.

Anyone here with experience of this rifle model? There was built a small number of them in the early seventies. P.O.Ackley is said to have started the production and then Colt continued with about 500 rifles. It would be interesting to hear about it!

Pete

 

[Shiloh1944]

Photos would be great.

 

[Hawkeye Hunter]

The Colt Sharps are very rare. The last one I saw sell went for $3600 @ RIA & it had some rust pitting on one side of the receiver. One in NIB condition could bring well over $5,000. You might want to reconsider using it, as any "field damage" will greatly reduce it's value. There are better guns for foxsnipeing! Just food for thought.

 

[Old Shatterhand]

So it looks. The scope is not mounted. Caliber 243 W.

 

[Jack]

Very nice!

 

[JBelk]

For some reason my comment was moderated out. My best friend died with five of those rifles but owned several more. They may be the only factory rifle with a Canjar single-set trigger as standard. The wood came from Calico but the stocks were made and the metal was finished by JP Sauer in Germany.
Colt imported several rifles and shotguns back in the day.

There were some guns ruined by the foam case filler 'melting down' due to a gun oil conflict. Many times it was only one side that got pitted badly.

Your photo is no longer available. Is it possible the gun has been reblued? I don't remember the 'chrome-moly copper' color being that prominent but always there.

 

[Old Shatterhand]

Is it possible the gun has been reblued? I don't remember the 'chrome-moly copper' color being that prominent but always there.

I don't think so. In fact, even the scope has the same purple color as the gun. I think it is the original scope, as these rifles are said to have been delivered with a Leupold Vari-X 3-9x.

I had a slight such purple teint on a Winchester M71 receiver after having the gun reblued. This gun, however, shows no signs of being reblued. The texts and the engravings are sharp and seem not to have been polished; the wood is unscratched.

 

[JBelk]

All the Colt Sharps I've seen were very much over polished by Sauer. That's the big complaint often heard about the single shots and the bolt actions. Weatherby set a trend that showed up in the Colts, H&R Ultras, Winslow Arms and Parker Hales of the period.

You're right about the 3-9X Leupold already mounted and sold in a nice hard case, too. They were a high dollar gun mostly made in high velocity medium bores. I've seen more 25-06s than all others combined.
I was sent two of those rifles in the late '80s that were ruined by a very aggressive chemical reaction between the case padding and blued steel. I never heard what new gun goop was responsible, but it didn't last long. The third rifle was all together different. The damage was spot local to the butt stock and rear of the action. It was eaten away and the stock was black under the cracked finish. Really ugly but when the case was opened, the first clue came out with the air. IF you see that a cat has clawed the padding, assume he left urine in that spot, too. Just a fluke of three Colts in a row.
A customer laid an original Win Model 12 28 gauge on a horse blanket....another customer greased an nice Browning 22 with bacon grease and stood it in plastic case in the corner...Some guns have suffered greatly...

HERE is a Colt Sharps totally redone by a fine gunmaker on the side. He was Douglas shop foreman for many years.
That's a great example of cyanide color case hardening too. None of the straw colors of carbon case hardening.