Matthew Quigley (played by Tom Selleck) demonstrates his modified Sharps model 1874 rifle in the movie "Quigley Down Under". This movie popularized the Sharps rifle the way the "Dirty Harry" movies popularized the 44 magnum revolver.
I got one myself in 45-70 and the trigger is the heaviest ive ever felt, but when you use the double set trigger, it becomes extremely sensitive. My dad shot the ground by accident after touching the trigger
They have that rifle in Springfield Mo at the base pro headquarters. They, by a miracle I was there the same day TS was there and he was holding it and talking to the museum people. He let us all hold the rifle and take pictures with him.
Maybe it’s just me but seemingly the heavier the rifle the easier it is to hit your target. Lighter weighted rifles I have trouble keeping them from swaying. Recently bought a mosin nagant 91/30 and it’s perfectly weighted to where I don’t have any sway.
This is a movie scene, but it is worthwhile because it accurately depicts it's subject. The rifle & ammo is perfectly correct in detail. Quigley does exactly what a highly trained marksman would do. He blows the lint out of his rear aperture sight from both directions to knock out any lint particles that would diffract light. He checks both velocity and direction of the wind. He makes his sight adjustments. He takes his hat off for even lighting on his sight. He uses the set trigger which allows a trigger release in ounces for precise let off. And since Mr. Quigley is "the best marksman in the world" he connects at a range that leaves his observers dumb founded. All possible with this rifle tech shown IF the man behind the gun was trained and gifted.
Yah everything except he fires from a totally unbraced position which is a total joke. He's just hanging the rifle out there barely bracing it against his body. Free elbow. That would never be done. A shot like that he would either have a rest or brace his elbow in.
@@Xiones11So you are saying that Hicock45 and Gary Michelek are frauds? The former demonstrated 300 yard hits with 9mm pistol. The latter nailed 1000 yards with a Barret .50, standing, 3-second window to aim and fire. A lifetime of competitive shooting sharpens up a person to do the seemingly impossible. BTW, Gary also shot a Barret .50 6 shots, just under two seconds, all six on pistol-range target. Then he did the same thing, two shots each on three targets, 2.05 seconds. Most people can't hold a Barret at port-arms, let alone fire one without getting thrown around.
@@pirobot668beta Snapping off a shot to 1000 yards with a .50 bmg is one thing. Thats something like 22 feet of drop to compensate for. Snapping off a 700-800 yard shot like this with a .45-110 is something totally different. That is like indirect fire for that rifle at that point. Around 75 feet of drop to compensate for running off some winged calculations. It is a totally doable shot but it is not a shot you just snap off. Not with a rifle like that. Great movie but that scene is bs.
I had an uncle who looked so much like Tom Selleck, coolest guy in the world, and my favorite person. He was the father figure to me growing up, and he passed away just recently. I will always miss him
I don't think that there is one Tom Selleck movie or TV show I didn't like. He's a wonderful actor, has a great smile and personality, and is really down to earth. Had the pleasure of meeting him when he came to visit his mom in the Hospital, in Detroit. The nurses went nuts, taking turns on their shifts to go up and take a peek and swoon at him, lol.
Watch again and notice somethings. He sets the rear sight (distance) as the horse is at a gallop and then calls the stop. This shows he knew exactly the range he wanted it, it also shows that he is able to calculate how long it will take the horse and rider to reach that distance.
He waited for the rider to reach the crest of that hill so that he could shoot as far as the terrain allowed. That's why the bucket disappears on the far side of the hill when he shoots it the third time.
Proud to actually own an original 1874 Sharps buffalo rifle. Tang sights. Double set triggers. Engraved. Caliber 50-95. Just as lovely as the one Tom used!
Imagine if Quigley forgot he had a bullet chambered and accidentally shot himself while he had his wrist resting on the barrel end of his gun. Everyone would be laughing at him as he bleeds everywhere, then he goes back home ashamed with his gun arm immobilized. He becomes a poor beggar, losing his only livelihood. Better yet, imagine Quigley accidentally pulls the trigger as he takes off the cover whilst he was flagging Marston and his associates. He kills Marston and the whole purpose of the movie ceases to exist.
I have the same gun...it is NOT easy to forget everything you were ever taught about ballistics, shooting modern rifles, while learning to shoot black powder rifles like this. It is a "rabbit hole" you fall into, where you have to relearn ballistics, lead hardness, primitive casting techniques amongst many other things. After much research of available data, you decide on the "perfect" load...and then fail miserbally. Then promptly go back to learning. Eventually you learn (after much trial and error) enough to realize, these rifles (1870's tech) were very accurate for their time and excellent shooters.
Shiloh Sharps has a reproduction of this exact rifle, it's expensive but a lot of fun to shoot. I had the pleasure of shooting on about 4 years ago, except it was loaded with a .45-120 (10 more grains of black powder). The kick is actually not all that bad, more like a shove than an actual sharp kick like many high caliber smokeless powder guns give. But you can feel the explosive force on your face when you shoot, it really is an entirely different feeling.
This is the second best scene of the movie. The first is where he informs his employer- " I said I never had a use for a six shooter.....I never said I did not know how to use one." RH DSD
Chris P. Bacon I seen the Sharps rifles at their booth at the NRA event in St.Louis several years back, man they were some nice looking rifles I have always wanted one.
That's not a Sharps rifle, even though that's what they call it in the movie. And the term "sharpshooter" has been around far longer than firearms have been...
Great movie, great script, Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman were perfect for this movie. Ever since this movie came out about 30 years ago or so, I’ve always wanted a Shiloh Sharps. Both my wife and I are buying one in different configurations. They have a Quigley shoot in Forsyth, Montana every year. No mistaking the ping sound of those big bullets hitting steel at distances I can’t even see in the videos.
What a beautiful rifle and a classic movie. Those paper-patched bullet loads were quite accurate. I witnessed many one-hole groups shot at 100-200 yards with paper-patched bullets shot out of heavy-barrelled breech loading rifles similar to the Sharps.
Hell, even i can hit that bucket at 1400 yards with that bufferler rifle, the only catch is i will hike 1395 yards closer to that bucket then shoot it....
Make it 2000 yards and the bucket a Union Calvary man trotting west bound (or left in this case) at around 9 miles an hour, and you get what happened on October 16, 1864 at approximately 12:30pm
Great movie Alan Rickman (RIP) always played a fantastic bad guy, and it was a nice take on the western. Set in Australia instead of the US, Tom selleck was amazing in it pitty he never made more westerns.
I have a 50-70 Sharps buffalo carbine conversion. After the Civil War the Sharps were converted from paper cartridge brass cartridge. The 50-70 was used by buffalo hunters. During the Civil War the Sharpshooters used Sharps rifles. They were led by Hiram Berdan.
Except that the breach opening and closing sounds are fake in the movie. The Sharps rifle is nearly silent when you open and close the breach, and the movie people thought it should make a noise, so they added some.
The shot has been reproduced several times. The issue is we cannot tell accurately what the distance was. The max I heard was 990 yards some calculated it to be around 700 or so depended on the speed of the horse. Every time it has been tried the bucket got hit off hand..... With the right sights and a good shooter it IS COMPLETELY POSSIBLE TO MAKE THE SHOT.... Those that don't think so I challenge you to attend a NRA National Match completion and see people make shots like that All Day Long.
Closest you can get in RD2 is the rolling block rifle, sadly. Looks good with the long scope, but wish they let you remove the scope and the upgraded "sights" was a vernier tang sight.
Some of these comments about the sharps rifle by these anonymous know it alls is just downright depressing. It’s a MOVIE!! ENTERTAINMENT!! Can’t anyone just like a damn video anymore..?
I forget Rickman was in this, everytime he shows up in a movie I haven't seen a while it hits me in the gut. Everything is always overshined by Diehard and Harry Potter
My wife bought 1 of 50 of the NRA Mathew Quigley 45-110 Rifles with Toms signature on the PW. It's never been fired (By us anyway), not sure I want to squeeze the trigger on it? It would probably shoot very nicely due to its weight, but I'll never put a rd through it. I had met Tom at a NRA Function a cpl years earlier and he didn't appear to be as stout as he is. He is a big guy with a firm handshake, but it didn't do him justice. When I hold that rifle, it doesn't take long(20ish sec.)before it starts pointing downward. I have a great respect for Tom now, for 2 reasons. 1 is his support for the 2nd Ammendment & the NRA, the 2nd is the fact.....He is a MAN! Anyone that can handle that rifle like he did, has my respect and admiration! Great Movie, Great Actor and a Great American.
AT 4:29, Quigley blows into the breech of the rifle. I thought it was just for coolness, then I watched some other video on blackpowder rifles and found out that often people would blow into the breech so that the moisture in their breathe would dampen the black powder fouling in the barrel. However, that was often BETWEEN shots so the following shot could help clear out some gunk. But maybe (in theory) Quigley did this for that reason. Obviously Tom Selleck did it because it looks cool.
@@wilsonblauheuer6544 True fact: In the original editors cut of the movie, Tom Selleck farts into the rifle after the shot, but audiences didn't like it. So, the director caved in and reshot it with the lame blowing. Not authentic at all!
Zeke Gaming Concerned Doctors, Surgeons and Coroner's, recently commented in a professional journal that with the huge number of fatalities due to gunshot wounds. Perhaps Drs. Should consider talking to their patients more about their attitudes concerning guns. The NRA released a condescending acid response that the Doctors should "stay in their own lane" and not negatively impact gun issues. Seems they think they can pick and choose who has freedom of speech, thought and expression and who doesn't. The Coroner said they should come watch how many bullets he digs out of corpses every week. Whatever the gun lobby, they don't like bullets killing their patients. Which is in "their lane"! Besides we Know the NRA is a tratioris organization conspiring with Putin's Russia against the USA. BTW, if mouthy, drunken, rich kid pukes like Brett Kavenaugh were summarily shot to death by intolerant cops how would that be? A horse of a different COLOR that's what!
@@larrygresser1797 you do realize the Henry fired a 45 short round. The Springfield Trapdoor fired a 45-70. I know because Sioux warriors had to get close to Custers men who were using Springfields to accurately hit their targets.
@@Daylon91 The Henry fired a .44 caliber Henry cartridge NOT a .45 caliber. The troopers were over whelmed with fire power. Plus the trapdoor carbines were jamming.
It's a lever action falling block breech loader. And actually, the sound effects are fake. The Sharps makes almost no sound at all when you open the breech.
I object to the "lever action" because its does not describe the action of the rifle. In the sharps, the lever drops the block, while in a Henry/Winchester rifles, the lever moves the bolt back and forth. So, in truth, the action of the bolt rather than the lever is more descriptive. After all, we don't call the M-16 a straight pull action because the charging handle is pulled straight back to load the first round, do we?
The Ruger #1 is much more like the Sharps than a Winchester or Henry. Given the price of a Sharps (or replica) I wonder why I haven't seen more #1 actions converted to that configuration.
Quigley - a man of few words who lets his actions speak for him. "Yes, I'm the best badass sniper in the world. Here's three shots in a row to prove it." AWESOME!!!!
a wise man once said never mess with a man who can end you from a different zipcode. Probably shouldn't mess with a guy who can end you from that far away with a quick shot over and over again either
When the movie was made, Tom Selleck owned the .45-110 caliber 1874 Sharps' Shiloh. Also in 45-120.The barrel is very heavy. A fake was used for scenes where he had to carry it.
I was watching this movie again and thought the location of this scene looked awfully familiar. Turns out it was filmed in Alice Springs, NT. When I went up there, it was at least 41°C every single day, and that's not even as hot as it gets. Not to mention the UV index is incredibly high. I can't imagine filming this scene in that kind of weather. Majority of the movie was filmed around the Warrnambool area in VIC, which is like four and a half hours down the Great Ocean Road from where I live, or two and a half by freeway.
When The Sharps Rifle Company put the order in for this commercial film, little did they now that 115 years would pass before seeing the desired sales impact.