galamb said:
The original company was owned by Hall Sharon. He was a machinist who turned to barrel making in about 1960.
There is some (rumors) out there that he supplied barrels for early T/C guns and possibly some produced by Green River Rifle Works (although others have stated that GRRW used Douglas barrels at least initially and then made their own after that).
One individual that knew Hall stated that about 1/4 of all his barrels went overseas, primarily England.
Sharon barrels were made of 12L14 steel. 45 cal and under were button rifled (he initially had issues, destroying some barrels trying to use this method "barrels exploding in front of the button", but must have cured whatever the issue was, since all 45 and under were button rifled) - above 45 were cut rifled.
I have heard of 1:48 and 1:72 twists - don't know if he cut or buttoned any other twists.
In 1976 Sharon started offering "Hawken kits" in both full and half stock. By 1978 the company was losing money so it was folded and the equipment was sold off to a company in Colorado Springs.
The equipment then went (probably) to Montana Barrels (NFI), then Orion Barrels and now resides with Oregon Barrel where it has been in use for a number of years now.
Old West Arms in California bought all the unsold kits and continued to sell them for a couple of years.
So there was a number of Sharon barrels that were sold simply as barrels and then there were a number that were sold with rifle kits.
Some have a number stamped in them along with the name "Sharon Rifle Barrel Company" (suspect from the the kits since the only numbers I have seen were both only 2 digits)
In 1981 Ronald Reagan was presented with a replica Pennsylvania rifle - it has a Sharon barrel.
In 1978 a Full Stock Hawken kit from Sharon sold for $295
(that's about all I have in my notes - ya, I keep notes on barrel makers) :grin:
galamb has most of the information correct.
Here is an old posting with some of the info that
galamb cites.
Sharon Rifle Barrel Co.
This is the earliest ad (Sept 1974
Muzzle Blasts) that I have been able to find for Sharon's muzzleloading barrels, though they probably started making ML barrels some time before advertising.
Below is an interesting article written by Doc Carlson and published in the May-June 1978 issue of
Muzzleloader magazine. It gives more detail on Hall Sharon's background and how he got started in the barrel making business. He seems to have started out making modern cartridge rifle barrels and established his reputation in that field before venturing into muzzleloading barrels.
A company called Hayden-Holmes in Colorado Springs, CO did buy the barrel making business following Sharons's bankruptcy. In fact, it is a Hayden-Holmes advertisement that
cub45 referred to in the July 1980 issue of
Muzzle Blasts. Hayden-Holmes barrel making operation didn't last long as they apparently went bankrupt by year end.
The muzzleloader store, Old West Arms, that galamb mentioned having an inventory of Sharon Hawken kits was located in Lakewood, CO not California as shown in this 1979 ad from the May-June issue of
Muzzleloader.
I'm not aware of any instance when GRRW used any Sharon barrels. GRRW first started making their Leman Trade Rifle in 1972 and their Hawken rifle in 1973. I've seen one early GRRW Hawken rifle with a Bauska barrel, which was also located in Kalispell, MT and
galamb may have confused them for Sharon. In any event, GRRW started making their own barrels in 1974, about the same time Sharon started making ML barrels, and Douglas was the primary supplier of barrels to GRRW prior to that.
galamb said:
Regardless of the cult followings (with Sharon, Large etc) barrels being produced today are better finished and probably (technically) better built due to technology improvements - no saying they ARE better shooters, probably just better built.
I would differ with
galamb some on the "technology improvements" in today's barrel making. Outside of the CNC machines and the heat treating that Rice Barrels is using, most of the equipment barrel makers are using today is little changed from that used in the 1970's and before. I don't know what parts Rice is using the CNC machines on, but the main advantage of CNC is in saving labor in making multiple copies of rather complex parts. A skilled machinist, giving adequate time, can make the same part using 1940's equipment as a modern CNC machine with the same level of accuracy. The time it takes to make the part is about the only difference.
When it comes to the key part of a ML barrel as it pertains to shooting accuracy, namely the bore and rifling, it's pretty much the same technology today as in the 1970's for drilling the bore, reaming, and cutting the rifling. The objective is to have a bore, and rifling, that is straight, uniform, and smooth, meaning relatively free of machining marks. Skill and using the right equipment is more important in achieving this objective than improved technology.
And why is "better built" more desirable than "better shooters"?
