April 2026 (2) - Flipbook - Page 11
powder accessories such as
molds, melting pots, and mold
handles under Shiloh Products,
a division of Drovel Tool Company. Through marketing these
products, he connected with
many individuals in the black
powder community. Encouraged by one such acquaintance,
Droege purchased several original Sharps ri昀氀es in 1974 and
started blueprinting them. By
1975, two prototypes—a military
carbine and a military ri昀氀e, both
modeled after the 1863 Sharps—
were ready and showcased at
the National Sporting Goods
convention in Chicago to gauge
interest.
The positive response in 1976
con昀椀rmed demand for these ri昀氀es. Throughout 1976 and 1977,
the 1874 action was phased in
alongside the 1863 action. Wolfgang’s son, Mark, joined the
venture, helping to market the
ri昀氀es at gun shows and sporting
goods events. The ri昀氀es were
distributed under the name C.
Sharps Arms Company. During
one gun show, John Scho昀昀stall,
owner of “Hole in the Wall” gun
shop in Richland, Washington,
expressed enthusiasm for distributing the ri昀氀es. The Droege
family accepted his o昀昀er, dividing the United States along
the Mississippi River. C-Sharps
West operated from Richland,
Washington, while C-Sharps
East operated from Long Island, New York, with the ri昀氀es
stamped Shiloh Products and
the barrels were stamped with
Old Reliable.
For many years, ri昀氀es were distributed in this manner. Around
1980, Mark Droege decided to
pursue other interests, relinquishing his share of the distribution. The ri昀氀es continued
to be distributed under the C.
Sharps Arms Company name.
Now to introduce you to another link in the story! Jim and
Ginny Kilts visited the Shiloh
showroom in the fall of 2025,
again sharing additional histo-
1874 forearms going through the 昀椀nish process at Shiloh
Ri昀氀e Manufacturing in Big Timber, MT.
God bless Black Powder!
ry and documentation that we
never had or knew. They had
been o昀昀ered employment by
C-Sharps Arms (John Scho昀昀estall) on July 9, 1979, to work in
Shiloh’s Manufacturing facility
in Farmingdale, New York, until
mid-November 1979. Subsequently, they transitioned to
working in the custom shop
at Hole in the Wall (C-Sharps
West), customizing Shiloh ri昀氀es
using actions supplied by Shiloh. By around April of 1980,
the custom shop work was starting to be noticed by gun writers.
Later in 1980, Mr. Scho昀昀stall
told them of his plan to move
C-Sharps Arms and the custom
shop to Big Timber where a
friend of his (Ed Webber) lived.
Ed Webber had built the 1st
Gemmer conversion of a Shiloh
Sharps sometime prior to the
custom shop started in Washington. The custom shop was
set up in Ed Webbers’ old shop
and the o昀케ce in Mr. Webbers
late mothers house which was
located on the same property.
Plans were in the works to have
a factory built in Big Timber
to house C-Sharps Arms and
Shiloh.
In 1981, C. Sharps Arms Company sought to relocate from Richland, Washington to Big Timber, Montana. Wolfgang and his
wife Eva also considered moving away from Long Island, New
York due to high business costs.
Both companies—C. Sharps
Arms Company of Washington
and Shiloh Ri昀氀e Manufacturing,
moved to Big Timber, operating as separate entities within
the same building. In the fall of
1983, Wolfgang and Eva arrived
in Big Timber, but production
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