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Sharps problem
- Thread starter wb78963
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Yes the are great. My rifle was shot 40 rounds with no opening the breech block problem. Now if I can solve the Deity/water retention structure (family friendly) hammer blow back problem solved I will be a happy camper
The Moose bullet Mold ring tail bullet is a nice tight fit so, no I have not slugged the bore.
I agree the problem is the nipple and TOW has an order for two of them so I have one to fudge up and still have one that works.
Thanks
bunk
Depends on the manufacturer and actual bore size. Some ".54s" actually have a .54 or slightly larger bore size. Pedersoli's have .520 bores/.540grooves with little variation. Original Sharps' have .520 bores with grooves that varied greatly, hence the xmas tree bullet.
Your bullet may be a "tight fit' but not be fat enough to fill the grooves. That's why it's important to slug the bore to get the groove to groove size. Your bullet should be .001-.002 over groove.
that chamber will hold a lot more powder than i want to pull the trigger on The Hahn tube with a ringtail bullet will hold 55 grains of FFg compressed as much as a paper tube can be compressed. The chamber would hold more than that but I ain't a'gonna' do that.
I stopped at 40 grains because that load was throwing a pattern about dinner plate size at 50 yards.
I am playing with it this afternoon trying to solve the nipple orifice problem and will grease the bore and slug it.
I will post the results.
It is a Pedersoli copy of the S. C. Robinson, Richmond Virginia CSA Confederate Sharps.
No Blue belly Yankee gun for this Texan
Bunk
I stopped at 40 grains because that load was throwing a pattern about dinner plate size at 50 yards.
I am playing with it this afternoon trying to solve the nipple orifice problem and will grease the bore and slug it.
I will post the results.
It is a Pedersoli copy of the S. C. Robinson, Richmond Virginia CSA Confederate Sharps.
No Blue belly Yankee gun for this Texan
Bunk
You might want to consider giving Charlie a call and discuss the blowback and accuracy problems. Just curious, are you the original owner? Also, you might try getting advice by posting on the N-SSA website bulletin board. www.n-ssa.net.
After slugging the barrel it looks like I have about a .530" barrel and the driving band on the bullet is about a .0125" over bore size.
There is a nipple in my long barrel Pedersoli Sharps rifle ( Matt Jr.) and the nipple will be put in the carbine and see what happens. Pouring rain 44 degrees and my shooting bench looks right into a 20+mph wind so no shooting today perhaps tomorrow.
Thanks guys i appreciate the help. My experience is more with hand guns but about rifles I am learning.
Bunk
Bunk, good luck. Is that the storm system that just grazed us here in New Mexico before clobbering Texas?
I guess not it is low 40's sun shine and windy. Bask to subject.
That said a test shot this morning with a cone that has a much smaller orifice did not blow back. After lunch comes the test with a cartridge using the ring tail bullet and 40 grains FFg to see what happens.
More to follow.
Bunk
That said a test shot this morning with a cone that has a much smaller orifice did not blow back. After lunch comes the test with a cartridge using the ring tail bullet and 40 grains FFg to see what happens.
More to follow.
Bunk
PROBLEM SOLVED!!
It was, as I suspected, the nipple (cone) orifice was too large. I took the nipple from my other Sharps that worked with the ringtail and 50 grains FFg and that same load just worked twice in the carbine and made two hits offhand on the 50 yard gong. Good ignition and good hits. This is 20 grains over what I had been shooting so 30 grains will be OK. Now I know what size to drill the replacement nipple.
So thanks everyone,I appreciate all the suggestions and help.
Happy New Year
Bunk
It was, as I suspected, the nipple (cone) orifice was too large. I took the nipple from my other Sharps that worked with the ringtail and 50 grains FFg and that same load just worked twice in the carbine and made two hits offhand on the 50 yard gong. Good ignition and good hits. This is 20 grains over what I had been shooting so 30 grains will be OK. Now I know what size to drill the replacement nipple.
So thanks everyone,I appreciate all the suggestions and help.
Happy New Year
Bunk
Hello and Happy New Year, to all y'all,
For you Southern folks we had our black eye peas and corn bread New Years Day so it should be a good year coming up.
The carbine works with a new nipple drilled out to a 1/16" (.062") and the dummy round test looks good.
The cone part was just a tiny bit too long, but a couple of licks with a file and emery grit paper did the job.
Live fire in the morning but things look good..
More to follow
Bunk
For you Southern folks we had our black eye peas and corn bread New Years Day so it should be a good year coming up.
The carbine works with a new nipple drilled out to a 1/16" (.062") and the dummy round test looks good.
The cone part was just a tiny bit too long, but a couple of licks with a file and emery grit paper did the job.
Live fire in the morning but things look good..
More to follow
Bunk
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You might check in with Charlie Hahn as to the optimal orifice for that carbine.
Hay Bat what taking apart? Take the breech block out and drop it in a bottle of moose milk. Pull a wet Bore Snake through breech to muzzle to remove the loose fouling. A few wet patches from the breech end then wipe the open breech hole dry and grease the breech block and
Robert is your fathers brother
You are done.
Hold center
Bunk
I have a e=mail into to him, but with NSSA shooting ranges are under a lot of snow I suspect he is busier that a one legged man at an a$$ kicking contest. It works and I am good so no hurry.
Bunk
Col. Batguano
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With traditional ML'ers I always pull the lock and barrel to make sure I get all the moisture off and out of of the outside of them. That's why I build with keys rather than pins now. Since the action and barrel are attached to one another that's not possible with the Sharps. While pulling the fore stock isn't that hard, pulling the butt is a bit more. All that water slopping around during cleaning makes me suspicious it can get between the wood and the metal, and I just want to be super careful.
It's probably more than I need to do, but if it's going to be a while between shootings, I also disassemble the locks to make sure there's no residual water between the metal parts in there. I don't pull the barrel plugs though. Rust never sleeps.
It's probably more than I need to do, but if it's going to be a while between shootings, I also disassemble the locks to make sure there's no residual water between the metal parts in there. I don't pull the barrel plugs though. Rust never sleeps.
If you're not pulling the nipple and clean out screw from the block, you may be asking for trouble. Any accumulation of fouling in the flash channel with those two turns will give you misfires even with the hottest caps. I scrub mine out with a tiny round brush that looks like a mascara brush. I blow it out with a compressed air can and then run a pipe leaner through it to make sure it's dry. A quick shot of WD40 to prevent rust finishes it up. Of course, before shooting it again, the pipe cleaners are used again dipped in alcohol through the channel and a few caps are snapped off.
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Gemmer you are correct and that is a good way but for the sake of brevity I did not mention that the clean out screw and nipple are removed and clean separately. The fire path is cleaned with one of those wire enhanced pipe cleaners and the moose milk is allowed to dry leaving a light film of oil. Everything is put back together with nickle anti size compound and...
Robert is still your father's brother.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
Bunk
Well if it ain't one thing it is another.
The .0625" (1/16") drill solved the hammer blow back problem. But the "cone" is not a cone, but is cylindrical and the spent cap sticks so tight it requires a pair of pliers to get it off. So hopefully with a little careful grinding a taper of the correct shape will fix that problem. I do have a couple of properly "coned" cones to get dimensions.
This very neat and accurate rifle but is about to drive me back to my snubby percussion revolvers.
However I will endeavor to persevere.
Hold Center
Bunk
The .0625" (1/16") drill solved the hammer blow back problem. But the "cone" is not a cone, but is cylindrical and the spent cap sticks so tight it requires a pair of pliers to get it off. So hopefully with a little careful grinding a taper of the correct shape will fix that problem. I do have a couple of properly "coned" cones to get dimensions.
This very neat and accurate rifle but is about to drive me back to my snubby percussion revolvers.
However I will endeavor to persevere.
Hold Center
Bunk
Today I tried using BlackMZ in paper tubes with my Sharps carbine.
It does not work in the Sharps unless you prime the cone for every shot. Even with RWS musket caps there is just not enough heat to "light the fire". I did get 6 rounds to work by priming the cone with FFFFg powder.
Lesson learned
From now on the Sharps will get fed a diet of FFg real Black Gunpowder.
Kind of disappointed because BMZ works very nicely in percussion and unmentionable hand guns.
Lesson learned
Bunk
It does not work in the Sharps unless you prime the cone for every shot. Even with RWS musket caps there is just not enough heat to "light the fire". I did get 6 rounds to work by priming the cone with FFFFg powder.
Lesson learned
From now on the Sharps will get fed a diet of FFg real Black Gunpowder.
Kind of disappointed because BMZ works very nicely in percussion and unmentionable hand guns.
Lesson learned
Bunk
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