Hello, TomADC. What caliber is it? I have a Shilo 1863 military model in .45.
You will want to use a very soft B.P. type lube..SPG, Bore Butter, Crisco/beeswax, etc.
Its a .54 cal I have about a 100 Sharps style bullets that came with it, they are from Dixie. Do you lube the bullet just before you shoot it, like a mini ball?
I haven't shot mine in a few years, but I make up paper ctgs. for it. I found if I make ctg. long enough to fit chamber, flush with breech, it's more accurate than having B.B. cut end off ctg. I use tissue paper treated with Saltpeter for complete burn up in chamber.
Nice rifle! I have an early 54 cal. Shiloh '63. I use Charlie Hahn's tubes and dip the bullet of the completed cartridge in a melted mix of bore butter and beeswax. The paper cutter Sharps are fun to shoot.
I emailed Charlie but haven't heard back from him yet, trying to buy a few hundred of them, but the only other place I see these tubes is Shiloh and their shipping is more then the tubes.
Any other place sell these?
Also, not having ever seen one of these breech loading paper cartridge guns, I gather there's a "chamber" and that the bullet coming into contact with the rifling is what stops the round from moving more forward?
The odd thing is that I was just reading through a copy of "Single Shot Rifles and Actions" by Frank de Haas. More specifically how these paper cutter Sharps rifles used a few different methods of providing an O ring gas seal to avoid the blowby around the block joint. But nothing much was said about how the cartridges are chambered other than the back of the paper being sliced off.
In that case I think I'd rather find a home grown solution instead of having to mail away for the tubes. Not that they are not a good idea. I just don't like having to rely on component sources when there are easy enough home made options.
Plankowner. Went on the first two cruises before getting out in '70. ADJ2, Power Plants, and Checker.
Charlie's tubes are handy as a pocket on a shirt, and way faster than rolling your own.
Kaeto- Never tried it with alox, but I think it would make the BP fouling harder rather than softer.
BCRider- The tubes burn up/get blown out the bore on firing. The real advantage in them is in consistency. When you roll your own and cut off the tail, the powder shifts, not unlike small charges of powder in a large cartridge case, with the resulting variations in velocity. Another plus is reduced time at the bench means more time shooting. You're correct. The bullet is stopped by the rifling. If your tube is the right length it fills the chamber without sticking out to be cut off.
Another point; the new CCI Reenactor musket caps don't work very well in my Sharps. Try to find the RWS caps.
Buck Emmert's BP lube
1750 grains Beeswax
1368 grains Crisco Shortening (White)
328 grains Crisco or Wesson Vegatable Oil
This recipe makes 1/2 pound lubricant. If you tray lube as I do, you'll probably
want to double the recipe.
I also now substitute Anhydrous lanolin for the vegatable oil.
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