Sharps Infantry Rifle

[Rickystl]

Hello ALL. Newly registered as a visitor. Also made a donation. Looks like a great Forum and the best place for shooting information for this paticular gun.
I have been shooting muzzle loaders for many years, but recently aquired a Pedersoli 1859 Sharps Berdan Infantry Rifle in new condition.And I'm guessing there is probably more experience with the Sharps percussion rifles on this Forum than any other. LOL So here are some questions:
1. I've read there is a service offered to upgrade the breech block for a better gas seal. Is this true? Would you recommend this? Where to locate this service ?
2. What do you recommend as the best bullet to use? Can you purchase them ready made? Even pre-lubed?
3. I guess they can be loaded with loose powder and slug, paper cartidge, cardboard tubes. I've also seen BRASS, reusable tubes offered. Do these work OK ?

Any recommendations greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Rick

[Charlie Hahn]

Hi,

Would welcome a call to talk over any questions you may have.

Charlie Hahn
410-627-4726
hahnmachineworks.com

[bobanderson]

Contact Larry Flees, ljflees@hotmail.com or by phone (I'll PM his number as soon as I finish typing this).
He does the "Sam Dobbin" gas check plate and o ring seal conversion that is the superior method of ensuring your Sharps stays running while shooting long strings at the range.

As far as loading and shooting your Sharps, contact Moose Moulds, amoose@moosemoulds.com or by phone (I'll PM that one too). I use their 544-480 in both of my Sharps carbines.

And lastly, Charlie Hahn makes cardboard paper tubes that glue onto the "ringtail" base of most of the Sharps bullets to hold your powder charge and make loading simple as pie. If you call him, he should be able to tell you the correct length for your bullet.

It is entirely possible to shoot with a bullet manually inserted into the chamber and loose powder behind it to just get the experience, but if you're planning on competing or just spending long productive days at the range, you're probably going to want your gas check updated.

[Randall]

I can vouch for Charlies work. He has done a Pedersoli Sharps for me and it is superb. I need to send him another 6 or 8 Shilohs to have the mods done to them as well.

[Maillemaker]

I can also vouch for Larry Flees' work. My Pedersoli 1859 Sharps went from being able to only get off about 10 shots before the action would lock up to being able to shoot indefinitely. I shot 89 consecutive shots without cleaning after I got it back. You can see my review here:

https://www.n-ssa.net/vbforum/showthread.php/13515-Review-Larry-Flees-Pedersoli-Sharps-Carbine-rework

I like Larry's process as he does not weld up the breech block, so if the gas check plate ever needs replacing it is simple to do so as it is not permanently attached to the breech block.

Larry can also re-work the fire channel components to enable more consistent ignition. I had that done also.

Most people cast their own bullets. Moose Moulds makes one. I use the Pedersoli one. There are people here on the forum that sell bullets.

A lost of people use Charlie Hahn's cardboard tubes to make combustible cartridges. You can also roll your own from paper. Most people prefer the later-style of combustible cartridge that fully fits into the chamber rather than the early style that had the tail cut off when the block raised as the early style does not always seal well and it spills loose powder when the tail is sheared off.

You can also load a bullet and powder separately using Yore's Tubes:

http://www.yoresupply.com/ShellTube.html

Steve

[Rickystl]

WOW!! Thank you ALL for your replies. Most helpful. Rick

[Randall]

I like the idea of a non permanent modification to the breech block. I'll give Larry a shout and see what his turn around time is. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Rickystl]

Again, thank you all for your replies. Has anyone tried the BRASS cases offered by Pedersoli ?

[Rickystl]

And, would the "fix" be necessary/desired if using the brass cases ? Thanks.

[John Holland]

The problem with the Brass Tubes is extraction. There is no efficient way to get ahold of them to pull them out. Most people seem to be opening up the flash hole in the base so they can get a hooked rod inside to pull them out.

[bobanderson]

And, would the "fix" be necessary/desired if using the brass cases ? Thanks.

Yes, but only if you're going to shoot many times in a trip to the range. The factory gas check plate is probably sufficient for casual shooting and frequent cleaning during a session. Even with a gas check job, you still need to thoroughly clean at the end of your day.

Sounds like you are enamoured with the brass cases. Buy some and try them. My shooting room is chock full of white elephants.

[Rickystl]

OK. Thanks John. If you used the brass tubes, would a gas check "fix" be required ? Or if the fix was done, can you still use the brass tubes ? Sorry for all the questions. Would just like the opportunity to try out all the variations. Thanks, Rick.

[Rickystl]

Woops. I missed Bob's comment while typing mine to John. Thanks Bob. Sounds to me like its worth getting the gas check fix in any case. Thank you all for your help. Rick