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mdivancic
08-15-2010, 08:38 PM
My wife is having a terrible problem with misfires with her ArmiSport Sharps. Most of the time the gun will not fire on the first cap, but will fire on the second (or third) cap. We have checked out the flash channel and it looks clear. Had anyone else ever experienced this problem with this gun?

Lou Lou Lou
08-16-2010, 08:22 AM
Dear Mike and Stacey

Get a Smith

Love,
Preacher Lou

Jim_Burgess_2078V
08-16-2010, 12:32 PM
We might need a little more information to diagnose the problem. Is your wife using paper cartridges and, if so, is the breechblock shearing off the end of the cartridge as designed? How many grains of powder in the cartridges and does that fill the chamber? What type of caps are being used? The flash channel in the breechblock must be thoroughly cleaned after every shooting session. If not, that would be at least part of the problem.

Because the flash channel (vent) makes two right angle turns in the breechblock, hot caps are essential. I used to use German (RWS) caps in both my musket and carbine. About the time the German caps started being packaged in plastic containers I started having misfires in my Shiloh Sharps. I switched to CCI 5-wing caps and the misfire problem went away. CCI no longer markets the 5-wing caps and their new 4-wing caps, marketed for the blank shooting re-enacting crowd, are not as hot. When my supply of 5-wing caps runs out I might need to try the wingless caps which are said to be relatively hot.
Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

mdivancic
08-16-2010, 12:41 PM
Dear Mike and Stacey

Get a Smith

Love,
Preacher Lou

Thanks as always Lou! :)

Lou Lou Lou
08-16-2010, 01:21 PM
Sorry Mike

While Sharps do have a large group of fans, they are persnickety. Go through the archives under Sharps to get an idea of the issues. I will more than likely get hate mail. Get a Smith!

Love,
Preacher Lou

mdivancic
08-16-2010, 01:44 PM
We might need a little more information to diagnose the problem. Is your wife using paper cartridges and, if so, is the breechblock shearing off the end of the cartridge as designed? How many grains of powder in the cartridges and does that fill the chamber? What type of caps are being used? The flash channel in the breechblock must be thoroughly cleaned after every shooting session. If not, that would be at least part of the problem.
Hi Jim: We are both using the tubes from Charlie Hahn. We are gluing curling paper over the end to hold the powder on, making sure only to get one sheet of paper on each tube. The ArmiSport uses 35 grains of 3F, the Pedersoli is setup the same way using longer tubes with 46 grains of 2F and some cornmeal filler. The cartridge for the ArmiSport is about an 1/8" short of filling the chamber, however if you position the cartridge flush with the end of the breach it doesn't seem to help. We clean the breachblock after every session, including removing the nipple and cleanout screw and running a pipe cleaner down the flash channel.


Because the flash channel (vent) makes two right angle turns in the breechblock, hot caps are essential. I used to use German (RWS) caps in both my musket and carbine. About the time the German caps started being packaged in plastic containers I started having misfires in my Shiloh Sharps. I switched to CCI 5-wing caps and the misfire problem went away. CCI no longer markets the 5-wing caps and their new 4-wing caps, marketed for the blank shooting re-enacting crowd, are not as hot. When my supply of 5-wing caps runs out I might need to try the wingless caps which are said to be relatively hot.
Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

The gun did seem to fire better with the 5-wing caps, but it would still misfire. RWS and the new 4-wing caps seem worse. We have yet to try the wingless caps, not even sure who makes them? The Pedersoli fires every time with the CCI 4-wing caps.

Francis J. Miller Jr, 02601
08-16-2010, 07:06 PM
Mike,

I am going to be a newbie with the Sharps carbine. I plan on getting familiarized and shooting one this fall to shoot in competition next year. Hopefully Charlie Hahn will see your post and help you with your dilema. You said you clean the flash channel out with a pipe cleaner, could that be pushing crud into the sharp right angles of the channel blocking the spark? Have you tried pouring solvent (moose milk, ballistol mixed w/water etc.)thru the flash channel to flush any fouling out? Just my 2 cents. The wingless caps I use for my musket are RWS, switched to them because they cost $30.00 less per sleeve for a thousand than the winged RWS, and they do seem to be hotter, haven't had a misfire with them and have been using them for 2 years now. Hope this helps.

P.S. Lou Lou Lou, fellow skirmishers have tried talking me into a Smith, but for now, I like to try the Sharps, not saying that a Smith would be out of the question down the road.

Ron/The Old Reb
08-16-2010, 07:55 PM
Are you sure that you are not getting some fuzz from the pipe cleaners left in the flash channel and nipple. I have had that problem when cleaning out nipple's withe pipe cleaners.

DAVE FRANCE
08-16-2010, 08:52 PM
If there is a gap between the end of the nipple and the bottom of the hole the nipple screws into, that can cause a misfire.

My sharps cuts off the end of the paper and that is very reliable. However for the first shot of a relay, I turn the barrel upwards and tap on the side of the carbine a couple times. That puts some powder into the flash hole and makes the first shot fire every time.

Good luck!

David

Jim Brady Knap's Battery
08-16-2010, 10:27 PM
Over the years I have used several brands of Sharps including an original rifle. In all of them I found that, depending on the nipple, it improved reliability of fire if I drilled the nipple out about one or two drill sizes bigger. Seemed to get more fire down the flash channel. I used RWS and the old Navy Arms Brazilian caps back then and with the nipple opened up had no problems.

Jim Brady
2249V
Knap's Battery

mdivancic
08-16-2010, 10:32 PM
Are you sure that you are not getting some fuzz from the pipe cleaners left in the flash channel and nipple. I have had that problem when cleaning out nipple's withe pipe cleaners.

I don't thinks so, I blow the flash channel out with WD40 and the follow that with some compressed air to get the oil out. Seems crud and fuzz free. We soak the block in hot water for about 30 minutes before we start cleaning it to loosen up residue.

mdivancic
08-16-2010, 10:35 PM
If there is a gap between the end of the nipple and the bottom of the hole the nipple screws into, that can cause a misfire.

David

Dave:

I haven't found that, but I did notice that the nipple on the front of the breach block, in its current position the threaded base protrudes into the flash channel. This is not the case on my Pedersoli sharps. I've been wondering if this could be part of the problem?

mdivancic
08-16-2010, 10:41 PM
BTW it looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time at the range working on this, so overall life is good!

Lou Lou Lou
08-17-2010, 06:51 AM
Will you be at Hopkinton, Massachussets in 2 weeks? Cleary, I need to preach at you more.

mdivancic
08-17-2010, 07:40 AM
Will you be at Hopkinton, Massachussets in 2 weeks? Cleary, I need to preach at you more.

Hopkinton is in September Lou. You can preach then! :-)

Middleton is next, we will not be able to make that one.

While I would love to have a Smith (and I would) I think we are going to look at smooth bore next, or may be repeating riffle (or both).

Lou Lou Lou
08-17-2010, 08:15 AM
I will shut up now.

snapcap14
08-17-2010, 12:17 PM
Will you be at Hopkinton, Massachussets in 2 weeks? Cleary, I need to preach at you more.

Hopkinton is in September Lou. You can preach then! :-)

Middleton is next, we will not be able to make that one.

While I would love to have a Smith (and I would) I think we are going to look at smooth bore next, or may be repeating riffle (or both).[/quote
Do smoothbore first.
On the sharps make sure the clean out screw is not going in to far in.or to short. Put a drill bit in thru the cone and bring the screw up to it. Also use a dental pick or something like it to clean the flash channel then a pipe cleaner to finish.

Joe Plakis, 9575V
08-17-2010, 03:00 PM
Have you replaced the nipple? If so or if the gun is brand new the OAL of the nipple could be too long. A teamate of mine had this same issue with a sharps.

Second idea would be to shoot the gun without a cartridge. They sell tubes that work this way, but once you could just seat a bullet in the chamber and back fill the powder to see if it goes off. It might be the paper in the base, Nitrated paper works best but if you are not it could be picky.

Third option would be to buy a CS Richmond Carbine, to hell with breechloaders!

Charlie Hahn
08-18-2010, 09:07 AM
Hi Mike,

Are you going to the Gator? If so I could take a look.

I would suggest the following.

Take the clean out screw out and see if it is eroded. This can be anything from a cup to an angle burn. If you have this condition get a new screw.

The nipple opening suggested earlier can also help.

Are you still working out of the same box of papers? A few others, (including me) have had a few issues with slow burn on the paper. You might vent the base with a tooth pick to see if this speeds things up. From what I understand the hair curler paper has some plastic in the material that gives it the stretch factor, and might be adding to slow fire.

Next, you are using filler. I would suggest you try not using filler and add a card wad 45 caliber punched from a cereal box. Press this down on the powder and glue in place. This keeps the powder tight against the back of the tube and up against the fire tube.

I have been doing a solid block conversion on the guns I have been updating this Summer, and it helps with this as well and makes the guns cleaner to shoot.

Let me know how you make out.

Charlie
410-208-4736

mdivancic
08-19-2010, 07:11 AM
Hi Mike,

Are you going to the Gator? If so I could take a look.

I would suggest the following.

Take the clean out screw out and see if it is eroded. This can be anything from a cup to an angle burn. If you have this condition get a new screw.

The nipple opening suggested earlier can also help.
Charlie, won't see you until the Nationals. The clean out screw was new the last skirmish. The nipple in the gun as we got it had been opened up by the gentlemen who sighted it in for us. We will be testing this a other nipples at the range this weekend.


Are you still working out of the same box of papers? A few others, (including me) have had a few issues with slow burn on the paper. You might vent the base with a tooth pick to see if this speeds things up. From what I understand the hair curler paper has some plastic in the material that gives it the stretch factor, and might be adding to slow fire.
We are still working out of the same box. Last year, with my gun we used tissue wrapping paper, which was a little fragile. We may give this a try for this sharps and see if it helps. One of the gentlemen at the shoot popped the back of his tubes with a screwdriver right before he shot, we may try this. We'll be doing a lot of testing at the range over the next couple of weekends to see what we come up with. Next shoot is middle of September, so we have some time. [/quote]


Next, you are using filler. I would suggest you try not using filler and add a card wad 45 caliber punched from a cereal box. Press this down on the powder and glue in place. This keeps the powder tight against the back of the tube and up against the fire tube.

I have been doing a solid block conversion on the guns I have been updating this Summer, and it helps with this as well and makes the guns cleaner to shoot.

Let me know how you make out.
I haven't had a problem with the filler, what would be the issue? We'll be buy to see you at the Nationals and talk (and pick up some more tubes, need to get our order in). I think this gun already had the solid block conversion, but my sharps does not.