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Thread: M.1853 Slant Breech

  1. #1
    Dave Fox is offline
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    M.1853 Slant Breech

    I recently acquired an M.1853.52 caliber Sharps military carbine, yet another green banana in my sunset years. It's tight as a tick, leaks little gas at the breech, and the bore's near perfect. Took it out with hand rolled paper cartridges containing 54 grains of FFg under a Rapine ringtail bullet. Was satisfyingly accurate but impact was a mammoth 16" above point of aim at 50 yards. I then explored all my gunsmithing prowess by epoxying a bit of Dr. Pepper can over the low brass lump of a front sight, an easily reversible alteration. Trotted it out to the 50 yard range yesterday and tried the Charlie Hahn cardboard tubes I have on hand for my M.1863 Sharps carbine and rifle. 43 grains of FFg under the same Rapine ringtail. Shot this incredible-for-me one hole five shot group. Still about 5" high; just about right to graduate to the 100 yard range....
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    Last edited by Dave Fox; 03-23-2021 at 02:10 PM.

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    Steve Weems is offline
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    Congrats on your slant breech

    I have been intrigued for the last couple years on how well these slant breeches shoot. Your experience adds to the increasing knowledge of how well these shoot. Congratulations on this really nice group and the moderate gas leakage. Reading thru the recent book on percussion era Sharps it was obvious that these were much more widespread than just Bloody Kansas. Thanks for sharing your slant breech results.

  3. #3
    Dave Fox is offline
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    Slant

    Friend Weems, this particular M.1853 doesn't have moderate gas leakage, it has almost none detectable. It's in almost mechanically as-new condition and the bore's near perfect. Shooting a plethora of paper cartridge CW arms from the bench, I've learned to look for powder burns on the wood. None with this piece. The fit is particularly fine, a tribute to the American craftsmen of the 1850s. Using the tip of spraying Canola oil on the breechblock's friction surfaces, the action works freely clear to the end of a shooting session. That it functions so well with Charlie's tubes simplifies my ammo problem.
    I never expected to acquire one of these, but Horse Soldier of Gettysburg had this one at a fatally attractive price. As an aside, several years ago at the big Louisville show I found, for a friend, one of those slant breech carbines from the Napal horde with the fanciful Confederate connection, in tight, clean condition. It's proven to be a fine shooter, too.

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    What was the evolutionary rationale in moving to the slant breech?

    Steve
    Steve Sheldon
    Commander
    4th Louisiana Delta Rifles
    NRA Certified Muzzleloading Instructor

  5. #5
    Jim_Burgess_2078V is offline
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    Very nice group with your M1853 slant-breech Sharps! I also applaud your creativity for your improvised front sight. I had a similar problem with an original M1860 Spencer carbine in .56-56 caliber that I picked up in shootable condition. There was hardly anything left of the front sight blade and it shot a good 15" high at 50 yards with my reloads. To remedy that problem I got a friend who has a 3-D printer make me an attachment that slips over the muzzle and front sight base. It has a higher sight blade that I could easily file down to get on the bull at 50 yards. This would not be skirmish-legal but I have no intention of using the carbine in competition. Although fun to shoot, it has an atrocious trigger pull and I do not wish to modify original lock parts.

    Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

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    mgmradio is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maillemaker View Post
    What was the evolutionary rationale in moving to the slant breech?

    Steve
    They didn?t move to the slanting breach, they moved from it to the straight breach.
    Mike

  7. #7
    wormey is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim_Burgess_2078V View Post
    Very nice group with your M1853 slant-breech Sharps! I also applaud your creativity for your improvised front sight. I had a similar problem with an original M1860 Spencer carbine in .56-56 caliber that I picked up in shootable condition. There was hardly anything left of the front sight blade and it shot a good 15" high at 50 yards with my reloads. To remedy that problem I got a friend who has a 3-D printer make me an attachment that slips over the muzzle and front sight base. It has a higher sight blade that I could easily file down to get on the bull at 50 yards. This would not be skirmish-legal but I have no intention of using the carbine in competition. Although fun to shoot, it has an atrocious trigger pull and I do not wish to modify original lock parts.

    Jim Burgess, 15th CVI
    Jim, there`s a relatively easy fix for that heavy trigger pull that permanently alters nothing. Clean your tumbler with acetone and apply a small amount of J B Weld. Allow 24 hours to harden and carefully cut the sear notch with a small file with a smooth edge. No metal is removed it just keeps the sear from sitting to deep in the tumbler notch. It can be removed at any time with a file or knife for that matter. Works on most any kind of lock mechanism. Done it many times.

    Wormey

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    They didn?t move to the slanting breach, they moved from it to the straight breach.
    Ah, I see. I was confused - I though this was an 1863 model but evidently it is an 1853 model. So the slant came first. What was the reason between the two styles?

    Steve
    Steve Sheldon
    Commander
    4th Louisiana Delta Rifles
    NRA Certified Muzzleloading Instructor

  9. #9
    Dave Fox is offline
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    Sharps

    Perusing Frank Sellers's superb book "Sharps Firearms" and doing a tad of guesswork, the angle of the breechblock seems to boil down to this: The Sharps patent model sported a vertical breechblock but all subsequent production until 1859 featured breechblocks at a slant. Guessing here, but as the cartridges of that early era were of paper and that their powder charge was exposed by the cartridge tail being sliced off by the closing edge of the breechblock, probably the cut was more efficient when the block was closing at a slant. (Photo shows the 'slant' from the top of an M.1853) In 1859, and to the end of production, the vertical breechblock was at right angles to the bore. No slant. According to Sellers (page 65) this was because a new, more efficient gas plate in the breech block "would function far better if the block operated at right angles to the bore, rather than at an angle to it" (One notes that "right angle" is an angle, too, but we know what Sellers means.) This right angle block could cut the tails off the early-style paper cartridges, close efficiently behind the tailless linen cartridges soon thereafter adopted, and had the happy ability to be converted after 1865 to metallic cartridges, an innovation a slant breech would not readily function with.
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    Last edited by Dave Fox; 03-25-2021 at 01:32 PM.

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