Author Topic: Is there any hope for me? (Read 1110 times)

mike8946 · « **on:** June 26, 2004, 06:07:36 PM »

Hey, guys. Some time ago I posted here about my vintage 1874 sharps rifle in .40 cal. The good news is I finally got off my butt and had the chamber cast made to determine which sharps cartridge my rifle was chambered for. I had contacted Dr. Labowskie in Philadelphia for a "factory letter", and since the barrel serial number is different than the one on the tang, I found out that the original rifle was a .50 cal. The chamber cast told me it was rebarreled once upon a time to a .40-90 necked cartridge. Now the bad news. :cry: I had him cast the bore too, and its diameter is .401" with a groove diameter of .405". Not as much rifling left as I had hoped for. What is the general opinion? Is this enough rifling for shooting paper patched bullets? I'm not looking for varmint rifle accuracy, but I'd like to be able to hit paper at 100 yds. Also, does .401" seem a little small for a .40 cal with a tired old set of riflings? I might have expected a few thousandths bigger.

fffffg · « **Reply #1 on:** June 26, 2004, 10:09:49 PM »

probably be fine with bare cast bullets of the harder variety.. try 1fg, 2fg. less crimp, and little or no jump.. you will probably find a load if you work on it and tackel problems one at a time.. there are several casters out there and they have diffeent molds, and luber sizer dies.. and they load boxes pretty cheap for you to try different loads.. im ordering from whitehorse and buffalow arms right now.. you will defintiyly need a blow tube to keep fouling soft enought to not have problems.. when you find what works have and experienced mold maker make you a mold for it giveing your dimensions, barrel twist and etc.. dave

45 2.1 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 28, 2004, 08:54:21 AM »

mike8946-
There is nothing wrong with the barrel dimensions! It is set up for paper patch as it has a groove depth of .002". You will not have much luck with cast bullets though. You, yourself will have to determine whether your going to shoot black powder or lighter smokeless loads with this. Since it is vintage, I would suggest you learn to shoot black in it. One of my friends shoots this caliber and does very well with black. Paper patch for black versus paper patch for smokeless are two different items as to bullet dimensions though. Several places have swaged bullets for patching to black powder dimensions.

mike8946 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 28, 2004, 12:52:18 PM »

Should I swage bullets at .401" and then paper patch the other .004" to achieve groove diameter? I have been studying how to load paper patched cartridges, (though I have much to learn, Grasshopper), but I was wondering, how I should set up the bullet, i.e. bore diameter plus the paper, .002" less than bore diameter and patch to .002" greater than bore diameter, etc. Whatcha think?

HWooldridge · « **Reply #4 on:** June 28, 2004, 04:52:51 PM »

The patch will usually add .008 to .010 and after the first shot, there will be crud in the barrel. My 45-70 has a .450 bore/.458 grooves and I have to start with a .443 bullet. I speculate you will do best with a .390 to .395 diameter.

mike8946 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 28, 2004, 06:11:55 PM »

In Chuck Hawks' article "Buffalo Cartridges of the American Frontier", he mentions that the .40-90 Sharps (necked) cartridge fired a 370 grain bullet with a diameter of .403". Should I assume this is the diameter after being paper patched?

45 2.1 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 29, 2004, 02:22:43 AM »

mike8946-
If you use blackpowder, you want the patched bullet to be bore diameter (.401"). The bullet will grow in size by this relationship: paper thickness in thousanths x 4 - .001"= patched diameter. For 9# onionskin at .002" x 4 = .007" to .008". Heavier weights of paper give thicker patching. Assuming 9# paper: .401"- .007"= .394" maximum bullet diameter. This allows you to seat the bullet into the throat and use lube wads behind the patched bullet to manage fouling.

mike8946 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 29, 2004, 12:04:38 PM »

Before I ask my next question, I want to thank you guys for all of your help. The rifle in question was my great-great grandfather's and will one day belong to my son (many, MANY years from now :grin: ). I need to be absolutely certain I am 100% prepared before I commit to shooting this old girl again and I appreciate all the help in getting there.
Now my question: Should I go ahead and buy the swaging die for the .394" and try different paper thicknesses to achieve the right diameter, or should I buy bullets of a couple of different diameters and a couple of different papers until I get where I need to be? Thanks.

45 2.1 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 30, 2004, 02:05:32 AM »

mike8946-
The second option. Try different sizes and papers. You can resize somewhat by running the patched bullet thru a sizer also.

mike8946 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 01, 2004, 02:20:01 AM »

Thank you, sir. I'll let you know how it goes. Once I get ready to start loading, I'll get back with you on the details.