Loading for a Sharps 50-140 with FFG

[oldracer]

I was at the range yesterday and another shooter came and asked me a bout shooting a 50-140 that had been his great grandfathers and passed down over the years. He had bought some brass several years ago and had a couple dozen 600gr cast bullets and was curious as to how the cases should be loaded. He had never shot it but did have years of flintlock and percussion black powder experience. He said the gun had a huge barrel and weight was around 15 pounds or so? He also has a set of dies and other items needed to load the cases. I was amazed he thought I could help him as I have only been shooting BPCR for a bit over a year but my targets seem to be looking pretty good?!

I was sure he would NOT want to do a full 140gr load, at least not to start so I recommended the following course of action.

- Do not try to size the cases and he said a couple of years ago he did try that and even with lube he ruined two so he stopped. I said to try the case in the chamber after giving the barrel internals a very good cleaning. If they fit then proceed.

- Slug the barrel to make sure the bullets are the right size.

- If the bought bullets are dried out then relube them with new lube.

- Load the case with some foam and put in a bullet and seat the case to see where the OAL will be just off the lands.

- Hand install some standard primers.

- Load about 80gr of FFG and use a juice or similar wad on top and compress the powder slightly. I figured that load would be enough to make the 600gr bullet go reasonably accurate to 100yds at least and not knock him over.

- Load the remainder of the case with filler such as Cream of Wheat and compress it slightly with another wad on top.

- Seat the bullet by finger pressure if at all possible to the OAL measured above and making sure the base of the bullet is on the wad that is on top.

If the first shot fires off okay, wipe the barrel and try several others cleaning between each shot. I suggested using a leadsled or something similar just in case.

If all works well I suggested he work up to higher powder loads and it would be up to him to see if he wanted to go with a full 140gr load?!!!

Does my plan of action look okay and I imagine he could use a different grade of powder but since his loads are pretty light the FFG would work okay.

[Lead pot]

Does my plan of action look okay and I imagine he could use a different grade of powder but since his loads are pretty light the FFG would work okay.

No.

Dont use foam and other stuff on top of the foam. use a full load of 1F. if you want you can use a lightly compressed load .100 or less.
Dont use foam or a filler in that large case or any case with black powder.

[Chicken Thief]

I decalre

Most army aresenals used fillers in the carbine cartridges, the Danes used cork!

Many a BP shooter uses cream of wheat or the like as a filler, to take up excess space with inert material.

The above post is not true to normal BP loading!

Your chain of reasoning is indeed wery sound advice, keep up the good work Sir!

[oldracer]

Sorry for the confusion about the foam. I said to use it for determining where the bullet should seat in the case to be just off the lands. It was what Doug Knoell told me to do when I started since all chambers are cut differently and the lands might be further on one gun than another. Doug did note he uses rigid foam when he loads smokeless?I noted to use a cereal filler which should not cause any issues as I also read that it was used in those monster guns such as 4 bore.

[Lead pot]

I use cork wads no problem with then.

I dont care if you in Denmark use Herring for a filler or foam or what ever you want to stuff in the case.
If this is an original sharps the barrel is softer then what is now used. Foam is porous with a lot of air in it and a wad over the powder with a foam filler on it below the base of the bullet you have the potential for a walnut. It might act like a wad over a short load of powder and a air gap between the wad. A case that is 1/2" inside diameter 3.250" long has a lot of inside volume if that case is short loaded and foam has a lot of air.

LP

[oldracer]

I said to use the foam ONLY to measure the bullet depth, calm down guys, jeez. I was more concerned about the old steel, as mentioned and that is why I suggested such a "light" powder load and cereal filler. The cereal was mentioned in over 6 places in the Black Powder Cartridge magazine so I figured it would be safe.

[ss40_70]

a problem i can see is the lead sled ... heavy bullets + heavy charges in the lead sled can be very bad news for the rather delicate wrist on a sharps ... there have been many stocks broken on ruger no 1 rifles chambered in heavy magnums when shot in lead sleds and similar devices , if this is an origonal sharps im not sure i'd be willing to risk it if it was mine

[Lead pot]

Sorry oldracer. I just didn't want to see a original go under.
Have a gun smith look at it to check the receiver for cracks in the mortise corners to make sure it's sound. A blk powder load wont hurt it if the rifle is sound and ss4070 is right about the sled. That rifle needs to recoil back with the shoulder not a hard stop like having the but plate against a wall. The recoil is not so stiff that a shooter cant handle it. let your body roll with the recoil.

LP

[Gunlaker]

I have one of those cannons. The recoil is pretty heavy but it definitely won't knock anyone over. The best position to shoot it from IMO is sitting with cross sticks as that allows you to roll with the recoil. If you shoot it from the bench it'll set you back a bit

My load was about 135gr of Goex Fg and a bullet that weighed just under 700gr. It shot OK but wasn't as enjoyable to shoot as my .45-110's and smaller rifles. It's currently at the gunsmith waiting to be reborn as a .45-90.

Edit: mine isn't an original of course, but a CSA 1874.

Chris.

[EDK]

Our buddy Bobw over at shilohrifle.com/forums shoots a 50/140 at the QUIGLEY shoot...runs off the wimps and rattlesnakes on his relay....does a good job of clearing the dust from the line too! He uses a 500 grain paper patch boolit.

An older SHARPS has a slower twist rate for 475 to 500 grain boolits. My reading says that 50/140 was not a factory chambering. A chamber cast might be a good idea.