1874 I.A.B. Sharps Reproduction

[big bore 99]

OK, back with what I found. I did the Buffalo Classic first. It's an older one That's stamped Wesson and Harrington. I made up some dummy rounds and kept bumping them out with the bullet puller until I got some rifling marks when chambering them, then backed off about .020. For the 500 gr. o/all length was 2.770 with one driving band exposed. This is much longer than the specs say. (2.540). With the 405gr it was 2.550 o/all. The 340gr. was 2.585 o/all. Think I'm on the right track?
This rifle was very accurate @ 100 yd. with jacketed and smokeless, even with all that free bore. It had a scope on it and I took it off and put on a peep sight with a tunnel front. Another question... the Lee 500 gr mold I have is for a gas check. Is it ok to load these without the check? Will that shoulder on the back hurt anything? I'm ordering a new one with a flat base next month.
Working out some pan lube now and hope to give these a try this coming weekend. Haven't picked up any black yet, but will load up some light trapdoor loads with smokeless. Thanks for all the help.

[country gent]

Emmerts Improved works pretty good for both smokless fad and holy black. Its easy to make and use. My recipe is 50% crisco unslated plain shortening, 40% beeswax, 5% canola or olive oil, and 5% anydrous lanolin. Melt beeswax in double boiler and add crisco, oil, and lanolin stiring over heat for 5-10 mins or so until well blended. I yse foil cupcake liners and cupcake tins for molds and ladle into them.Use a double boiler type set up to keep from scourching the lanolin or fire issues. Stiffness can be adjusted with the oil or beeswax. Does a decent job keeping leading down and black powder fouling soft.

[big bore 99]

Thanks country gent. Need to pick up some lanolin and then I'll be set to go. What do you think about using that 500 gr without the gas check on it? Drops out of the mold with the shoulder for it. Any dangers or bad results?

[colfi]

They absolutely DO MOT make Pedersoli actions. There is a YouTube video of the Pedersoli factory. They make everything in house...from barrels to actions to wood. Some of the best cut rifle barrels on planet earth I might add....

Pedersoli DOES make the Uberti Sharps rifles...But they DO NOT make the I.A.B. rifle. I.A.B. makes their own rifles.

Beretta makes the Uberti range of firearms. I visited both Pedersoli ( family friends) and the Beretta factory ( over the road from pedersoli) I watched Uberti parts come in from their various source factories and saw them assembled at the beretta factory. This is the reason that the quality of the Uberti has gone down in recent years.

Pedersoli also source in the Sharps action block and finish it, they do all their own barrel and woodwork making but source in everything else, beretta sources everything for the Uberti. Col