high wall slug gun

[appleseedgunsmith]

I thought it was time to give this its own thread. Originally under "shiloh vs. C. Sharps" , this is where i will chronicle my work on the high wall slug gun from now on. I transferred all my relevant posts so the process runs start to finish.

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig. Posted 11-15-08:
hello,
anyone ever think of rebarreling an 1874 to 20 ga slug? i dont think that 12 ga would fit , even if it did the barrel would be pretty thin. a thick 20 ga sluggun would be awesome for deer hunting here in ohio, and with modern hyper-accurate slug ammunition you could actually use a vernier sight and extend your range a few hundred yards.

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 11-18-08:
hyper accurate= any slug load capable of holding 2-3 MOA and some do even better. Yes you CAN take shots past a few hundred yards. you have to be COMPETENT with your rifle and be CONFIDENT of it and the load. not all hunters are sportsman first. some actually do it to put meat on the table- remember your ancestry! if your only shot is a few hundred yards and you are hungry, you either take it and make it count, or you stay hungry! also, in 1856 the sharps slantbreech model was made in a shotgun version. wouldnt it be nice if someone at one of the sharps companies came up with a sluggun with a 1:18-1:20 twist slug barrel and some saboted ammunition using the lyman 457125 or similar. think of the deer hunting possibilities in shotgun-only states!!!!

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 11-18-08:
There is more than one way to skin a cat! a new unbarreled action could be used to skirt some state laws, hence not a rifle per se. also, if the rifle company made it a production item, it could be classed as a shotgun. you could find an original shotgun and rebarrel it. werent there rolling blocks imported a few years ago in 14 ga rechambered to 12? get one of those. in my state a shotgun for deer hunting is described as 10 ga or smaller using one ball or slug per barrel, rifled barrel permitted and no buckshot allowed, gun capacity limited to 3 shells. a simple plug gauge (12 or 20?)will tell them it is not an over 50 cal rifle.but you are right to a point, you may have to do some explaining to one of those idiots they call game wardens. a right that isnt exercised or fought for isnt much of a right. besides, wouldnt that be cool?

if you need more education on modern slugs, try rem buckhammer, lightfield, hornady sst. for guns try tar-hunt, H&R ultraslug, and ithaca deerslayer I,II,III

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 11-19-08:
did a little clay prototyping today to further investigate the validity of saboted bpcr shotgun rounds. the sabot face is concaved to catch air easier and fascilitate separation. and this is my .50-90 / 750 gr in a 12 ga . as far as quality goes, i own a c. sharps. the difference between them and shiloh is nearly meaningless at the black powder level. both are used in the winners circle according to bpcr match results posted in black powder cartridge news. ive seen and handled both and cant find discrepancies. shilohs are probably used more because they are more famous and they are available in greater quantities. shiloh is investment cast and the c. sharps is machined from billet. black will cause neither any problems and ruger has shown that castings can be strong! the c. sharps will handle loads that are on the scary side according to published smokeless loads in customer letters.

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 3-14-12
Sharps slug revisited
Projects get put on the back burner but never forgotten. Been busy with a .444 black powder roller. This is a prototype 12 ga cardboard sabot and its alumnium model with .50-90 bullet. Not perfect but good enough until I get around to custom ordering paper tubes. In talks with ballard about a slug gun in 20 ga using same design. Never say CAN'T!
Attachment 114296

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 4-15-13:
got one of the last navy arms rolling block receivers. barreled it with a HEAVY 1.250 bbl cut with a custom reamer for.444 marlin black powder only. leatherwood malcolm scope & dz mounts. 435 gr bullet 60gr goex 3f. I get the impression from some of the purist primadonnas on here & other sites that I committed a sacrilege in turning the 444 into a working black powder round, but it works great and has near moa accuracy. wait till they see the 20 ga rifled single shot sluggun im working on now

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 2-03-14:
latest update....... slug gun barrel has arrived.....octagon! thanks John Taylor

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 03-03-14
latest info....... my action is here. looks like its gonna be an 1885 20 ga

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 03-06-14
game warden is gonna love this!!! (notice the pope rib attached to a leatherwood scope)

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 03-16-14
I have since found that the 20 ga high wall receiver was modified to accept a shotshell, so I had to find someone capable of performing the task. the rear of the receiver (the ears and trough behind the breech block mortise) must be bored out, not just enlarged. the shell is actually inserted straight from the rear and can't be dropped down in. also, forend collar must be lowered for the larger barrel. work to be done next month. Then comes the 20 ga reamer design. been talking to some professional slug shooters about custom chamber dimensions as well as my own thoughts on design, since they aren't giving up a lot of their secrets.

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 3-17-14
couldn't hunt deer in Ohio with a regular rifle, ( that may change this year with new laws, which makes the project moot) so I said " why not?" I have two other bp rifles, a c sharps 1874 .50-90 and a custom pedersoli/ navy arms rolling block in .444 marlin, known as .42x 2 2/10. the slug gun is rifled. it's actually a pac-nor .600 nitro barrel that mikes .620 groove that will become a 20 ga slugger that I had octagoned by john taylor

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 6-11-14
Stolen gun.....action only... was c. sharps arms 1885 single trigger, pistol grip, in white. ser # A85-182 disappeared on Easter weekend while in ups custody in Chicago area. paperwork filed with batfe

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 6-14-14
Custom reamer now on order...... if it works, I'll pass along the dimensions

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 6-15-14
does anyone have access to a pair of lyman 457193/405gr and 457125/525gr molds for a side x side comparison pic of the two cast bullets? I'm wanting to know how close the shank lengths match, base to crimp, or......a good drawing of each showing groove locations.I know the heavier has a longer shank by about 040, but if the base was shaved back, would the grooves match the lighter one exactly?

[appleseedgunsmith]

Orig post 6-28-14
got a response & pic from lyman. already ordered a 457193 for use in 20 ga slug. a modified 457125 is on the wishlist for later use.




(The idea here was to be able to design a cardboard sabot that works with both weight of bullets, if the shanks can be made the same length)

[appleseedgunsmith]

07-15-14
Well, replacement action back from taylor machine. First high wall 20 ga shotgun in 100 yrs (maybe? )

[appleseedgunsmith]

Also. Reamer arrived yesterday 08-22-14. Thanks to Dave manson!

[bigted]

cool beans. i know i for one will be interested in the project clear to the end. doing great just would like to see more photo's of your project as it comes together.

thanks tons for posting this.

[appleseedgunsmith]

Next stop. ........threading, barreling, & chambering.....this one could take awhile. Not many more pics to post. I will say that the reamer has custom specs. One of which is there is no regular 5deg. forcing cone to speak of.