shooting loose powder and ball in a SHARPS

[toot]

as the title says, how do i do it. i have an original and don't want to make paper cartridges. i heard about guys shooting loose powder and ball in them. any and all info. would be appreciated.i would like to shoot round balls in it.

[ian45662]

Have you considered getting the Hahn tubes? I have heard of some guys doing it but they had their guns relined to a gain twist. A 562 roundball was used and around 20 grains of powder I do believe but they were in Hahn tubes with wads to keep the powder up against the back of the cartridge.


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[KCSO]

Seat the ball or bullet in the breech and then pour the chamber full of powder and raise the lever. Blow off the excess on the back of the breech and cap and fire. You will not get as accurate a load as with a ctg as the powder is not packed or compressed at all but it will work. If your gun is an old original I would test it first from a fixture to see just how bad it is going to leak.

[varsity07840]

Have you considered getting the Hahn tubes? I have heard of some guys doing it but they had their guns relined to a gain twist. A 562 roundball was used and around 20 grains of powder I do believe but they were in Hahn tubes with wads to keep the powder up against the back of the cartridge.


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Hahn tubes are intended for use with a ringtail conical. A roundball will not fit in the tube.

[varsity07840]

Seat the ball or bullet in the breech and then pour the chamber full of powder and raise the lever. Blow off the excess on the back of the breech and cap and fire. You will not get as accurate a load as with a ctg as the powder is not packed or compressed at all but it will work. If your gun is an old original I would test it first from a fixture to see just how bad it is going to leak.

Yes. Most originals will leak excessively without some work. Charlie Hahn does that kind of work.

[ian45662]

A .562 roundball will indeed fit the Hahn tube. You gotta use glue to make it stick to the tube


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[john.k]

An original with the bushing stuck tight is going to leak badly.......With the bushing pulled back and carefully fitted,all it needs is a bit of spit every shot on the block face......chawing tobaccy is probably good for that...........But I simply made some plastic sleeves with turned over ends ,that are pushed into the chamber after the powder is in.....sealing the gap when fired.Still needs spit ,tho.

[varsity07840]

A .562 roundball will indeed fit the Hahn tube. You gotta use glue to make it stick to the tube


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I was referring to the ball sitting inside the tube, not on top of it. A .562 ball is too big for a Sharps.

[Ragnarok]

I was referring to the ball sitting inside the tube, not on top of it. A .562 ball is too big for a Sharps.

Not my IAB carbine!...It has a huge bore of .556" and if you load loose powder behind a ball it would hold something like 120gr of powder.

The Sharps ringtail/Christmas tree bullets you can buy or cast are just too small for my IAB...I was going to simply buy a pricy custom mold but the .562" Lee roundball mold using soft lead works great. I roll cartridges out of nitrated paper with thin tissue paper base and 70grains 2ff powder.

Another good tip I got from somebody experienced is to fill the breech block cavity with thick 'Emmert's lube'....before I tried that I could only get maybe 10-15 shots before things got too tight from fouling. With the breech block poured full of my Emmert's lube(pretty thick and lots of wax) seems it will keep shooting indefinitely. I have no idea why all the lube doesn't just blow out the bore with the first shot....but it doesn't...and even after 20 or thirty shots there is a lot of lube left in the block cavity.

[waksupi]

I had one years ago. Dropped in a ball, filled with powder, and fired. You will get a bit more chamber fouling of course, but no big deal until it binds the action, and you have to stop and clean.

[varsity07840]

Not my IAB carbine!...It has a huge bore of .556" and if you load loose powder behind a ball it would hold something like 120gr of powder.

The Sharps ringtail/Christmas tree bullets you can buy or cast are just too small for my IAB...I was going to simply buy a pricy custom mold but the .562" Lee roundball mold using soft lead works great. I roll cartridges out of nitrated paper with thin tissue paper base and 70grains 2ff powder.


Another good tip I got from somebody experienced is to fill the breech block cavity with thick 'Emmert's lube'....before I tried that I could only get maybe 10-15 shots before things got too tight from fouling. With the breech block poured full of my Emmert's lube(pretty thick and lots of wax) seems it will keep shooting indefinitely. I have no idea why all the lube doesn't just blow out the bore with the first shot....but it doesn't...and even after 20 or thirty shots there is a lot of lube left in the block cavity.

.556 BORE? Jeez. What's the groove to groove size?

[ian45662]

Charlie hahn does shoot or has shot .550 and .562 roundballs out of his pedersoli and Shiloh. Not sure what the groove diameter is on the originals but he is shooting them with 25 grains of 3F. The roundball will sit right on top of the tube if it’s glued in place.


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[varsity07840]

Well, I'd be the last one to question Charlie. I've had the pleasure of meeting him several times at Ft Shenandoah and he did a breech and chamber job on my Pedersoli sporter. However, my Pedersoli has a groove depth of .540 and I personally would not to try a .562 ball in mine. Original Sharps' had a .520 bore and around .542 groove. I wouldn't try a .562 in an original either.

[ian45662]

According to Charlie the .562 ball although may not be winning any medals in the individual events is good enough for busting clay birds. I think I’m gonna have to give this a try in mine. He said it’s like shooting a BB gun.


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