Niko camera photos of my new Sharps 1874 Montana Rough Rider-PHOTO HEAVY

[Gunlaker]

With Shiloh it's always easiest to call them. Last time I looked they only listed a part of the system on their website for some reason.

Basically there is this big piece that is like a frame that screws into your press. The second part of the seater is a short chunk of barrel that has been chambered with the Shiloh reamer ( no rifling in the barrel chunk, just a smooth bore ). You stick the bullet into the case so it just sits there and then you "chamber" it into the barrel chunk. Insert that into the frame that is screwed into the press and work the lever and it seats the bullet. Then you extract the shell from the barrel chunk with a small screwdriver.

The only thing that's slightly tricky is that when you first get the unit, you have to customize the seater for your bullet type ( you can get extra pieces if you want to use multiple bullet nose types ). You do this by making a dummy round with as close to zero runout as you can get, then you use JB Weld and a release agent ( I use imperial sizing wax ) to fit the nose part of the seater to your bullet. It's easier than my poor description makes it sound. It comes with good instructions.

The best way is to call up and ask about it though.

I did find a picture of it on the internet in a Mike Venturino article. I'm not sure why they aren't talked about a lot on the forums because they do work very well. I like it much more than my Redding Competition seater for instance.

Anyway this article has a small picture of the setup:

https://loaddata.com/articles/PDF/match%20BPCR.pdf

Chris.

[Big Mak]

Thank you!

[Deadeye Bly]

Absolutely gorgeous rifle! You should get a lifetime of good use out of it and still be good to pass on to another generation.

[Big Mak]

Absolutely gorgeous rifle! You should get a lifetime of good use out of it and still be good to pass on to another generation.

I have two sons, both shooters. One will get the 90% Springfield Trapdoor and the other gets the Sharps.

Well, good first day at the range with the Sharps. The vernier sight is similar, not unlike, the Buffington I'm used to using.

The sight was set at 1/4 (25 pts I assume?) and placed on paper nicely at 25 yards.
I kept bringing it out, to 50 then 100 yards to "zero" it.

The Baldwin Soule sight registered 40 pts for 100 yards. My groupings sucked, the last 4 shots are closest to the vertical axis.
The first shot was low and left, I overcompensated windage and the next 2 were low and to the right. The last 4 shots started coming in. (nearest center vertical axis)

I used a blow tube in between shots and swabbed the chamber for clean entry. I also ran a wet patch (water and Murphy's soap mixture) down the barrel every 5th shot followed by a dry patch.

First thing I learned is that I need to put the "vertical staff" card in the front globe on my next trip to the range.(Lollypop) I didn't bring all the cards sights to the range so I stuck with what I had.

Also, I'll learn to make a better more accurate bullet. I've started separating the 520 gr BACO money mold boolits by weight. No more than .4 gr apart, then grouped. They throw between 518.2 grs to as much as 520.5 grs using 20/1 lead I purchased from Buffalo Arms.

Now that I have 20 fired cartridge brass pieces, I *should* be more successful in the next batch that I make.

This last 20 I used 65 gr of Old Enysford 2F, drop tubed, .030 wad. CCI #250 primer. Compression was .09 with a montana compression die. Then added the boolit and compressed another .06. I did not separate lighter or heavier bullets.

After steel tumbling the freshly fired brass, I am going to experiment.
For instance the suggestion to wipe the bullet base clean of any SPG lube, less compression with the actual bullet (and more compression with the die) and I have .060 veggie wads, I may try a few of those instead of the .030.
Once I get consistent at 100 yards I'll move it out to 200 yards. I predict I'll need to add 14 points to the 40 showing on the staff.

[Big Mak]

With Shiloh it's always easiest to call them. Last time I looked they only listed a part of the system on their website for some reason.
.......................


Chris.

Gunlaker, sent you a PM. Shiloh had 2 left so they took it off the website. I bought one today, so there is one left. Not sure when they'll have more in stock.

[toot]

that color case hardening should be against the law / outlawed, because it is the most beautiful job that I have ever seen!!! WOW!!

[Gunlaker]

Gunlaker, sent you a PM. Shiloh had 2 left so they took it off the website. I bought one today, so there is one left. Not sure when they'll have more in stock.

I'm sure you'll like it! Soon I have to order one of the seater parts for my new .45-2.6" rifle, although I won't see it for a year or so.

Chris.

[brass410]

OH MY !!!!! gun porn, keep it up and my wife's gonna hit me with an intervention group, last time she walked by the man cave all she could hear where gasps and sighs, she though I was having a heart attack. She looked in, and caught me touching the comp screen, charged the desk and spun the screen around and there I was, BUSTED on shiloh sharps web site again, I'm ashamed.

[Big Mak]

OH MY !!!!! gun porn, keep it up and my wife's gonna hit me with an intervention group, last time she walked by the man cave all she could hear where gasps and sighs, she though I was having a heart attack. She looked in, and caught me touching the comp screen, charged the desk and spun the screen around and there I was, BUSTED on shiloh sharps web site again, I'm ashamed.

I told my wife that erections are normal when seeing such a beautiful rifle.

[Big Mak]

Gunlaker, you made my year!

Good day at the range with the Shiloh Sharps 1874 Montana Rough Rider with 30" Octagonal at 200 yards.

After sighting it in with a new front silhouette disk, I proceeded to test my bullets. This was my 2nd batch after literally fireforming the brass to fit the tight chamber tolerances of the Sharps rifle.

65 gr and 69.5 hrs of Olde Enysford 2F, compressed .200", 520 grain BACO "money" bullet cast from 20/1 lead with a .030 veggie wad, bullets were pan lube with SPG Lube. Winchester Large Rifle Primer. Basically it was made identical to Mike Venturino bullets, those that shoot silhouette know who Ventura is.
Bullet pressed in place by a Shiloh bullet seating tool, which is basically a section of the .458 barrel (minus rifling) and a press. Thanks to GUNLAKER on Castboolits for the tip!
Far left shot was fouling shot after cleaning the barrel after sighting in 200 yards. Then the 200 groups started coming in.

Closest holes (3 on top of each other) were all 69.5 grains of 2F.

Mike's book talks about 1" groups for 100 yards, 2" groups for 200 yards, etc. is obtainable with proper and precise build of a cartridge and I didnt believe it was possible!

FYI, the run out on these test cartridges ran .001 max.

[Gunlaker]

Nice work! I'm glad that worked out well for you. Once nice thing about that seater die is that if you use it you can guarantee that the ammo will chamber in your rifle. You only have to show up to a match once with ammo that doesn't want to chamber and you'll find out fast how useful that is

Chris.