1853 Sharps 36 cal

[coopersdad]

I just acquired an M1853 Sharps sporting rifle in .36 cal. Does anyone have a resource for the proper bullet for this rifle., or at least one that may work so I can shoot it a bit? There is a lot of info for the bigger bores, but I so far cannot find anything for this one.

The bore slugs at .415 groove, and a .382 bore. There are some bullets at Buffalo Arms that may be close, but I have no idea even what weight is appropriate.

[Nobade]

Check the twist rate and that will tell you how long a bullet it will work with. Chamber length will tell you how much powder it will use. (deeper = heavier bullet) Chamber should be bigger than the groove diameter, so use whatever fits the chamber properly. Most likely sized down 44 mag bullets are going to work.

Congrats on finding what should be a really neat rifle!

[coopersdad]

Thanks. I may try a chamber cast, although I'm not sure it will work. I guess I've never really looked at a paper cartridge chamber before. This one, from the breechblock forward is a cylinder of about 1/2" diameter for about 1/2", then it expands into a larger powder chamber before constricting to a very short throat area and then the rifling begins. If I get too much cerrosafe in there I won't be able to extract it from the chamber.

[Nobade]

It shouldn't do that. The chamber should be a straight cylinder. I'd take a look with a bore scope to see if there is bad corrosion or somebody has cut on it.

[ss40_70]

i have to ask .. who made the rifle ? , .36 sure seems to be an odd choice for a sharps .
was it origonaly made as a .36 cal ... or maybe it has been relined to .36 ?
one thing to think about was this rifle maybe never intended to actualy shoot a bullet and is just for the reenactor crowd shooting powder charges and no bullets ..

i would have this thing checked out before i would consider shooting based on your powder chamber description

[shovel80]

Is that one of the rifles that used a paper cartridge that was sheared off when closing the breech block? And Uses a percussion cap??

Terry

[coopersdad]

Yes, this is the paper cartridge/percussion cap model. The 1853 Sporting Rifle was made by the Sharps company in .36, .44, and .52 calibers, from 1853 to 1859.

The area in front of the "cylinder" part of the chamber was machined that way, not corroded - I can see the marks with a borescope. I don't know, however, if that was done by the factory or by someone later to increase the amount of powder one can use. I've never seen another one of these so I'm not sure what it should look like in there (Flayderman says only about 2,200 were made in the octagon barrel, as this one is).

ETA on another forum a poster said this appears to be the chamber insert that is supposed to push back against the breechface to seal the gas upon firing. When reading about these, most all refer to this, and that most of them are now seized up. Dixie even sells a tool for unsticking them, as I recall.

[Nobade]

I could be mistaken, but I don't think the original Sharps rifles used the sliding sleeve.

If you haven't been there, check out the Shiloh forum. They have a room there just for these rifles, and Charlie Hahn hangs out there. If anybody knows about these rifles it is him.

If somebody did cut the chamber bigger in the middle, it may be repairable by sleeving it up to the start of the rifling.

[coopersdad]

Thanks - I checked out the Shiloh forum and there is a guy discussing shooting one of these. Once my login is approved, I'll see what I can find out.

[powderburnerr]

coopersdad

you shouldto contact bill goodman he really does shoot these rifles and does it like they are supposed to , google him , he is the ballard shiloh dealer , give him a call , he would most likely like to talk with you ,,