Mle 1866 Chassepot enigma

[Chicken Thief]

It is marked Mle 1866/74 and another place on the action M80, whatever.
The bore is mint i mean it could have been cut yesterday.
Now for the big probelm:
The throat of the barrel measures .445" but the rifling .465". I am able to chamber a boolit around .458" before i run out of neck diameter.
So in essence i will svage the boolit down to bore and make it "rattle" down barrel without grabbind the rifling.
Where the french allowed to consume that much wine while making guns for the state?

Chamber and barrel cast to show the 4cm sizing part.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Chassepot/R0010986.jpg

2 pics of the rifling start
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Chassepot/R0010987.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Chassepot/R0010988.jpg

Here with measurements
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Chassepot/R0010989.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Chassepot/R0010990.jpg

[gew98]

These were meant for a Minie type bullet , paper patched with primer and powder charge in the hollow base of the bullet. If this has been converted to metallic cartridge by germans or whomever a hollow based bullet would be your only real choice.

[junkbug]

This was common world-wide at the time. Under-sized very soft lead bullets, even flat based, would upset upon firing and fill the grooves. This had the advantage of still chambering and functioning with heavily fouled bores.

The cartridge conversion of the percussion Sharps (.52 caliber) to the .50 cal US Govt. (50-70) was even more extreme. Contractors were allowed to rechamber, without re-lining, bores that measured up to .5225" to be used for a bullet that was no larger than .511"

That was just the state of the art at the time. The accuracy of the typical .58 Cal Rifle-Musket was the yard-stick by which these were judged. And functional reliability after many shots, without cleaning, was a must.

Soft lead and black powder still works today. BPCR shotter shoot thousands of rounds a year, and with proper cleaning, their bores still shine like new.

[primersp]

your casting show an metalic GRAS cartridge ,CHASSEPOT rifle have paper cartridge and
needle percussion.
somme gras rifle were rebarelled in arsenal with chassepot barrel

[leadman]

I have a similar match-up in my '71 Mauser in 43 Mauser cartridge. The bore is .458", largest bullet to fit the chamber is .450". Normal is supposed to be .446".
I use the Lyman .446" boolit at 8 BHN with polyfil as a filler over 2400 powder. I also use the Lee 300gr. GC pistol boolit sized to .450" with no filler. Same BHN.
I get 2" to 3" groups at 100 yards.
I may try a 30 to 1 lead to tin boolit as I am getting good results in 2 other guns with similar situations with it.

These old guns can be a challenge with their dimensions but it makes you smile when you finally get them to shoot well.