Barrel is marked 45-70. Top of breech is marked 2 7/8". Can I shoot 45-70 ammmo?

[oldelk]

:confused:

[Gunlaker]

First I'd find out what it really is. It could be a .45 2-7/8 with the barrel set back and rechambered to .45-70, or it could be a .45-70 that was rechambered to .45 2-7/8.

I personally would not shoot a .45-70 cartridge in a rifle chambered for the .45 2-7/8th case. That's a whole lot of jump to the rifling.

Chris.

[gandydancer]

45/110 is a 2.7/8th a 45/70 is a 2 1/10 Sharps Straight. I would think you could shoot 45/70 in it. but you are going to have a one hell of a jump before it hits the rifling. also it will ring in your chamber with crude. I would call some one in the know before I shoot it. like C sharps or Shiloh arms. gandy

[montana_charlie]

:confused:
If you don't know what you have you shouldn't shoot anything in it.
If it IS a 2 7/8 chamber and you STILL want to know if you can shoot 45/70 in it ...

Do you enjoy cleaning lead out of a chamber throat?

CM

[Don McDowell]

What gunlaker said.

[BCRider]

Welcome to the forums first of all.

Secondly it's better to actually ask the question in the text box instead of the title box. That way folks can properly quote your question.

When you wrote that the breech is marked 2 7/8 are you talking about the receiver or is it stamped on the breech end of the barrel itself?

If it's stamped onto the receiver then it suggests that there was a barrel swap. You'd still want to measure the depth of the chamber anyway but it sure sounds like the barrel was swapped out for a 45-70 barrel. On the other hand if the 2 7/8 marking is stamped into the breech end of the barrel itself then it sounds like it was re-chambered by a smith at some point. But in that case I would expect them to have overstamped the 45-70 part in some manner so that it indicated that the chambering was no longer correct.

So what is the actual situation for the markings?

[Mooseman]

Oldelk,
You should tell us more , what Make of Rifle action ? If it is an Old SHARPS rifle that has been re-barreled, it may have been chambered previously to 45-100 /.45-110 Sharps which is the 2-7/8 designation. It may have been rebarreled to 45-70 as many were because of it being more available than the Sharps Cartridges. A chamber cast with Cerrosafe would be the best thing to tell what the Barrel is chambered for .
Rich

[Gtek]

+1 on barrel/chamber cast. Removes doubt. I have used Gulf wax for quicky and gives you a good look. Cerro if really down to last .001" for critical. Gtek

[oldelk]

Thanks for the info people. it's a replica Sharps 1874 from IT. Guess I'll take it a gun smith here in MT to find out what is correct ammo to shoot.

[Don McDowell]

You may actually be able to get a rough guess on that chamber by inserting a cleaning rod with a jag and patch thru the chamber. When you feel the patch hit the rifling mark the rod and measure the distance from the mark to the end of the patch. if it's over 3 inches you'll be wanting to find some 110 brass.

[oldelk]

It's a IAB from IT. Have tried to find out when it was made. #26908, 28 " round brl.,single trigger. Any help to find out would be welcome.

[XTR]

Dude, make a chamber cast already. You can use paraffin, the kind you make candles from just to get this data. If you're wanting to get serious about measurements to the .001 then use cerosafe. You can melt either in a double boiler on your stove.

[Hang Fire]

First I'd find out what it really is. It could be a .45 2-7/8 with the barrel set back and rechambered to .45-70, or it could be a .45-70 that was rechambered to .45 2-7/8.

I personally would not shoot a .45-70 cartridge in a rifle chambered for the .45 2-7/8th case. That's a whole lot of jump to the rifling.

Chris.

I had a Win M1886 in 45-90, but only fired 45-70 in it, they were quite accurate and presented no problems.