Original Sharps Q

[HollandNut]

A friend has an original in 45/70 .. Fixing to cast some for him ..

These old pups are new territory for me ..

Pure lead ?? Or WW ??

Seems I have seen where WW is "too hard" .. true ? false ?

IIRC there bore diameter can vary greatly ??

[elk hunter]

Hollandnut,

The original loads used black powder and paper patched soft lead so the bullets would bump up to fill the bore. Most of the older BP rifles had generous bore dimensions as they needed clearance for the fouling. You will need to slug the bore and I believe you will find it to be about .462 to .463 groove to groove. Then you will need to determine how large a bullet you can seat in the case and still have room for the case to expand in the chamber. I have had some success with hard cast gas checked bullets of .460 diameter, but better luck recently with a hollow base bullet cast of soft lead.

Hope this is helpful.

[HollandNut]

Thanks , I have a 462560 that thows around 461-4615 , so that maybe a good start ..

Also have some PP moulds and plenty a paper ..

Thanks agin

[405]

Yes, have slugged a few originals. Like all older guns the bores do vary a bit. Best to slug the bore AND slug the end of the chamber/throat/leade area (or cerrosafe cast it). Then run a tight patch in to get the twist. All that info may give the best idea on what may work best. I know most of them (original m74s anyway) have a tapered throat. If the chamber and bore are good in your friend's gun no reason to think it won't shoot well with the right load. I have an original along with two Montanas. The old gun stays right with the modern repros.