The .45-70 Book and the Sharps

[Grapeshot]

Back in 2002 I purchased an Armi-Sport M1874 Sharps Infantry Rifle and tried some handloads that had worked well in my Navy Arms Rolling Block Rifle.  To say that they didn't work well is an understatement.

The rifle shot almost two feet right at 100 yards and started keyholing after only a few rounds.  It didn't matter if I used smokeless or Black Powder.  For this particular Sharps, Hard cast bulets were useless.  Paper Patched bullets may have been the ticket, if I had any to play with that were made from pure lead.

A trip back to Taylor's availed little.  Factory jacketed bullets worked well but this was supposed to be a nineteenth century weapon that used cast bullets or papper patched slugs.

Then I got "The Book"!  "Loading Cartridges for the Original .45-70 Rifle and Carbine".

After reading that book and going over specific chapters several times I managed to get my hands on some soft lead and some 50/50 solder.

After casting about 100 .45-405 RNHB bullets from a Rapine mold I was ready for business.

Sizing my bullets to .458 and using a home-made batch of lube consisting of Beeswax, Crisco, Candle Wax, Bore Butter and a couple of tablespoons of Murphy's Oil Soap, I was ready to load a batch of Winchester .45/70 cases.

First I used a decapping die to rid the cases of their spent primer and set up a Lee case trimer to 2.105" and trimmed all of them to that length.  Then I full length sized them and reprimed them with Remington's 9 1/2M Large Magnum Rifle Primers.  I know that the book calls for Federal or Winchester Magnum Rifle Primers.  All I have at this time are the Remingtons, and I got them back in 1974 and have had them stored in an old military ammo can, air tight and water proof.

I dropped a charge of 69 grind of Goex Cowboy Black Powder and compressed it almost 0.6 inch to allow the rapine bullet to be seated and allow for a tapered crimp in 20 cases.

I also set up a carbine load of twenty cases with 58.8 grains of Goex Cowboy and the same hollow based bullet as above.

As a third trial, I loaded 20 rounds with 63.2 grains of Hogdon's 777 and the Rapine bullet.

All loads were pre compressed to allow for seating of the bullet.  Adisk of waxed papper was places between the bullet and powder to prevent posible contamination of the powder charge by the lubricant.

For the first time since I ot this rifle I was able to hit my target, that is the target I was actually aiming at, consistantly.  At Fifty yards I was able to put all bullets in the black on a Shoot-N-See 100 yard rifle target.  The carbine load was the most accurate.

At 100 yards, all rounds, but for five, went into the kill zone on a Military Sighting Target for the M16A2 and M-4.  The five that went into the right margine were loaded with the 777.  I arrtibute that to shooter error.

Now I've got to mould up a considerable quanity and practice intil I can tighten my groups to within 3 MOA.   (Ha ha ha ha ha ha)





Who needs a rifle when a howitzer will do?