Gas Seal

[Todd Birch]

I've been following all the chatter about mods to extend the operating time of a '63 before it binds up, and have been thinking about doing some.

Just got back from the range with my .53 Shiloh '63 Sporter.

The wind was blowing and howling like mad! If you think that a .54 Rapine Xmas Tree bullet is NOT affected by crosswinds, let me adjust your thinking .....
I was lucky to keep them in the black at 100 yds from the bench! This rifle normally groups into 3-4" at 100 from the bench.
50 yard off hand groups were the normal 2-3".

However, the object of the exercise was to see how it performed with a trick I picked up on this forum.
I filled the breechblock cavity with lithium grease making the gas plate a tight 'press fit' requiring padded vise jaws.
I coated the sides of the block with a light smear of the same grease as well.

I got off 26 consecutive rounds with no binding or difficulty in opening the action! Temp was just above freezing. That's a personal best with this or any '63 I own, the previous with this rifle being 10-12 on a hot, dry day.

I feel that had it been such a day, I'd have fared just as well or better as the grease would have been softer.

I was wiping the bore after every 5 rounds, careful not to wipe the rear of the barrel as I have in the past to remove fouling.

This may not be a record for a '63 not binding up, but it sure as hell exceeds anything I'm going to require of the rifle for hunting or the informal target shooting I do.

In the past, I've been a user of an anti-seal compound, and while it works to make it easier to dismantle the gas plate from the block, it did nothing to extend the operating time before binding up.

[snapcap14]

26 doon't think that was to bad either. 2 thoughts 1 as you said it may have been more if the weather was warmer.
2 but with warmer weather the block may get hotter making it expand causing it to get tighter and lock up sooner.
So how hot did it get what was the condition of the grease did it stay firm or get softer as you shot.
Well warm weather is only 3 mo away or 3 hrs by plane.
Keep us posted.

[Todd Birch]

Just finished cleaning and reassembling the breechblock. Easiest it has ever come apart and easiest ever to clean. This method has got to be a 'no mods' winner, at least on a Shiloh.
The only place I'll be using anti-seizing compound now is on the clean out screw and the nipple threads.

The grease in the cavity and behind the plate was still soft and I wiped it out with a Q-tip. The rest of the external fouling wiped off with a cloth and cleaning solution.

Considering that it was barely above freezing and I was wiping after each 5 rds, the block never had a chance to get warm. Like I said, I believe that a little heat would be a good thing as the grease would tend to melt a little and that would prevent binding.

['63 Shiloh]

I too have been using grease (Penrite Extreme Pressure) on the gas plate and the cavity.

Well, down here its hot; about 100F. The grease is still working fine and I am getting up to 50 shots away with no barrel wiping, just an occasional chamber brush with a 12g patch being used.

I also shoot IPSC, my 'Open Race Gun' has a coating called TiNit on the barrel and other parts.
It is a very thin coating (1-3 microns) of Titanium Nitride, ends up gold in colour and is very hard, 85 RC.

This coating provides excellent wear protection and adds to the lubricity of the part.

I have been wondering how the gas plate and the inside of the block would go if given this treatment?

Anyone using anything like this?

Mike

[Bill Goodman]

Todd,
Where can I get the lithium grease you used? I'm not sure I understand about filling the WHOLE breech block cavity.

[Todd Birch]

Bill

I bought a plastic tube of the stuff from CanTire, our Canuck auto parts emporium. Cost a whole $5 Canuck-bucks. If you have a mechanic friend, he'll probably have a bucket of the stuff you can dip into.

Before assembling the gas plate to the block, I use a popsicle stick to put as much grease around the circumference of the block cavity as possible, leaving the vent hole clear. It becomes a real 'press fit' to reassemble, which may be one of the factors in why it aids in a gas seal.

Like Mike says - I think that warm weather would improve efficiency as the grease becomes more viscous with heat.

It works quite well in two of the three '63s I own so far; best in the newest, a .54 Sporter.

When it comes to shooting any of the ACW percussion arms, I like to shoot them 'as issue'. If not, what's the point? Go to brass cartridge guns.

In Peter Schiffer's book on shooting all the original ACW carbines, he went out of his way to shoot them as authentically as possible, even re-creating obsolete bullet moulds and even creating rim fire cases using a Flobert case off set for the firing pin of the Sharps & Hankins.

Where he could find no evidence of lube on historic ammunition and no technical reference to it, he shot unlubed bullets with predictable results. I think any soldier with smarts must have lubed them on his own.