I need help

[joey fletcher]

I am so mad and frustrated with this dang thing, I wish I had never seen it.

I bought the 1893 sharps rep. about 6 months ago. So for the last 6 months I have looked everywhere about info. on this thing. How to make loads, paper, bullets and care for this type of rifle.

I found this site and have spent months reading everything I could. This is a great site, BUT when I try to roll the hair curler paper it looks if I am wearing boxing gloves. I bought 100% cotton paper soaked it in pharm. grade salt petre and all I got was paper with a load of salt crystals and burned with no flame showing and very slowly.

Today I tried to shoot this piece of %#*@ sharps.

54 ca.
bore .541
will chamber 130 grs. of FFG with a minie ball
used 60 grs. store bought filler
70 grs. of pyrodex select Hogden powder
top hat caps muzzleloader

I had nothing but misfires
6 new loads with 3 caps in each load = 18 caps

4 paper loads with 3 caps each

after so many misfires my nervers were shot.....No punn intended.

OH.. I cleaned breech and chamber after each change of loads after the second time , so much crud in the breech ( powder and filler )

I would love to talk to someone who may know what I am doing wrong.

Oh ! I know now I messed up it is a IAB sharps 1863 rep. should be named IBF as per one of the members here.

At this point I am ready to drive it into the ground with a sledge hammer and see if it will make a good GOAT stake.

I have verizon cell 919 201 1767 free after 9 pm and to all verizon customers free anytime. or email me

Thanks to everyone for letting an Ol'Man rant

Joey Fletcher
Durham NC

[MissedAgain]

My best guess is that you have an obstruction of some sort in the breech block. If I pop a cap on my Shiloh 1863 carbine with no load, I get at least a foot of flame out of the barrel. Try that and if you don't see any flame, remove the breech block and nipple and run a wire through it to see if the vent channel is clear. Check the nipple hole. If everything is clear, you might try a different brand of caps. I use RWS #1081 flangeless caps and have never had a misfire or hang fire.

[Rich Siegel]

I agree with MissedAgain about checking your flash channel. However, also try real black powder. Sounds like GOEX FFG or Swiss 1 1/2 would work well.

As for the paper cartridges, you can just use regular copy paper, with or without nitrate, rolled over a dowl of proper size. Glue the cartridge to the base of the bullet, pour in the powder, then put a cap of curler paper glued over the end.

On my Shiloh carbine, the gun actually enlarges the nipple hole in an oval fashion and with a new nipple, the gun will miss fire until the oval is formed. With a new nipple, I just form the oval with a file.

Once you get the gun firing every time, I would recommend a christmas tree or solid based bullet. They work much better then a minieball.

Rich

[snapcap14]

photos http://s647.photobucket.com/albums/uu194/cwtechy/
agree w/ rick on most. I use 42 of 2ffg Swiss w/ Brooks bullet
Rick seen the ovel on my nipple at Glastonbury last weekend. my groups opend up and moved high right over the last 2 shoots. Put a new nipple in shot one more individule before team events. had a few miss fires cap was even moving grass but not like normal. by end of team events it was fine. Pulled the nipple for cleaning and the new nipple was already showing signs of erosion

[joey fletcher]

Sorry I did not get back to ya'll sooner, I was with my son at the AMA races at VIR this weekend. Had a great time

I have looked everywhere I know of to buy real black powder. No one around here has it, and I have looked on the net....nothing

I was guessing it was the powder. I was thinking of trying to Sock the powder as I have read on this site. I had much rather have real black powder

I will also file the nipple, it does hit on one side.

One other Question, my breech has a large deep hole sorounding the inside nipple. when I just loaded bullet, then filler, then the powder, to fill the chamber completely. then I close the breech place a cap on then try to fire it with 3 caps at 30 seconds apart. after the last cap I wait 30 sec. the slowly open the breech I see where the filler had mixed with the powder.
Is that the normal thing??

Again Thanks Guys

[snapcap14]

Skip the filler if loading loss powder. and no you do not have to weary about air space. in the 59-63's for real black their are several suplies that will ship back creek is one. powder inc. another some else can give you the rest of them.

[joey fletcher]

Yep ya'll were right.

It was a problem in the breech block. I fired caps and saw dirt move on the ground. I called myself cleaning the breech block by air pressure and cleaner, then a small wire.

After talking here I tried to remove the nipple, and the side screw. Soaked it in diesel fuel for 2 days. and still could not remove the nipple. I did get the side screw out , it was tuff

The nipple was a differant story, I soaked it for another day after I got the side screw out, still would not budge. I applied heat from a torch, and still would not move. By now the sides of the nipple was about shot from the wrench slipping.

I then used a chisel to to break it free , Nothing

Got out the dremal tool and started cutting, after 3 hrs of slow and careful work I used a very sharp small punch to seperate the threads of the nipple from the breech block.

I was very lucky or good, I got all the threads out with out damaging any of the block threads.

I used a 8 x 1 mm bottom tap to clean the rust and gunk from the block threads
The block was full of rust and some type of crud, now it is clean

Man is it hard to find 8 x 1 mm nipples for this thing. Looked for 2 days on the net befor finding someone that had them. They should be here by Tuesday.

Thanks to all who replied to my issue.

I'll post on how this gun works, I have 50 rounds made up
Now it is just hurry up and wait

OH...I also ordered 3 lbs of Goex FFG black powder

again thanks everyone

[KL]

Next time soak it in Marvel Mystery Oil for a few days. Tap it a couple of times each day with a mallet and let it soak again.

[powderburner]

wouldnt it be best to use anti seize compound on the threads ?........Dean

[snapcap14]

wouldnt it be best to use anti seize compound on the threads ?........Dean

I used it for a while was not 100% happy with it. still had problems getting the clean out screw out and it seamed the nipple needed a little extra tork to get it lose but one it was it cam right out by hand.. I now use CMD extreme pressure lube # 3. from Mc master Carr. Some use chock tube lube. I have not tried it the CMD is working fine for me. I use it on the nipple the clean out screw, the block and the linkages.

[61carbine]

Howdy Joey. Haven't been on the forum for some time and wondered how your flash hole problem turned out.

I have an original 1863 percussion carbine and gave the breech block to a 'smith to remove a seized clean out screw and nipple. I assumed the nipple was corroded shut so I had him put a new one on.

I experienced the same thing as you with minimal to no flame coming through the flash hole. On a whim I removed the new nipple and compared with the original which fortunately had been saved. The new nipple flash hole was considerably smaller than the original.

I was able to clean out the original and put it back on. Everything goes boom now, every time. If you're still having problems, try another nipple or enlarge the hole in your current one until you get a good flame. On my carbine, the flame from a cap fired into an empty chamber comes out the muzzle.

[joey fletcher]

Hey Guy

I got everything going great now. I wrote it up in another entry on this page.

Yep I had a mess the new nipple hole was to small, and the side from the nipple was 50% clogged up..Made a dang mess with a drill bit. So read my other reply

Shoots like a dream now...

Just drill your nipple to apx. .045...

Mine is .042


Thanks

Joey