I don't often remove the forend from my '63s for cleaning of the lever spring area and corresponding recess in the fore stock.
I did following my last range session and to say it was grubby is an understatement. The fit of the barrel band is quite tight, requiring a few taps with a rawhide mallet to induce it to move.
I took the opportunity to apply a little wax stock finish to the barrel channel and the covered metal was well. I find it hard to believe that CW soldiers gave their Sharps rifles all due care and attention after a day of foot slogging or bloody combat.
I've read that when the slant breech was first used by the military, excess powder would accumulate in this area and 'flash' after a build up. That must have been exciting .....
After watching a CW battle reenactment, I'm convinced that I would not want to put multiple blank rds thru' my '63s. If I'm going to dirty it, at least I want it to be done with live fire.
Cleaning the '63
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Cleaning the '63
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"