gmartin I could use help....Please

[Todd Birch]

Recently some of us enjoyed an 'invitational' postal shoot with our '63s (a carbine, civilian sporters and Military Rifles) out to 200 yards. Some of these were (gasp ...) non-Shiloh rifles!
We all learned a lot in the process about our rifles and loads.

I'd be leery of enlarging the flash hole in the block for a variety of reasons. Even enlarging the nipple hole gets to a point of negative returns as you get a lot of pressure coming back at the hammer face.

My Military Rifle is a .50 calibre. I tried rolling 60 gr .54 calibre Pyrodex pellets with a lubed bullet and found it shot well. I start them with either a dowel or a good push with the thumb. They take handling well and look authentic. I get 100% consistency with each load.
The pellets have a coating of BP on the base and ignition is faultless. I either expose this coating before chambering the round or punch a hole through the paper with an awl.
Prior to this, I was using 60 grs FFg and of course, lost some with every chambering through the shearing action. Reducing this to 55 grs gave 100% powder retention. I punctured the base of the paper cartidge with an awl to ensure ignition.

I've tried paper cartridges with both nitrated and un-nitrated typing paper. Nitrating is just an extra step in the process. I see no advantage to using nitrated paper as both left unburned paper in the bore. I was wet swabbing between rounds so I wasn't concerned about a possible ignition when chambering the next round.
I bought saltpeter for the nitrating process at the local drugstore. As it is one of the ingredients for making BP, you might raise a few eyebrows.

When you consider the loose powder in the chamber that results from the shearing action of a paper round, I'm amazed at the accuracy some of the guys were getting. Kind of blows away all the conventional thinking about powder compression, exact charges, etc.

Granted, none of us has any experience beyond 200 yards, but that is in keeping with the role of the '63 Military Rifle as an infantry skirmish rifle.
Berdan's Sharpshooters are reported to have made some successful shots at much longer ranges on occasion.
I don't know how the percussion sporters were regarded as long range rifles.

Todd

[gmartin]

Todd, others,
If the paper cartridge is flush with the chamber, no shearing, one ought not have to punch a hole in the cartridge for sure ignition. Especially if the base is nitrated, at least that is how I see it, and my experience. I used to nitrate everything including the cat but I was gently persuaded otherwise. But that small bit of the base can't but help.
Todd was correct about the accuracy some people experience by loose loading with a started bullet, one member of our postal shoot shot second best at 200 yd. this way with a minie out of 5 involved. I am always amazed myself that, even with a tight well constucted paper cartridge, the '63 can shoot as well as it can.
We are going to attempt a Postal Shoot II for this next year. As with the first, which was posted by Todd, all who shoot with the gas seal Sharps are welcome. We competed with a variety of types with no classes between them. As previously stated there were 5 of us and we learned an awful lot. Our ranges were from 50 to 100 yd. and involved off hand shooting, X-Sticks or free style and from the bench. If more folks are involved this year perhaps classes of rifles may be an option, but we would caution anyone willing to shoot that we attempted to keep this also as traditional as possible. Black Powder or substitute, any of the loading means used during the period, and rifles simillar to the originals were agreed upon concepts. Pyrodex and Clean Shot were used by some, including me, but used in a fashion as might have been so long ago. So as not to appear hyprocritical I/we of the original group would not argue with BP only if a newbie thought this in the best interest of the period. Remember, the first shoot was a fun learning experience, it is hoped this spirit remains.
How did the lone carbine do? Quite well thank you.
Best, Gregg

[Todd Birch]

Gregg forgot that we in fact shot out to 200 yards.

That was the qualifying distance for Berdan's Sharpshooters so we made it the upper limit.

Todd