blowing gas and the percussion Sharps

[wayner]

The Pedersoli's that I had did have the chamber sleeves. I always wondered why it would not come out for cleaning. Wouldn't blackpowder corrosion get between the sleeve and the barrel and be trapped there and cause rust and corrosion and weaken that part of the rifle? Thanks for the imput guys.

[dakotasharps]

Hi Dakota,

I'm a little puzzled, are you saying that the 1859 Ped. you have has a gas plate on it? The reason is mine doesn't have one, it only has the sleeve which seems to work very well so far. It seems that as long as the breech block is kept reasonably clean the sleeve does what its supposed to, I clean the barrel about every 5-8 shots. I have shot as many as 10 times consecutively with very good accuracy.

Yep, it has a plate on it as well as the sleeve. I bought my 1859 new about 7-8 years ago.

The Pedersoli I had did have the chamber sleeve and I could not remove it to clean. The rifle had the gas plate on the breech also and I could not remove it either. How do they come off?

On mine, there is a notch on each edge of the plate which allows you to use a flat tipped screw driver alternately on each side to slowly work the plate out the face of the breech block.

[wayner]

How can the gas plate on the breech block be made to move freely on the Pedersoli and the Shilo Sharps? Does the gas plate come off the Shilo for cleaning with much difficulty? Same for the Pedersoli and getting the breech block gas plate off. The Pedersolli I had seemed as though the breeck plate was on the breech block so tight I couldn't figure out how to even begin to find a place to try to pry it off. How can one be pried off?

[dakotasharps]

I'll put in a qualifier here that production techniques may have changed and/or varied over the years and what works on mine may not work on all others.

But on my Pedersoli, the plate can be slowly worked out of the block by alternately prying the block on each side with a screwdriver in the notch located on the back edge of the plate, on the right and left edges of the plate.

I use a suitably sized gunsmithing screwdriver (I bought an extra set recently at Wal-mart for under $10.00 - the tips are a bit brittle but do a great job on screws if you don't get overly aggressive with them) and fit the tip into the notch and then gently torque the srewdriver to pry the plate away from the block slightly. I alternate from side to side and after 5 or 6 repeats on each side the plate normally is far enough out of the block to come loose.

Obviously if your Pedersoli does not have a separate plate, this won't work. Equally obviously if it does not have a notch or recess in each edge of the plate this method will not work either.

You absolutely do not want to try to pry one side all the way out. Instead you want to work both sides out in very small and equal increments so that the plate comes out of the block more or less staight.

You also do not want to use excessive force and mar either the plate or the block.

Care needs to be taken when putting the plate back in the block that you press it in evenly and straight. The last several thousanths of an inch will most likely require a tap with a rubber or wooden mallet. Actually, a 1 foot lenght of 2x4 works very well too and the edge has the right width to apply the force of the tap evenly across the plate (assuming you hit it squarely.)

By removing it for cleaning and lubrication I have never developed any problem with gas leaks - other than what little you may get back through the nipple and I have experimented with different nipples from time to time.

[HvyMtl]

Dakota and Wayner.

Although I purchased my Ped. 1859 new about 2-3 years ago I don't know how old it actually is. The reaosn is I purchased it from a gun shop that had bought it from another store which was going out of business. Its obvious now that it is an older model.

Wayner,

The way I clean behind the sleeve is quite simple, I put a brush with a patch around it and push it down the muzzle toward the breech, this forces the sleeve back towards the empty block area. I then hold the sleeve and pull the rod with the brush back towards the muzzle just a little bit so it clears the sleeve ( you will feel this because it gets much easier to move the brush ) I then turn the brush which cleans the area behind where the sleeve usually sits.

By the way guys, I use a steamer to clean my guns and it makes short work of black powder.

Ken

[wayner]

Well, I can see why I had trouble now thanks to the informative replies I've recieved here. I had no notches anywhere to pry off the breech block gas plate. I tried just to get an idea as to what was behind there. ha ha Also the chamber sleeve in both the rifles I had were in there so tight not even a tool made to pull them would budge them. I could never had moved the sleeve with a brush and patch. The chamber sleeve did move back under pressure since it indented the breech plate with a circle. That circle of indentation crossed way too close to the cavity or hole in the breech plate and gas cutting started there. I would still like to know how a chrome plate can be had to replace the plain factory one. I still don't understand where the "O" ring goes. Thanks for your imput and knowledge about this subject everyone.

[Rich Siegel]

Wayner,

You might make a post on the North-South Skirmish Association bulletin board asking who makes chrome gas seal plates for Pedersoli carbines. A few people in the past have made these but I don't know who, at this time, does the work.

Everyone,

You might read an interesting discussion going on at the N-SSA bulletin board under the Civil War Guns for sale section. Read the post on the Pedersoli Confederate carbine. Opinions on the new carbine are given but then the discussion turns to the subject of breech blocks and gas seals. Very timely to this discussion.

General N-ssa site is www.N-SSA.org. Then scroll down the left side and click on the bulletin board.

Rich

[HvyMtl]

Hey Rich,

I left a post on that N-SSA forum we'll see if anyone answers me. I'm trying to figure out where that O-ring goes. I guess it would be nice to have instead of waiting to have problems. They say I might be able to get a modified block from Pedersoli which fits my rifle but they don't guarantee the fit.

I was told by one of my hunting buddies that when he went hunting in Maine with a guide, the guide told him that for some reason the first two weeks of your deer rifle season is not nearly as good as the last two weeks. I was wondering if you ever heard about this before ?

Ken

[Rich Siegel]

Ken,

I was deer hunting today, another story that I posted in the hunting section of this board.

Many people like a little snow to track deer and the colder weather brings on a strong rut. Today was unusual as the temp. was near 70 but the last two weeks of November get cold and some snow up in the mountains and deep woods.

The N-SSA site is havng troubles, the old carrier went out of business and the new one still has some bugs to work out. I received a message today that the site title might now be N-SSA.net but I haven't tried it yet. Because of this, you might not get a speedy response to your post.

Rich

[ryder747]

Rich,
I sent you an e-mail asking about the o-ring conversion. I bought one of the new Confederate Sharps, but it still locks up like the ld ones. What size o-ring do you use, and do you know of anyone in the N-SSA who does the modification? Thanks.