I got the instruction sheet from Shiloh on the care and feeding of the ''63 and '74 rifles.
They mention the method of removing the gas check plate by prying with two small screw driver tips in the reliefs on either side of the plate.
Question:
why would I want to do this and does it need to be done on a regular basis? I am removing the flash hole screw every time I clean the rifle.
Next question:
what is a "gas-check sleeve moving tool" as sold by some after market suppliers and why would I need it? Is there a moveable part in the rifle's chamber I ought to take out for cleaning?
Last question:
what is the thread size of the percussion nipple on the '63? Murphy's Law guarantees that I will need one most when I don't have a spare.
Regards, Todd
Cleaning of the Shiloh '63 Percussion Rifle
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Todd Birch
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Cleaning of the Shiloh '63 Percussion Rifle
"From birth to the packing house, we travel between the two eternities ....." Robert Duvall in "Broken Trail"
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Rich Siegel
- Posts: 610
- Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2002 7:53 am
- Location: Maine
To answer your question;
Yes, you need to remove and clean the gas seal in the block each time you shoot the rifle. As soon as you take it off, you'll see what I mean. Powder fouling all in the face of the block.
Shiloh's, or at least mine, doesn't have a moveable gas sleeve in the barrel. Pedersoli's do and require a tool to get the sleeve out.
I don't know the exact thread size on the nipple but it's a standard musket nipple you can but through the internet from the Log Cabin, Dixie or your local muzzleloading shop.
Model 1863s are a lot of fun to shoot but take your time cleaning them. Take the nipple out and clean around it as well as around the lever linkage and under the lever retention spring by the forearm. I, and my friends that shoot the '63 carbine in competition spend at least a half hour cleaning the rifle after each match. Actually, I'm slow and need almost an hour to do a good job. The rifles are not for a person in a hurry.
Good shooting,
Rich
Yes, you need to remove and clean the gas seal in the block each time you shoot the rifle. As soon as you take it off, you'll see what I mean. Powder fouling all in the face of the block.
Shiloh's, or at least mine, doesn't have a moveable gas sleeve in the barrel. Pedersoli's do and require a tool to get the sleeve out.
I don't know the exact thread size on the nipple but it's a standard musket nipple you can but through the internet from the Log Cabin, Dixie or your local muzzleloading shop.
Model 1863s are a lot of fun to shoot but take your time cleaning them. Take the nipple out and clean around it as well as around the lever linkage and under the lever retention spring by the forearm. I, and my friends that shoot the '63 carbine in competition spend at least a half hour cleaning the rifle after each match. Actually, I'm slow and need almost an hour to do a good job. The rifles are not for a person in a hurry.
Good shooting,
Rich