Shot my first BP rifle today !

C

canoetrpr

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I'm pretty hooked! Bought a Shiloh Sharps 45-70 a month or so ago and got it setup with some nice sights and so on. Sighted in today with a friend and had a BLAST!

I was shooting pure BP loaded with a friend with a 490 gr bullet, semi pointed from a Lyman mould.

This is also be first rifle I have with iron sights.

I was prepared for punishing recoil and a real mess to clean. Found the rifle pleasant to shoot even with the metal butt plate. I guess I'm not recoil sensitive as many others. Cleaning was fine. Put patches down after 10 rounds. Did a final cleaning with some patches (anti freeze and water).

Deprived the brass on range with a Harvey Deprimer I picked up. It was finicky to get going but I got the Han of it and broke it in. Deprimed cases went in a water bottle with water and soap for final cleaning at home.

Can't wait to do it again.
 
Fun stuff eh? Not sure where the horror stories about cleaning bp guns came from. I've never tried a bp cartridge, just front stuffers and a patched ball.

Another trick I learned of is to use olive oil for storage lube after cleaning. Eliminate's most of the fouling you'd get from regular gun oil. You've got to get way more complicated on your moosemilk recipe though, that's just not nearly bizarre enough. :p Personally I use murphy's oil soap, add ww antifreeze until it changes to a nice green colour, then add a few drops of Mr. Clean, and a couple more of Fantastik(or whatever else strikes my fancy the day I mix up a bottle). (makes pretty good on the spot patch lube, too, (over hornets nest of course)) :pirate:
 
Dumptruck said:
I have never thought of black powder as punishing. Much more enjoyable than faster burning powders. More of a push in the shoulder rather than a hammer.
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I am not sure that you would describe the recoil from a 45-120 that way. I suspect that more than a few people with that caliber sell them because of recoil. Definitely why I sold mine. I think the Sharps design is the easiest to clean of all the various actions. No worries about getting fouling in the lock mechanism.

cheers mooncoon
 
canoetrpr said:
I'm pretty hooked! Bought a Shiloh Sharps 45-70 a month or so ago and got it setup with some nice sights and so on. Sighted in today with a friend and had a BLAST!

I was shooting pure BP loaded with a friend with a 490 gr bullet, semi pointed from a Lyman mould.

This is also be first rifle I have with iron sights.

I was prepared for punishing recoil and a real mess to clean. Found the rifle pleasant to shoot even with the metal butt plate. I guess I'm not recoil sensitive as many others. Cleaning was fine. Put patches down after 10 rounds. Did a final cleaning with some patches (anti freeze and water).

Deprived the brass on range with a Harvey Deprimer I picked up. It was finicky to get going but I got the Han of it and broke it in. Deprimed cases went in a water bottle with water and soap for final cleaning at home.

Can't wait to do it again.
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BP is hellava lot a fun to shoot! Some larger BP rifles are in fact brutal to fire!! Most people I know prefer using pyrodex for easy cleanup - but there is nothing like traditional BP from GoEx!!
 
If you think you are hooked with ctg BP, wait till you try front stuffers or my personal favorite, cap and ball revolvers.

I find it very cool making your "ammo" at the firing line and love the smell. (Real BP, of course)

Welcome to the dark side. :)
 
DIGAF said:
Did you get it sighted in OK. I hear you took off the barrel mounted sight.
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I did! Took about 7 or so shots. You were right that I would have to take off the blade sight. It was in the way. Thank you my friend for the sight installation!

You know what I just realized. Those set screws we took out from where the rear tang went may fit where the blade sight came out. Will give that a shot. If not, the heck with it. I think Shiloh makes a blank for it. If it bothers me enough, I'll buy that.
 
I had bought this one on a whim since a Shiloh came available at the club. I wasn't thrilled that it wasn't a bit fanicer; it has a round barrel, basic wood etc. But man is it a pleasure to shoot! If this keeps up, some day I think I have a rifle I really want configured on the C. Sharps and Shiloh website. The down side is that it runs about $3500 US + 8.5% excise tax + import fees + GST/PST = ~$5K!!!

Not sure how people are getting them into Canada these days? Guessing it will have to be a Prophet River import service type of thing.

Who knows a fancy used one might come up some day ;-)
 
mooncoon said:
I am not sure that you would describe the recoil from a 45-120 that way. I suspect that more than a few people with that caliber sell them because of recoil. Definitely why I sold mine. I think the Sharps design is the easiest to clean of all the various actions. No worries about getting fouling in the lock mechanism.

cheers mooncoon
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I must be different.... or maybe where theres no sense theres no feeling, but I shoot my Shiloh 45-120 more than my BP 45-70.
It weighs over 13 lbs. and that reduces the recoil to an enjoyable level, at least for me and I'm just a little guy.
I think the '74 Shiloh is an awesome rifle and it gets out hunting with me every Fall for a couple days.
Lugging a 13 lb. + rifle around all day certainly makes one appreciate lighter rifles.

Canoetrpr.....welcome to the addictive world of Black Powder cartridge !!
 
bollox said:
If you think you are hooked with ctg BP, wait till you try front stuffers or my personal favorite, cap and ball revolvers.

I find it very cool making your "ammo" at the firing line and love the smell. (Real BP, of course)

Welcome to the dark side. :)
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Ditto! I can only add to discussion is that my own reproduction blunderbuss and howdah pistol are an absolute hoot to shoot. lol

Personally, I've found in the past that 45-70 BPCR rifles with real BP have less recoil then my 50 caliber RB shooter Hawken copy stuffed with 100 grains of FFFG goex.
But this not really an issue as my muzzleloader is a deer hunting rifle only.
 
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Prophet River is the best importer I've used. They have great service and are much faster than the company I used to use.

Some cartridge rifles will recoil much harder than others. My .50-140 loaded with 700gr bullets makes my .45-70 feel like a BB gun :). It stops getting fun pretty quickly.

Chris.
 
Congrats on joining the BPCR family.

I love to shoot both my C Sharps rifles. An 1875 45/70 sporting target model and a 50/70 "carbine". Both have little recoil. Both are a blast to shoot.

If you come to my kneck of the woods give me a PM. You are welcome to shoot the BPCR at our club.

BTW: Importing them is as simple as downloading a form, filling it out, getting an FRT from the RCMP, send the form to the gun maker, shiloh or C sharps. That is it. Or was when I got mine about 5 years ago.
 
gunlaker said:
Prophet River is the best importer I've used. They have great service and are much faster than the company I used to use.

Some cartridge rifles will recoil much harder than others. My .50-140 loaded with 700gr bullets makes my .45-70 feel like a BB gun :). It stops getting fun pretty quickly.

Chris.
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Thanks for the business. We import 1-3 Shilohs a month. We've been working with Shiloh for about 6 years now and its always been smooth.
 
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