A while back, I checked the zero of my Shiloh '63 .50 carbine after having a silver blade front sight installed to replace the factory 'barley corn'.
It was bang on for elevation, needing a slight windage adjustment to centre on POA at 50 yds. From the bench at 100 yds, it printed 5 rds in a 2 1/2" group with the 60 gr Pyro pellet loads I was using.
I had only 5 BP loads with me, and these printed better at 50, so yesterday, I returned with a batch of chamber-length 50 gr FFg loads. Off hand at 50 yds, it was no trick to keep 5 rds in a 3" group. From the bench at 100 yds, it gave me an impressive three shot group that measured 1 3/4" x 7/8", centre to centre.
For a Civil War era carbine using paper cartridges, I call that phenominal. Certainly good enough as a 100 yd deer/bear rifle.
My '63s are an 'occasional' treat for me as making the paper rounds is such a pains-taking process and the PITA of cleaning the breechblock. I takes me 15 minutes to clean the bore and a good hour to disassemble and clean the breechblock; and 15 minutes thereafter to reassemble it.
Going back to the recent GunNutz survey on Civil War arms, I am convinced that the Sharps would have been one of the first to go unserviceable in the field for lack of proper cleaning.
The flash channel would have quickly become fouled if the side screw was not removed for cleaning, the nipple removed and the Conant breech plate would have sealed in place, thereby making the gun prone to gas leakage.
The priming compound of the era used fulminate of mercury, highly corrosive along with BP. That, combined with moisture would be disasterous for field maintenance in the hands of the common soldier.
The Sharps deserved to be converted to the rimfire rounds used by the Spencer. Then it would have been a first class fighting arm.
It was bang on for elevation, needing a slight windage adjustment to centre on POA at 50 yds. From the bench at 100 yds, it printed 5 rds in a 2 1/2" group with the 60 gr Pyro pellet loads I was using.
I had only 5 BP loads with me, and these printed better at 50, so yesterday, I returned with a batch of chamber-length 50 gr FFg loads. Off hand at 50 yds, it was no trick to keep 5 rds in a 3" group. From the bench at 100 yds, it gave me an impressive three shot group that measured 1 3/4" x 7/8", centre to centre.
For a Civil War era carbine using paper cartridges, I call that phenominal. Certainly good enough as a 100 yd deer/bear rifle.
My '63s are an 'occasional' treat for me as making the paper rounds is such a pains-taking process and the PITA of cleaning the breechblock. I takes me 15 minutes to clean the bore and a good hour to disassemble and clean the breechblock; and 15 minutes thereafter to reassemble it.
Going back to the recent GunNutz survey on Civil War arms, I am convinced that the Sharps would have been one of the first to go unserviceable in the field for lack of proper cleaning.
The flash channel would have quickly become fouled if the side screw was not removed for cleaning, the nipple removed and the Conant breech plate would have sealed in place, thereby making the gun prone to gas leakage.
The priming compound of the era used fulminate of mercury, highly corrosive along with BP. That, combined with moisture would be disasterous for field maintenance in the hands of the common soldier.
The Sharps deserved to be converted to the rimfire rounds used by the Spencer. Then it would have been a first class fighting arm.
